Corporate Welfare: Government Paying for Illnesses Caused by Corporations

                  
Preview:

Concerning the woman whose medical records contain the following
findings, would the reasonably minded person conclude that she has
a psychosomatic illness or a physical one?

  1 - Wheezing.
  2 - Tachycardia.
  3 - Hypopotassemia.
  4 - Gruntled breathing.
  5 - Rales and crackles.
  6 - Erythematous uvula.
  7 - Grossly enlarged turbinates.
  8 - Erythema of the oropharynx.
  9 - Edema of the true vocal cords.
10 - Adenopathy in the left postauricular region.
11 - Productive response in Spiriva challenge testing.
12 - A circumscribed nodule in the left occipital region.
13 - Thickened coating over the dorsum of the tongue.
14 - A firm 1x1 cm nodule in the right postauricular region.
15+ A couple additional findings consistent with Rhinitis.

Unless you are an avowed liar, the answer to that question is
beyond obvious.  Therefore, what right do corporate-funded
attorneys and a corporate-funded independent medical exam-
iner have in asserting that the person attached to those findings
is merely mentally ill?  What gives them the right to claim that
she has no objective medical findings that would validate her
symptoms?  And her symptoms have included:

[1]  a stinging tongue.
[2]  shortness of breath.
[3]  burning nasal passages.
[4]  a metallic taste in the mouth.
[5]  an adrenal-like stream throughout her solar plexus.
[6]  headaches accompanied by the bruised feeling at the
      cheekbones and temples.
[7]  ice-like numbness pervading her upper-respiratory
      tract (on specific occasion.)

Moreover, diagnoses given to her have included:

(1)  Allergic and Irritant Asthma (Reactive Airways).
(2)  Glossitis (inflammation of the tongue).
(3)  Rhinitis and Turbinate Hypertrophy.
(4)  Chemical and Irritant Sensitivities.
(5)  Reactive Hyperplasia.
____________________
____________________________
_____________________________________

Introduction

The corporation involved in the following account is one whose
2005 financial report marked its stockholder equity value at
$11.2 billion.  Net tangible assets were marked at $4.2 billion. 

December 2006 one-line addition/update:

Until mid-2006, the corporation involved was legally known
as the Cendant Corporation, of  Parsippany-Troy Hills, NJ.

Continuing with the Introduction

The geographic region involved in the following account is
Elizabethton, Tennessee.  Cendant Corporation once had
a place of  business there.

The apex of  the following account concerns a year when the
corporation's CEO received $17 million in salary and bonus
income.   During that same year, $1.02 million was placed in-
to the CEO's  pension fund.  And an additional $4.54 million
of  stockholder  money was used to pay the premiums on his
$100 million  life insurance policy.

The place of work involved in the following account is a former
coal tar pitch research center.  The corporation no longer uses
it.  It was found to have minute sized monfilament fibers per-
vading the employees' work areas.  And needless to say, the
smaller the molecular agent, the greater is its potential to infil-
trate and afflict the complex human anatomy.  After all, this
was the case with a number of  WTC cleanup crew members
exposed to the Manhattan site's pulverized concrete dust.
It resulted in Small Airways Disease.

This account highlights a former employee of that corporation.
She was in the process of  loosing the sum total of  everything
during the same year when the corporation's CEO was amass-
ing a multimillion dollar income. Throughout the account, she is
referred to as "the woman."  That is to say, her name will not be
used.  Furthermore, other persons who worked in the former
research center reported symptoms similar to hers.

The corporation was advertised as:  The world's largest real
estate brokerage franchisor.  The world's largest vacation
ownership organization.  The world's largest "provider of
outsourced corporate employee relocation services." One
of  the world's largest hotel franchisors.  And one of  the
world's largest car rental operators.  Operations included
the telemarketing of  its services.

                      Not Even a Get Well Card

During her six months with the corporation, the woman high-
lighted in this account generated approximately $500,000 in
sales revenue.   In fact, her sales of hotel room reservations
averaged $2,777 per  four hour shift.  And in return for her
services, she was rewarded with a chronic disability.  To this
day, the corporation has offered her no apology, while the
corporation's insurer has offered her no compensation.  She
was not even sent a Get Well card.  Instead, the defense
attorneys and independent medical examiner involved in her
workman's comp case sought to have her tagged with a psy-
chiatric label which can conveniently serve as an excuse for
the severe illness which developed during her time of work
at the former coal tar pitch research center.

