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Two cancers, a stroke, and a boot out the door...

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seekingadvice60

Junior Member
What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Pennsylvania

I'm posting this on behalf of my mom because she has enough going on... over the last three years she has dealt with multiple surgeries for a renal cancer, a completely separate ovarian cancer and, most recently, a stroke. I should also mention that my mom had Stage 3 breast cancer almost 30 years ago. My mom is a tough cookie.

I will not use names or locations because we are not really sure which direction this is heading at this point. My mom is a nurse, and she has been for over 30 years. She has worked at her current employer, a large teaching hospital, for over 10 years. She just turned 60, and she has kept very current with her nursing license and frequently learns specialized skills, but in 30 years her once-highly-respected 'Registered Nurse' title has diminished in significance a bit because most people starting careers as nurses have at least a bachelors degree in nursing (not something that was even remotely popular in the mid-80s when she starter her profession). I'm saying this to set a bit of tone. It feels like if there were anyone that a large hospital would be interesting in parting ways with it would be someone who is approaching retirement age and does not have the school credentials that are typical for new nurses.

In April 2015, my mom went to a doctor at the hospital she work(ed) at because she was having bladder spasms. The doctor diagnosed her with cancer of her ureter. He had a portion of her ureter resected, stents placed and she was given a series of BCG treatments through April 2015. The doctor assured her that he got it all and that it was a full cure. She returned to work after June 2015.

She continued to have symptoms such as bladder spasms, and she suspected that the doctor at her hospital may have not been completely thorough in his assessment or treatment (she recognized that when he did the scope of her ureter he stopped when he found a lesion and did not continue looking further). She decided to follow up with another doctor outside of the hospital. In October 2015 the new doctor diagnosed her with a more invasive cancer and recommended removal of her left kidney. When she informed her employer (who knew of her treatment at the hospital originally) that her condition was worse, she had a suspicion that they were being overly nice with her and about her situation. My mom had considered taking some action against the first doctor because her second doctor told her it was pretty obvious that there was a lot of additional areas to be concerned with, and what he saw was not newly developed lesions that would not have been obvious before. It is not the main subject of this inquiry, but it is worth noting the contrast between how she was treated during this condition relative to how she has been treated with subsequent conditions.

Mom started chemo in December 2015, and after completing that round of treatment she had her kidney removed in March 2016. During the chemo and her post-nephrectomy recovery of 8 weeks, she was on a short term disability leave. She returned to work full time in June 2016.

During a follow-up to her renal cancer in December of 2016, the doctors discovered and diagnosed my mom with ovarian cancer. In a way my mom was lucky because had she not been watched so closely after her renal cancer it is likely that the ovarian cancer would not have been caught before it metastasized. This is common in ovarian cancer and the reason that it can be so deadly for women... the symptoms often go uncorrelated to cancer until it is too late to treat. They did catch it though, but by this round my mom was feel a little nervous about what else was lurking. She had another round of chemo through April of 2017. After chemo, she was diagnosed with mild PTSD. She was placed on long term disability, and her FMLA was through early December 2017. In September of 2017, her disability insurance discontinued benefits because they could not find a reason why she could not return to work. Regardless, she continued to use her FMLA time because she felt that she went back to work quickly the last two times that she had a major treatment. Maybe this time she should take her time with her recovery. She discussed her return to work date with the hospital, and even though the FMLA was through December 6, they agreed that her return to work date would be in January.

She expected to return right after the new year, but her manager was delayed in following up on a start date. She finally heard on January 10 that she should return on January 14. That same day, my mom had a mild stroke.

She was treated at another hospital and followed up with her manager to let her know that she would not be returning on January 14. The neurologist at the hospital advised that she would take between 4 and 8 weeks to recover. My mom was ready to get back to work, but she knew that she could not go back immediately. She was having some speech difficulty (she was confusing words... saying tomorrow instead of yesterday...) and was having significant issues with typing using her right hand. These present pretty significant challenges for a nurse. When she spoke with her manager on January 15, her manager informed her that she had to return by January 21 or they would not hold her job anymore. On January 19 she received a certified letter stating that January 21 would be her last day of employment. She spoke with her HR department and was told that she would need to reapply for a job as a disabled person.

They told her they would help her find a job, but at this point I am seriously skeptical. This sounds like a great opportunity to drop a person who was going to impact the hospital's disability premiums. As a layperson, I feel like my mom was returning from her previous disability, had a new medical condition and should have been given a new disability leave. My mom is nervous about going to a lawyer for advice because she thinks the hospital really will work with her. It just sounds like they have her on the hook to me. If I were them, I would think... hey here is a person who probably could have lawyered-up before when her doctor was negligent and she didn't, so she probably won't this time either. I'm pushing my mom to get an attorney, but it would be helpful to hear an unbiased opinion. Am I just being sensitive because my mom has been through hell 3 to 4 times over as many years only to have her employer stick a sword in her back? Or, were they probably justified in how they handled the situation.They are a business, and I know that there are rules in place which they must follow... maybe they actually did follow all of the rules.

Thanks in advance for your thoughts!
 


cbg

I'm a Northern Girl
Let's cut to the chase here.

We're at the beginning of the year here, so let's look at 2017. In 2017, how much time did she miss due to medical reasons, in total?
 

justalayman

Senior Member
Fmla protections are for up to 12 weeks per year. It doesn’t matter if it’s all the same issue or not. If your mother was out more than 12 weeks in the year before today, she has exhausted the protections afforded by fmla.

Has she exceeded 12 weeks in the year prior to today?
 

seekingadvice60

Junior Member
She was out the full year last year. Her leave was continuing into 2018. Should she have reapplied for a new FMLA? Or is there a limit to the number of times she could be covered by a FMLA?

Let's assume FMLA does not apply... she was covered under her long term disability... she was going to return to work and had a stroke. That isn't a new cause for disability coverage?
 

cbg

I'm a Northern Girl
FMLA is limited to 12 weeks per 12 month period. While a 12 month period can be defined in a number of different ways, if she missed the entire year there's no question that she exceeded her FMLA.

Long term disability does not protect your job. FMLA protects your job but only for 12 weeks. Regardless of how the FMLA was timed, they held her job for far longer than they were required to do by law.

I'm sorry for her situation, and she has nothing but my best wishes for her recovery. But her employer has not violated any laws that I can see - in fact, they've gone beyond what they needed to do.
 

justalayman

Senior Member
Fmla covers only 12 weeks max per year (rolling year). If she was out more than that they have no obligation to hold her job for her.

Fmla is the federal law that protects her from being terminated from her job.

The disability you are referring to is most likely insurance that pays her while she is off.

Realistically they could have terminated her last April (if she was out the entire year) and if she had time off in 2016, likely before April. They were quite lenient in allowing her until January to return to work.




I’m just tossing this out in case it applies;

If she belonged to a union the cba (union contract) may offer different protections.
 

seekingadvice60

Junior Member
Another consideration... she has continued to pay into her disability insurance while she was out on disability. i don't know if that is normal... why wouldn't she be able to file for another disability claim?
 

justalayman

Senior Member
Another consideration... she has continued to pay into her disability insurance while she was out on disability. i don't know if that is normal... why wouldn't she be able to file for another disability claim?
Another disability claim?

If your taking about seeking income from her insurance, then I would think that’s no problem


But that still has nothing to do with the fmla leave. It is limited to 12 weeks/ rolling year by law. Anything beyond that is due to the good graces of the employer.
 

cbg

I'm a Northern Girl
Who is saying she can't file another disability claim? But whether she is or is not receiving disability benefits has nothing to do with when she can legally be let go.
 

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