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Smith v. Bell Atlantic6/10/2005
e not successful, we think that the company could be found liable in the circumstances presented here. The evidence permitted the jury to find that, notwithstanding the company's considerable expertise in telecommunications, it did not supply Smith with resources (modest from the standpoint of a large enterprise) that would have made the accommodation work. There was evidence that the company failed to provide Smith with an adequate computer, failed to support her use of equipment that she purchased herself, and, for several years, failed even to provide her with "plain old telephone service" lines that she could use to connect with the company network. Quite apart from these technical issues, there also was evidence that Smith was hindered in her efforts to work at home by her supervisor's practice of leaving her handwritten instructions at the office, and by the company's inconsistent efforts to include her in meetings by teleconference. To the extent that there was other, contrary evidence, it was for the jury to weigh.
c. Sufficiency of Causation Evidence
At the heart of Smith's appeal from the partial allowance of the motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict is the adequacy of the testimony of her treating physician, Dr. Silver. Dr. Silver is a physiatrist, a specialist in the treatment of major injuries involving the musculo-skeletal system, and a leading authority on PPS. Dr. Silver testified that Smith became unable to work and totally disabled because her PPS had progressed to the point where she had difficulty using her arms. In Dr. Silver's opinion, the major contributing factor leading to Smith's total disability was the company's failure to provide accommodations; there were other factors, but lack of workplace accommodation "pushed her over the edge." According to Dr. Silver, lack of workplace accommodations resulted in Smith overusing her extremities, which, in turn, led to the rapid acceleration of her PPS. Because PPS usually does not have a dramatic course, Dr. Silver concluded that, more likely than not, reasonable accommodations would have stabilized Smith's condition and allowed her to continue to pursue full-time work.
On the specific issue of Smith's home office, Dr. Silver opined that if Smith had been given an adequate home office, it would have reduced her physical activity substantially, particularly her need to do transfers. In her view, if Smith had been provided with reasonable accommodations, she would have worked an additional eighteen years, until retirement at age sixty-five; instead, Smith no longer can work and will likely need full-time nursing home placement within ten years. According to Dr. Silver, if Smith had been able to protect her arms, she could have remained independent.
Dr. Silver's opinions were based in large part upon her extensive clinical experience with PPS patients. In addition to treating several hundred PPS patients per year as the Director of the International Rehabilitation Center for Polio, Dr. Silver had conducted studies, including several concerned with preventing further disability. Her opinions also were based upon her familiarity with two specific studies concerning the relationship between PPS and the ability to work: a Swedish study where it was determined that sixty percent of polio survivors had jobs as compared with seventy percent of the general population, and another, unidentified study, which found that accommodation, but not degree of paralysis, was a major factor in determining whether a polio survivor worked. According to Dr. Silver, persons with PPS typically have a normal life expectancy, and, although they require accommodation, they generally work until retirement.
Whil
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