She Had to Fire Her Attorneys, in their Gross Negligence
       That is to say, she had to file a voluntary dismissal

The woman won her Social Security disability case a year ago.
But, in December 2005, she had to fire the legal counsel in-
volved in her workman's comp case.  Technically speaking,
she filed a voluntary dismissal.  Her attorneys refused to enter
into evidence recent medical findings that resulted from an
October rhinolaryngoscopy.  And in the refusing thereof 
was mention of  the cost of entering the new evidence.

The attorneys furthermore refrained from emphasizing the
woman's  prior medical findings.  In fact, they accepted as
uncontroverted truth the averments (assertions/allegations)
of  the defense counsel.  Such averments would have re-
sulted in the woman loosing her case.  And those averments
contradict her medical records.  Therefore,  the woman had
to dismiss her attorneys.  As a result, she is without  legal
counsel at a time when she is in need of  it.  And she is in
need of  it.  After all, when you have lost all, and remain
severely disabled, you can't easily survive on Social Security
disability income alone, especially when you have a child in
need of  your support, and have always been the only parent
in the child's life.

  HER OBJECTIVE MEDICAL FINDINGS

The defense counsel in her workman's comp case asserted that
she had no objective medical findings to support her symptoms.
And a "mental health person" diagnosed her as having agora-
phobia, along with panic anxiety.  Yet, she has over a dozen
objective medical  findings attached to her medical records.
And such findings indicate the presence of  a physical illness,
and not a psychiatric one.

Furthermore, three board certified physicians diagnosed her
outside of  emergency room settings.  And those diagnoses
are much different than the one given by the "mental health
person."

One of the diagnosing physicians is an allergist & immunologist,
while another one is a cytopathologist (a cytopathologist diag-
noses illness at the cellular level.) And the third diagnosing
physician is an ENT specialist who is also a fellow of  the
American College of Surgeons.  The diagnoses given to the
woman came predominately from the fine-needle biopsy, the
fiberoptic rhinolaryngoscopy, and  ER room records.  In ex-
aminations and testing performed outside of  emergency room
settings, the woman was found to have:
 
(1)  Grossly enlarged turbinates
(2)  Erythematous uvula.
(3)  Edema of the true vocal cords.
(4)  Adenopathy in the left postauricular region.
(5)  Thickened coating over the dorsum of the tongue.
(6)  A firm 1x1 cm nodule in the right postauricular region.
(7)  A circumscribed nodule in the left occipital region.

Plus, attending ER physicians recorded the following findings:

(1)  Wheezing.
(2)  Tachycardia.
(3)  Hypopotassemia.
(4)  Gruntled breathing.
(5)  Rales and crackles.
(6)  Erythema of the oropharynx.
(7+) A couple additional findings consistent with Rhinitis.

Her diagnoses were:

(1)  Allergic and Irritant Asthma (Reactive Airways).
(2)  Glossitis (inflammation of the tongue).
(3)  Rhinitis and Turbinate Hypertrophy.
(4)  Chemical and Irritant Sensitivities.
(5)  Reactive Hyperplasia.

Upon certain environmental exposures, her symptoms repro-
duce  themselves in a predictably reoccurring pattern.  Nothing
about her symptoms is random.  In fact, due to the predictability
of  her condition, she quit keeping a diary of  her ills as far back
as June 2003.  Furthermore, she has been in need of filtered
masks and air cleaners, as well as ready access to oxygen.  In
addition, prescription medications posted in her medical records
are consistent with one who has severe asthma.  Her medica-
tions have included Albuterol,  Ipratropium Bromide, Xopenex,
Levalbuterol Hydrochloride, and Salmeterol, as well as intra-
venous steroids.

And finally, keep in mind that she was exposed to obscenely
inordinate amounts of dust at her place of work (as is de-
scribed in her exposure history account.)  Well, she tested
severely positive for dust mites (in RAST testing, I believe),
while having tested negative for every other type of  high weight
molecular agent (such as ragweed.)  In as much, a person can
become sensitized to dust mite proteins as much as he/she
can become sensitized to formaldehyde, glutaraldehyde,
phthalic anhydride, etc.  In fact, barn workers have been
documented as having become sensitized to storage mites.

HER EXPOSURE HISTORY
(transposed from her diary)

THE FIRST 3 MONTHS

April 10th 2002 Health:  Perfect
Mental Health:  "Optimistic, inspired, forward looking".

