LI mom fired after donating kidney to her boss: suit

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Gozgals said:
I totally disagree w/ you.

Some people are Godly, giving and care. She probably did explore and maybe got sick. Why would it be BS? You come across really strong on this issue.. Why? I am just curious why, not knowing much, you would belittle a person who gave up her kidney? I read stories like this all the time..

I did not know a man, who knew my brother and offered my bone marrow. That does not make it my fault.....I am ill too and thought they may have been able to use it. I am not saint but wanted to give another a chance at life.

When I called to find out, the terms were not for me.
First- the bone marrow was not to go to him
2nd- i did not make the wt. requirement
3rd- I had to pay for the tests to see if i was a match
4th- the meds i took were a contradiction

Sounds like blame the good person here and like someone generous is being called a fool. You have no clue what the woman is like- so what, she got sick....???? That could happen, an unforseen event.
I find what she did generous. Yes, there are two sides and you seem to think the boss is right so it's nice the winner in this situation has an advocate for her. As if she didn't have enough going in her favor, a person of no good will taking a kidney from a donor.

To each his own.

Goz
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You appear to be feel far more strongly about it and if I may say so take it far more personally than I do. I'm sorry if I offended you but I stand by my post which is in the end just an opinion based on the ONE side we know of this very one-sided story....subject to change as further facts come to light.
 
A very unlucky way to treat your good fortune, imo. The universe will be teaching her some lessons, and let's just say-- I don't envy her future journey.
 
EGirl said:
Yes, she donated her own kidney! That's why she wasn't up to being back at work so soon.

She wasn't a perfect match for her boss, so her kidney was given to someone on the list that she was a 'match' for. In return, her boss was given a kidney that was a perfect match for her.
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I stand corrected. Thank you.
 
http://gma.yahoo.com/n-y-mom-fired-donating-kidney-help-her-162333834--abc-news-health.html

I'm on the fence with this also. In this interview she says the company should have recognized this and taken care of her. Is she looking for job security? Is this an "at will" state? Was her attendance a problem? Of course, the people she was belittled in front of will be called to testify. I would love to hear the other side of this story! What if she was a complete goof off at work? Should a company be required to keep her?
 
she didn't realize she'd be in serious pain? they cut an ORGAN out of her body!

yeah, I think there's a lot more to this story but I also think the co. should've foreseen that personal issues would arise & one of the women should've been transferred prior to surgery
 
Lexiintoronto said:
I'm a kidney donor, so I see this story from a slightly different perspective. Yes, I agree that the boss sounds like a horrible person and an even worse boss. She was given a gift and with that, she should have the common ethics and morals to honour the gift by living each day with the kindness and generosity that she was shown.

But..

A kidney donation is just that - a donation, a gift. It should not be given with any expectation of payback in any form. No strings attached.

I can tell you that living donors go through a rigorous screening process including psychological and social evaluations. Doctors are under oath to do no harm. Taking a healthy person and removing a healthy organ solely for the benefit of the health of another person *is* exposing the donor to harm. The onus is on the *donor* to prove to the transplant team why the transplant team should risk doing harm - possible death - to save the life of a second person.

You have to prove to the transplant team that you are in the position to take on all of the risks involved in donating the organ. Yes, it's painful. You need time to recover. You need to be financially, emotionally, physically, spiritually in the position to give the gift. And you need to be sound enough if things go wrong. It could be that the transplant fails, it could be that the recipient is an a-hole like this boss.

She should focus on the good that she did. Nothing should mar that. Then she should find a new job with a better boss and not look back.
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While it's true that ingratitude isn't a civil tort, firing someone because she is disabled may be under the Americans with Disabilities Act. (IANAL) Moreover, you would know better than I, but if it is true that the donor wasn't fully informed of side effects she could expect, she may also have a malpractice claim. (I suspect she was informed and simply didn't understand, but that's an issue of fact to be determined at trial.)

I agree about the need to move on, but I don't think the donor needs to give up her legal rights to do so.
 
