Ruling: Ex-UNI Professor Won't Get Injury Benefits

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By Aaron Hepker

Story Created: Apr 26, 2011 at 1:20 PM CDT

Story Updated: Apr 26, 2011 at 3:03 PM CDT

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — A state official has denied workers' compensation benefits to a former University of Northern Iowa professor who claimed that mistreatment by administrators forced her to have a mental health breakdown.

Deputy Workers' Compensation Commissioner James Christenson ruled Monday that Linda Sharp's work environment was stressful but she failed to prove that was the direct cause of her mental health problems.

Sharp was a music instructor at the Malcolm Price Laboratory School run by UNI's College of Education.

She agreed to resign in December in exchange for $210,000 in cash plus years of health benefits under a settlement that ended years of litigation between her and UNI. The settlement allowed her workers' compensation claim to continue.

Sharp's attorney, Judith O'Donohoe, said Tuesday the decision is flawed and she'll consider an appeal.

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