She moved from Tuscaloosa, AL to Johnson City, TN.  Jogged
and walked everyday. Could go up and down the entire com-
plex; a span of about four miles.  Went to the library, to Bristol
Stores and malls.  Explored the local university and the book
stores.  She  generally did what one does when one moves to
a new city.

May 2002 Health:  Perfect

She was hired by the previously mentioned corporation,
and put into a two week training program.  Near the end
of the two weeks, she developed what appeared to be the
flu.  This included a sore  throat and fever, along with body
aches and headaches.  She did  not complete the training at
that time.  However, after her health improved, her training
restarted.  And shortly afterwards, she was hired as a temp-
orary and part time employee.  During the last few days of
training, one of her fellow trainees had an asthma attack. 
She noticed some stuffiness in the corridors, along with a
strange chemical odor.  But, she did not pay attention to
this at the time.

Late June/July 2002 Health:  Perfect (for the final time)

Her group was assigned to work downstairs, at the main call
center.  And during her first day there, she noticed a stuffy
stale smell.   The chemical odor downstairs was more intense
than the one on the floor where she was trained.  And she also
noticed an inordinate amount of dust everywhere.  Furthermore,
on the cubicle walls were tiny and transparent fibers the width
of human hair, embedded into the cubicle walls' fabric.  In fact,
the cubicle partitions had a visible layer of brown dust on them.
And upon a slight tap,  a cubicle wall would spew out dust.

The agent resource books were laden with dust, also.  Picking
one of them up would result in dust spewing out from the pages.
The carpeting was dirty, as well.  And pesticides were sprayed
indoors, even with call center employees on duty.  Some of the
ceiling titles had apparent water damage attached to them, and
within time, fellow employees would point out blackened mold
to the woman.

THE NEXT 11 MONTHS

July/August 2002
Health:  Alternating between well and ill

She began to get a dry cough.  Things then worsened, and it
became very difficult for her to talk on the phone.  Yet, she
was expected to take a new phone call every three minutes.
She soon felt a degree of  tension in her lungs and bronchi,
due to the dust and the continual talking.  She resorted to
throat lozenges, Tylenol, and Robutussin.

While the HVAC system was being fixed, her crew was often
told  to sit upstairs.  The chemical odor was still present up-
stairs, and  in addition to that, free standing fans were run at
the far end of the call center.  She preferred to sit at that end,
being the other end  was an entranceway crowded with smok-
ers and cigarette butts.  Every time the door opened, smoke
would waft into the room.
 
During the hot summer months, whenever the air conditioning
was non-functional, this same door would be left open. And
because of  the obvious air quality issues there, she requested
to sit upstairs.  Her supervisor agreed.  However, another
supervisor spoke of  having almost passed out when training
new employees upstairs.

While working downstairs, the former employee had trouble
breathing.  It initially started off as a “choking” episode each
time the free standing fans were turned on.  The fans were laden
with dust, and they were turned on frequently.  The blowing air
would agitate the dust in the room and propel it directly into the
employees' breathing space.  Many fellow employees began to
complain about choking.

August 2002 Health:  Quite Ill

When upstairs, the sensation of burning eyes was very much
prevalent, as was the dry cough and the choking.  Dust was
on the  cubicle walls upstairs, also.  The woman developed
sinus congestion, a runny nose, headaches, and a continual
low grade fever.  And she would get home from work ex-
ceptionally fatigued.  Many of her fellow employees who
were stationed upstairs had the same symptoms.

On one occasion, as she was going upstairs to clock in, her
heart began to palpitate furiously.  The staircase had not been
cleaned, or if it had been, the cleanliness had not lasted long.
Furthermore,  the heavy chemical odor was present.  And in
addition to that, there was a strong musty and greasy smell.

Her hands began to sweat, her knees started to shake, and a
tightness in her chest was making it hard for her to take in a
breath.  She was also dizzy.  She went to her work area and
clocked in.  She then realized that if  she didn't get fresh air
soon, she would pass out.  She went outside, and then to a
nearby gas station, getting Benadryl and something to drink.