NancyA said:
While it is apparent the boss is an ingrate, and a spiteful one at that, the donor in this piece clearly has her own issues. I’m inclined to agree there is another side to this story still to come out. I just question the thinking – or, rather, the lack thereof – that would motivate a mother to put herself so much at risk for someone she really didn’t know all that well, ie not a close friend or family member, and WHY she didn’t fully explore ALL the potential consequences to her own well-being. She didn't know how long the recovery would be? Really? Come on. She didn’t ask the doctors beforehand? They didn’t fully explain all the possible implications? I call BS.

Sounds to me like she made the offer on impulse never thinking she’d be taken up on it and then found herself backed into a corner when asked to make good on her offer. I’m all for a desire to help others and donating an organ is one of the most selfless things one can do IMO but this woman comes across to me as the kind of ‘generous’ I’d rather not be beholden to. Something about her reminds me of people who love to play the heroine/victim/martyr and never let others forget that they are ‘owed’ for favours done.
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You may be right. But it's at least as possible that the boss/recipient felt uncomfortable being in the donor's debt and didn't want her around as a reminder. Resenting someone who helps us is also human nature.
 
Nova said:
You may be right. But it's at least as possible that the boss/recipient felt uncomfortable being in the donor's debt and didn't want her around as a reminder. Resenting someone who helps us is also human nature.
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Resenting someone for helping you would be a very ungrateful side of human nature.
 
LadyL said:
she didn't realize she'd be in serious pain? they cut an ORGAN out of her body!

yeah, I think there's a lot more to this story but I also think the co. should've foreseen that personal issues would arise & one of the women should've been transferred prior to surgery
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Well I think it's possible. Organ donation is clearly something that is not necessary for the donor, so donor might not always think about consequence to him/herself (because if it resulted in bad consequences doctors wouldn't do it, right?). People don't think their own health can be damaged or they could even die as a result. There have been cases of people that died and their relatives are left in shock-they didn't expect that at all and are shocked that donation could even result in death.
 
Gozgals said:
I don't think she expected payback-- just to be treated like a normal person, not to be treated unfairly...

Goz
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I don't think that the average person fired from a low-level job would sue the company for 'millions' as her lawyer has stated unless there was some expectation of special treatment because of the kidney donation. To me as a kidney donor, it sounds as if this was more of a business transaction than a donation. From the story:

BBM

Stevens said that her office and overtime were eventually taken away and that she was demoted to a dealership 50 miles from her home in a high-crime neighborhood that co-workers jokingly called “Siberia.’’ Experiencing mental anguish, she consulted a psychiatrist. and her lawyers wrote a letter to the company — after which Stevens was quickly fired, the papers state.

.....

Yesterday, her husband, James, told a reporter the claims were “far from the truth’’ but declined to say how. “She didn’t fire anybody,’’ he only said.

AAG also did not return a request for comment.


Stevens’ lawyer, Lenard Leeds, said he plans to file a discrimination lawsuit against AAG, and would likely seek millions of dollars in compensation.
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Millions?! And why bring the kidney 'donation' into a wrongful dismissal/discrimination lawsuit? To me it sounds as if she bartered her kidney for job security.

ETA: Goz, I'm not directing my angst against you. The 'donor' in this story just rubbed me the wrong way.
 
The boss wasn't worried about the appearance of special treatment when her employee went under the knife on her behalf but SUDDENLY became worried about appearance of special treatment when the donor goes home ill??

interesting timing on when the boss decided to worry about appearances.

I agree with LadyL, someone should have seen this one coming. Big potential for personel issues when you involve personal/health issues and work.

This lady may have a suit but the millions supposedly being sought are ridiculous pipe dream of her attorney IMO. Obviously this attorney is working on contingency.

What is 33 and 1/3 percent of one million? Bet her attorney knows.
 
jjenny said:
Well I think it's possible. Organ donation is clearly something that is not necessary for the donor, so donor might not always think about consequence to him/herself (because if it resulted in bad consequences doctors wouldn't do it, right?). People don't think their own health can be damaged or they could even die as a result. There have been cases of people that died and their relatives are left in shock-they didn't expect that at all and are shocked that donation could even result in death.
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You're right in terms of the average person's view of kidney donation, but prospective donors are educated by the transplant team as part of the evaluation.

