Judge: Workers accused of patient abuse should get jobs back

Fred Gooch, John Long and Patricia Swann were fired in 2008 for improperly restraining a patient in a face down position while drawing blood.

The workers said a doctor ordered them to do a forced blood draw on an aggressive and combative patient and that although they did not want to, they felt obligated to follow orders.

According to the case file, the patient was swinging and kicking at the time.

Judge Beecher Gray, an administrative law judge, said there was no policy preventing workers from handling an abusive patient that way.

There is no word on whether the attorney general's office will appeal the decision.