September 4th, 2002.  First ER Visit.
Health:  Declining

She was now starting to feel fairly bad on an everyday basis.
She noticed that she felt better at home.  It was only when she
was at work when her symptoms were induced.  This included
the dry cough, the burning eyes, the choking, and the palpita-
tions which would begin soon into the shift.  In addition, her
nasal passages, throat, and lungs felt as if they were filled with
grittiness.  This was the time when she first went to an ER.  She
was treated for allergies there, and then prescribed Claritin and
Biaxin.  She was diagnosed as having Allergic Rhinitis. The
doctor noted on her records that she had a fever, rhinorrehea,
and erythema of the oropharynx, along with post nasal drip.
He also noted abnormal constitutional signs.

She continued to treat herself with Benadryl, as it was getting
progressively difficult for her to work.  After twenty minutes
into a work shift, she would start coughing.  She could now
hardly speak on the phone, and the Benadryl made her sleepy.
Her throat hurt and her voice squeaked, breaking off  frequently.
The heart palpitations continued.

A co-worker told her that he had begun to have these same
types of symptoms soon after he had started working there.
He also said that it seemed to be getting worse for him in 2002.
Another fellow employee told her that he had frequent heart
palpitations when at work, in addition to the dry cough.

September 8th 2002 Second ER Visit

She began work at 8 p.m and worked until 2 am. Throughout
this time she felt a tightness forming in her chest area. She was
taking Children's Benadryl and thought that this anti-histamine
would be sufficient. Because of these exposures, she had a lot
of congestion, along with a suppressed level of dry coughing.
She completed the shift with much difficulty.

After work, as she was driving out of the parking lot, she be-
gan to choke.  She tried to cough but no phlegm emerged.
She pulled over at a gas station and called Emergency Med-
ical Services.  The EMS crew gave her a breathing treatment
in their vehicle.  It was albuterol.  She was then taken to a
hospital.  The treating physician prescribed Volmax and an
inhaler.  In fact, he stated in her medical records that she was
allergic to the work environment.  And he noted the following:
"Constitutional signs:  abnormal; Tachycardia."

The Icy Numbing

                 
      "Imagine a strange metallic taste and magnify it at
      at lest 50 times.  Then imagine it pervading your
      nose, throat, larynx, tongue, bronchi, and brain,
      smashing you completely."

      "A very weird state.  Hard to explain.  Almost
      the feeling one gets when exposed to subzero
      temperatures.  Your membranes seem to get
      anesthesized.  Yet, they make their presences
      known, despite the absence of sensation."

March 2003 Health:  fair/fatigued
Emotional Outlook:  well/optimistic

She was now practicing Avoidance.  This is the practice of 
avoiding the airborne agents that trigger one's asthma.  And
it is a practice advocated in Report 4 (A-98) of   the AMA's
Counsel on Scientific Affairs.

On the woman's mind at this point in time was her plan to go
to Huntsville, Alabama, and to search for an apartment there.
This created hopeful optimism in her.  Job opportunities were
opening up for her in Alabama, and a physician told her that
moving away from Johnson City could reduce her frequency
of asthma. This optimism negates any suscipion that her ills
were triggered by anxiety or depression during this time span.

March 16, 2003

She went to a grocery store, in order to buy some last minute
items for her trip.  She had been in the store for only a minute,
when an asthma attack was triggered.  After all, the store was
laden with strong odors, and the AMA has already defined
strong odors as asthma triggers.  On this occasion, her inhaler
took much longer than usual to work.  And on this occasion,
she became disoriented for the first time.  She had entirely lost
her sense of direction.  An EMS crew had to drive her home.

March 18, 2003  EMS call - hospitalized.
Health: severe illness
Mental outlook:  scared after the attack

Being that her trip had been arranged, she convinced herself
that she could travel.  So, she and her son left for Alabama.
En route to her destination, she suddenly became sensitive to
vehicle exhaust fumes.  Her face seemed to get hot and swollen,
while a gland near her tonsils seemed to enlarge.  Chest tight-
ness & asthma then set in.  It felt as if a 10 inch ball of burning
fire (exhaust fumes) hit her in the chest, spreading throughout
her entire body. She could even taste the petroleum odors.

In having become too weak to continue the trip, she searched
for an environmentally friendly hotel.  Her son finally located a
room that seemed suitable for her.  But, the result was that the
irritants in the hotel area triggered yet another asthma attack.
She was placed on oxygen for six hours, and given breathing
treatments with Xopenex, Atrovent, and Salmeterol.  She was
also given the intravenous form of steroids every four hours.
That night, while in the hospital, her blood pressure dropped
drastically.