To become a kidney donor you go through a lengthy, detailed evaluation process. The transplant team would make her fully aware of the risks and I'm certain she signed a number of documents prior to the surgery declaring that she was fully aware of all of the possible risks - including pain, impairment and death.
 
tlcox said:
The boss wasn't worried about the appearance of special treatment when her employee went under the knife on her behalf but SUDDENLY became worried about appearance of special treatment when the donor goes home ill??

interesting timing on when the boss decided to worry about appearances.

I agree with LadyL, someone should have seen this one coming. Big potential for personel issues when you involve personal/health issues and work.

This lady may have a suit but the millions supposedly being sought are ridiculous pipe dream of her attorney IMO. Obviously this attorney is working on contingency.

What is 33 and 1/3 percent of one million? Bet her attorney knows.
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Given the strong response of another poster to my original post, I decided to put the reins on my inner cynic and do a little further googling about this case, sure enough there are several versions of it out there with further statements by the donor and her lawyer.

I think I agree that the timing of the alleged victimisation would be interesting if it is indeed true. BUT I also find the donor's timing interesting in that her pursuit of her employers 'for millions' coincided with the imminent expiration of her medical insurance and her seemingly belated realisation that she will find it difficult to obtain insurance because the organ donation leaves her more vulnerable to illness and infections going forward. Like I said before I find it hard to believe that she was not fully informed of ALL the implications to her future health before the procedure went ahead - if she wasn't then her lawsuit should be against the medical institutions involved.

Further reading has only served to reinforce my original impression that this is an aggravated case of disgruntled fired employee (with donor remorse perhaps) coupled with a publicity seeking lawyer in search of a big payday but since we have heard little as yet from the other side I'm prepared to withhold judgement for now. That said should the reports of this donor now demanding the return of her kidney prove to be true, IMO that would make her as bad as she alleges her former boss to be since the recipient of her kidney is an innocent party in all this. JMO.
 
While we're on the topic, and I know what brings us together here at WS is concern and compassion for our fellow men....if you could consider signing your donor card and discussing your wishes with your family you could be making a decision that could improve and save lives. Thank you:tyou:
 
NancyA said:
You appear to be feel far more strongly about it and if I may say so take it far more personally than I do. I'm sorry if I offended you but I stand by my post which is in the end just an opinion based on the ONE side we know of this very one-sided story....subject to change as further facts come to light.
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I am not offended at all Nancy. You are entitled, of course, to your opinion, as I am to mine.
True, we all need more facts.
We can also assume she was told all the facts, (the donor) but as stated, unforeseen medical problems came to light as with any surgery. That is just one theory.

Goz
 
If there is any reason for legal recourse, that is her right too. If she has fallen ill, then so be it. Once again, more facts are needed.

Once again, I do take an interest but I am not personally offended nor do I find my reaction as strong as you are making it out to be. Perhaps you have not been a member her that long and are taking one's response as "very strong!" I am just answering a post with my opinions too so no need to curb your answers unless you were notified to do so.

Goz
 
NancyA said:
Given the strong response of another poster to my original post, I decided to put the reins on my inner cynic and do a little further googling about this case, sure enough there are several versions of it out there with further statements by the donor and her lawyer.

I think I agree that the timing of the alleged victimisation would be interesting if it is indeed true. BUT I also find the donor's timing interesting in that her pursuit of her employers 'for millions' coincided with the imminent expiration of her medical insurance and her seemingly belated realisation that she will find it difficult to obtain insurance because the organ donation leaves her more vulnerable to illness and infections going forward. Like I said before I find it hard to believe that she was not fully informed of ALL the implications to her future health before the procedure went ahead - if she wasn't then her lawsuit should be against the medical institutions involved.

Further reading has only served to reinforce my original impression that this is an aggravated case of disgruntled fired employee (with donor remorse perhaps) coupled with a publicity seeking lawyer in search of a big payday but since we have heard little as yet from the other side I'm prepared to withhold judgement for now. That said should the reports of this donor now demanding the return of her kidney prove to be true, IMO that would make her as bad as she alleges her former boss to be since the recipient of her kidney is an innocent party in all this. JMO.
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Do you happen to have a link to these reports? TIA!
 
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