A New Jersey police officer was awarded $550,000 by a jury to compensate her for lost wages and emotional distress following her firing in 2006 due to a medical condition. The jury determined the City of Paterson and its police department engaged in discrimination by terminating her because of her disability.
According to NorthJersey.com, the former officer, aged 31, sued the City of Paterson and the Paterson Police Department two years ago after the city fired her for not showing up for work per her doctor’s orders.
The panel awarded the woman $300,000 to compensate her for lost earnings and another $250,000 for emotional distress. She will seek to have the court reinstate her as a police officer, according to her attorney.
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The panel did not find the department or city discriminated against her due to her gender, as the suit also alleged. A portion of the case asserted male officers with medical conditions were allowed to remain on leave without consequence. The defendant also asserted a male superior referenced her using offensive language.
At the time of her termination, the woman was on the blood thinning medication to combat blood clotting as a result of pregnancy.
The officer was subject to clotting, according to her suit, due to a previous knee injury occurring on the job in 2002 when a vehicle ran a stop sign and crashed into her patrol car. Attempts to recover from torn tendons and a dislocated knee without surgery were unsuccessful and, in 2004, Sedeyn required an operation. Due to that surgery, she developed a pair of clots on her left leg and was hospitalized for 12 days, after which she was placed on the blood thinner Coumadin for six months to avoid any additional clotting.
“When plaintiff was placed on the blood thinners medication, her doctors advised that she should be extremely careful because the blood thinners prevented her blood from clotting and thus cuts or physical trauma could pose a serious health risk,” states the lawsuit, filed in state Superior Court in Paterson.
In June 2004, nearly six months following knee surgery, she finished her regime of blood thinners. She returned to work and resumed her patrol duties.
In March 2005, she became pregnant. During the second trimester, according to the suit, her doctors advised her that her pregnancy had aggravated her pre-existing propensity to develop blood clots as a result of the accident.
As a result, the doctors prescribed the blood thinner Fragmin to prevent additional clots. “All three doctors advised the plaintiff that she could not report to work on this medication due to the environment of her workplace and the high risk of serious injury,” according to her suit.
A doctor’s note was provided to the Paterson Police Chief’s Office and the Internal Affairs Unit and on July 25, 2005, she began medical leave. On Dec. 1, 2005, she had her baby via Caesarian section. Her doctors advised her that she be put back on blood-thinning medication for six months to lessen the risk of clotting and she should stay on leave until June of that year.
From there, the city challenged Sedeyn’s inability to report to work. Various doctors offered conflicting opinions as to how dangerous it was for her to perform even so much as light desk duty while on the medication. The police department, according to the suit, promised Sedeyn would not have any contact with inmates in the municipal holding cell at headquarters while assigned to desk duty, to insure her safety. Still, her doctors reasoned it was too risky. She was subsequently fired.
Author Rebecca Shafer, JD, President of Amaxx Risks Solutions, Inc. is a national expert in the field of workers compensation. She is a writer, speaker and website publisher. Her expertise is working with employers to reduce workers compensation costs, and her clients include airlines, healthcare, printing/publishing, pharmaceuticals, retail, hospitality and manufacturing.
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