She had been diagnosed with: (a) Acute and severe asthma
attack, and (b) Hypopotassemia.  Her objective medical
findings, as noted on record, were:   (a) labored breathing,
(b) wheezing, (c) rales, (d) rapid heart beat, (e) gruntled
sounds.  This negates the defense attorneys' allegation of 
mental illness.  And the October 2005 rhinolaryngoscopy
indicated the presence of  a physical illness much more so.

March 20, 2003  Health:  debilitated.

She recalled being barely able to function in Huntsville.  Yet,
she and her son attempted to explore the city.  When waiting
for a traffic light to change, she started to become hypersensi-
tive to exhaust fumes once again.  She had another asthma
attack.  This time, her inhaler did not seem to help.  And
when driving back toward the hotel, she completely lost her
sense of direction once again. This is the second time that
this happened.  EMS personnel escorted her back to the
hotel.

March 21, 2003  E.M.S call/Huntsville hospital

On this day, she went to a health food store.  Her son went
inside, while she waited outside.  He purchased rosemary juice,
and suggested that she put some in her bath water, thinking that
a warm bath would help her.  And being that she had always
enjoyed the odor of  Rosemary, she put a small capful into
the bath.  It was a mistake to have done that.  The bath was
relaxing, but upon coming out of the tub, she starting to feel
warm, and then faint, being unable to take in a full breath.  For
the third time on this trip, she became totally confused,
while feeling very lightheaded Her son called EMS, and en route
to the hospital, she was administered oxygen and an IV.  At
the hospital, she was given saline.

March 22, 2003  Health:  very bad; EMS call

She realized that it was not possible for her to live in Huntsville,
being that it seemed to have a lot more “ vehicular exhaust”
than did Johnson City.  However, she felt that she had to com-
plete the trip to Tuscaloosa as planned.  She did.  

March 23, 24, 25, 2002

She spent 3 days in Tuscaloosa with friends.  And she had
trouble breathing outside their house as much as inside of  it. 
Her friend smoked indoors, so she stayed with her friend's
sister.  She went to a Chinese restaurant with friends, but had
to leave it, because of  its indoor air quality.  It was the familiar
type of  irritant airspace.

She and her friends then went to Books-a-Million.  This was
the store where she would spend many hours when she lived
in Tuscaloosa.  This time, however, she had been seated for
no more than five minutes, when the aroma of the coffee be-
came too heavy, full, and noxious to her.  Another asthma
attack was triggered.   So, she went outside and resorted to
her inhaler.

Late that night, her friend's sister turned on a gas heater.
The odor made the woman sick, bringing her close to
another asthma attack.  She had to sleep next to a window,
while wearing a filtered mask throughout the entire night.
Her friends then took her to church the next day, and she
sat next to the open back door, wearing two filtered masks.

She went back to Johnson City that week.  And on the way
back, she got stuck in traffic.  She became ill once again.  When
she finally reached home, she collapsed out of  weakness, a
headache, a sore throat, and chest inflammation.  This collapse
mode lasted for the next few years.  Since April, 2003, she has
had varying degrees of  tightness in the chest, along with asthma,
nasal pain, burning, and congestion.  She took all of her pre-
scribed medications, and resorted to wearing activated carbon
masks much of  the time.  In addition, she has a car air cleaner,
as well as dust screens for the car.  This helps her a lot. How-
ever, she can still smell odors, even through the carbon masks.

There were two doctor's appointments that she was unable to
keep.  One was missed because she couldn’t find the doctor’s
office in the midst of another irritant response to exhaust fumes.
And the other physician had his office in a commercial building
downtown.  As she was approaching the entrance, she caught
sight of nurses smoking.  She knew that she would not be able
to make it down the smokey, fragranced, and cleaning agent
laden corridor.  Her need to find a primary care physician was
pressing.

May 31st, 2003  Health:  Depends on exposures.
Mental:  Good/Fair

She found two doctors at a nearby university who understand
her type of  medical condition.  And they did all they could to
help her.  She was very apprehensive on her first visit to one
of  the newly found physicians.  And it was with the utmost
self-control that she waited in the waiting room.  This was due
to her extreme sensitivity to temperatures, fragrances, and
cleaning agents.  Blood tests were ordered after a lengthy
consultation.  And en route to the testing  area, she started to
feel ill again; yet more so than previously.

