 |
 |
to fill out a simple form to connect to Personal Injury Lawyers in your area.
|
|
|
|
|
Columbia Plaza Medical Center of Fort Worth Subsidiary3/6/2003
I. Introduction
On November 13, 1998, appellee Carol Szurek filed suit against appellant Columbia Plaza Medical Center of Fort Worth Subsidiary, L.P. ("Columbia") for employment discrimination based on her perceived disability, pursuant to the Texas Commission on Human Rights Act ["TCHRA"]. Tex. Labor Code Ann. ยง 21.002(6) (Vernon Supp. 2003). The jury found that Columbia regarded Szurek as having a disability that substantially limited her ability to perform a broad class of jobs and that it discriminated against her based on this perceived disability. The jury also awarded Szurek $72,000 in damages, and the trial court rendered judgment accordingly. We reverse and render.
II. Factual Background
In 1986, Szurek began working for St. Joseph's Hospital as a medical technologist in its microbiology department. St. Joseph's merged with Columbia in 1994, and its facilities closed in July 1995. Szurek then began working at Columbia Plaza Medical Center.
Because of budgetary issues, Columbia required medical technologists to cross-train in a second area of the hospital. Szurek cross-trained in the hematology department, which required her to work more time on her feet than in the microbiology department. An average eight-hour shift in microbiology could involve anywhere from forty-five minutes to two hours of walking and standing to as much as forty percent of the entire shift walking and standing. Medical technologists were also required to spend part of one shift per month moving throughout the hospital collecting blood.
On February 14, 1996, Szurek had foot surgery for heel spurs and took six weeks off from her position with Columbia to recover. Before she returned, she told her supervisor, Gail Hightower, that she could stand for only ten to twenty minutes and needed significant periods of rest. Further, after the recovery period, Dr. Lawrence Warren, Szurek's podiatrist, allowed her to return to work on condition that she perform sedentary duties only pending full recovery. As a result of this restriction, Columbia limited Szurek to working only in the microbiology department. While this position was not completely sedentary, it involved less standing and walking than working in the hematology department. Szurek returned to work on April 1, 1996.
In July, Hightower asked Szurek to obtain a status report on her recovery from Dr. Warren. In a letter dated August 7, 1996, Dr. Warren stated that Szurek had reached a "recovery plateau." Although Szurek had improved since her surgery, Dr. Warren stated that she continued to have foot and ankle pain, and as a result, "it is necessary that perform sedentary activities at work for a period of time for three months." Dr. Warren explained that he would re-evaluate her condition after three months, but warned that altering from sedentary work "could result in loss of the improvement that has been accomplished."
Based on Dr. Warren's letter, Connie Sims, Columbia's Employee Health Coordinator, looked into Szurek's working conditions in the microbiology lab and determined that there were no completely sedentary positions available in the lab, including the position Szurek had filled since her return. Sims testified that she interpreted Dr. Warren's letter to state that Szurek's recovery plateau was the result of her performing nonsedentary work. As a result, in order to avoid risking a set-back in Szurek's recovery, Sims believed that Szurek could not work in microbiology until further notice from her doctor.
Sims sent a memorandum to Paul Benson, Columbia's Vice President of Human Resources, explaining her interpretation of Dr. Warren's letter. In the memo, Sims
Page 1 2 3 4 5 Texas Personal Injury Attorneys
Personal Injury Lawyers
|
| |
to fill out a simple form to connect to Personal Injury Lawyers in your area.
|
|