Thread: Possible termination for Spine Surgery

Hello everyone I have a situation and i need some help; anyone with any legal background that could help would be great.

I am currently working for a company and Several months ago before I moved to NC, i had found out that my exisiting back problem was getting worse, (after i was promoted to a new positon) I spoke with my employer and stated that my dr. said i may need to have back surgery so if this going to cause a problem with my job i will not have my house built in NC and i will stay in New Jersey, So my Director said not to worry move forward with my home and things will be fine and if they need to find me a different position to work from home or something along the lines of that they will.

Well today 8 months later my DR. here in NC informed me that i had to have a spinal fusion so i informed my boss and he basically said we will see what we can do but you should start looking for another job, im pretty sure this isnt legal. First of all they new ahead of time when i was hired at the company i had back issues from the military and second off they approved me to move here ahead of time.

Can they just let you go for having surgery.

Thanks

That seems awful. You're best option right now is to contact an attorney that specializes in employment law. If they do fire you, this could be a wrongful termination case. An attorney will be able to go over your options with you and consultations are usually free. However, one thing you will have to worry about is the amount of time a suit like this could take to settle. With the surgery, if you are out of work/can't find another right away, you could begin to struggle financially. If so, you should look into legal funding. Orchar Legal Funding is a company handles employment cases like yours.

Hi

Spinal surgery has a very small place to play in the overall management of low back pain.

However, surgery occupies a much greater place in most people’s minds when they think about treatment for low back or leg pains.

It is important to understand what surgery can do, and perhaps more importantly as it is much more common, when surgery can do nothing for you or me to solve our back pain problems.

Spinal surgeons can in general do one of three major things:

* Decompress nerves...to relieve pressure on them from surrounding structures.
* Fuse segments...together to prevent movement and reduce pain
* Correct spinal deformities...such as severe scoliosis (more common in teenagers)

spine surgeons california

You have action on a little known legal theory of PROMISSORY ESTOPPEL. Without a bunch of diatribe, You RELIED on your boss's PROMISE AND moved to NC to your DETRIMENT. Since you relied on your Boss's promise (sold out your home and moved to NC), he has a fiduciary duty owed to you. Your boss had KNOWLEDGE (notice) of your condition by admission. The point is that your boss is estopped from denying your spinal condition. Check with an attorney but in my opinion, a contracts law approach will get you the best relief. Good luck and you have a great case. Just find the right attorney.

I agree with the earlier poster’s analysis. You (and individuals in similar situations) could possibly have a viable promissory estoppel /detrimental reliance claim. This is a state law claim. Your attorney will have determine whether the North Carolina courts have previously recognized this “tort” theory in an employment context.

In addition, you may have federal law basis for seeking relief. The Family Medical Leave Act (”FMLA”) mandates that employee at a company with 50 or more workers can take up to twelve weeks of unpaid medical leave to address “serious health conditions” for himself or for a spouse or a child. Spinal surgery certainly would constitute a “serious health condition.” Presuming (1) your employer is covered under the FMLA and (2) you are otherwise eligible, e.g., you have worked the requisite 1250 minimum hours over the preceding twelve months, your employer cannot legally refuse to take time off to deal with a serious health condition.

If your employer balks at allowing you to take FMLA leave or refuses to restore you to your position or a comparable position once you come back from leave, you can bring a lawsuit under the FMLA in addition to your putative promissory estoppel claim.