PA Sues Employer for Forcing Resignation After Amputation
Kent Woodall, a 42-year-old Gulf War veteran and former physician assistant at The University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio, is suing his former employer for allegedly forcing Woodall to resign after his left leg was amputated due to a rare form of cancer.
First on crutches and then in a wheelchair, Woodall said his supervising physician overloaded him with patients, criticized him for moving too slowly and threatened to revoke his license if he didn't resign.
When Woodall returned to work (after the amputation of his left leg), Walsh’s attitude toward him changed, he said.
“He was never the same, I could tell,” Woodall said of his boss. “He would not say hello to me, he would ignore me. He wasn’t happy with me after that whole situation.”
Other office staff treated him coolly as well, Woodall said, and shrugged off his requests for help. Walsh mentioned several times that Woodall should resign and try to collect disability pay.
Though Woodall initially used crutches after returning to work, he switched to a wheelchair after falling and hitting his head. He moved a little slower in the chair, and Walsh frequently scolded him for not seeing enough patients in a day, Woodall said.
Read the full story, then tell us what you think. Can a physician assistant who is wheelchair-bound or otherwise handicapped get the job done? Was the employer's reaction to Woodall's handicap unjustly discriminating?
This story reminds me of Jen Arnold, from the TLC show Little People: Just Married. Arnold, who stands less than four feet tall, is a successful neonatologist at Texas Children's Hospital in Houston. She seems to have no problem seeing all of her patients, and it doesn't sound like her employer abuses her, despite her physical differences from other, more "normal" health care providers. What gives?