She was once scheduled to take a CT scan.  And the center
where the scan was to be taken was a bit worse than the
building where she had previously been.  The technician had
the woman in the machine promptly, and performed the scan.
Meanwhile, the woman began to feel light headed.  It seemed
as if  a metallic smell were causing it.  She had to be helped out
of  the room, after the scan.  She felt dizzy, even to the point
where she felt that she was about to pass out.

She remained ill up to 48 hours after the CT scan.  After the
scan, she was short of  breath.  But, this form of  shortness of
breath was much different than the previous bouts.  It appeared
to be a tissue reaction, she said; one accompanied by a hollow
lack of sensation and even a numbness.  This absence of sen-
sation extended to her  nose, bronchi, esophagus, trachea, and
lungs.  She said that her lungs hurt.  But, it was a dull chronic
inflammation that she felt.  And she described it in the following
manner:

      "A very weird state.  Hard to explain.  Almost the feeling
      feeling one gets when exposed to subzero temperatures.
      Your membranes seem to get anesthesized.  Yet, they
      make their existences known, despite the absence of
      sensation."

      "All this is very strange. It is anxiety-causing, because
      if not ameliorated, it leads to a strange sort of  “in-
      ability" to breath.  It's not like congestion, in the usual

       sense. It leads to the desire to cough, but the cough
      does lead to a cessation of  symptoms.  Also, I feel
      as if  I am in the process offainting at times.  I feel
       shakey."

June 05, 2003

She finally began to feel better, two days after the CT scan.
That “hollow” & “metallic” syndrome finally resolved itself.
About this she wrote:  "Just that little exposure to the CT
Scan environment made me ill for two days!"

She had to go to the bank one day.  And it was a hot and/or
humid 84 degrees outside.  She started to feel ill in the heat,
with the activated carbon mask on.  The mask itself was start-
ing to emit traces of exhaust odor.  She never made it to the
bank that day.

In Review

According to the defense's medical examiner, the woman has
no severe asthma.  The assertion is that she has severe panic
disorder, instead.  Now, if this is true, then how does the med-
ical examiner explain the rales, crackles, grunted breathing,
tachycardia, erythema of  the oropharynx, adenopathy, and
hypopotassemia?  And if her case ever gets re-filed, then
how will the medical examiner explain the October 2005
findings?  Those findings were consistent with severe rhinitis,
glossitis, and the previously mentioned adenopathy.

It is common in the world of occupational medicine for rhinitis
(or rhinosinusitis) to coexist with asthma.  Therefore, the pre-
sence of  a severe upper-respiratory pathology in the woman
supports the possibility of severe asthma.  It does not support
the existence of  panic disorder.  Moreover, since when has
Reactive Hyperplasia been regarded as a mental illness?

The woman highlighted in this account stated that the medical
examiner lied on record.  And according to her, he gave her
no medical examination beyond asking her to inhale and ex-
hale three times while he had a stethoscope affixed to her.
He simply asked her a lot of questions, she said.  And she
added that she has a witness who can corroborate her allega-
tions.

The Defense's Medical Examiner De Facto Insinuated
that the Other Physicians Who Diagnosed the Woman
Committed Malpractice

If  the woman has only mild asthma and severe panic dis-
order, then the physicians who stated otherwise committed
malpractice.  Therefore, the defense's medical examiner not
only attacked the woman's reputation, in calling her mentally
ill, he also attacked the reputation of  each physician who
diagnosed her as having a physical illness; and who then pre-
scribed her medications that treat physical illness.
 
The symptoms of  the woman can easily be construed as signs
of  Multiple Chemical Sensitivity.  However, its not her symp-
toms that indicate this.  It's her objective medical findings that
do.  This is because her symptoms are predominately limited
to her respiratory system, (both upper and lower).  Her objec-
tive findings indicate pathologies to more than one body system;
namely, her endocrine system and her entire respiratory system.

The irony to this is that anti-MCS propagandists have repeat-
edly asserted that persons who show signs of  MCS have no
objective medical findings; that MCS is only suspected via
self-reported symptoms.  Well, the woman highlighted in this
account has over a dozen objective medical findings attached
to her record.  And her medical findings indicate a form of
multiple physical pathology, or at the very least, they indicate
coexisting illnesses in the same one patient.  And keep in mind
that she was given the diagnoses of:

[1] Reactive Hyperplasia, [2] Glossitis, [3] Rhinitis and
Turbinate Hypertrophy, as well as [4] Asthma.

At this point in time, the question is this:  In the event that her
case gets re-filed, will the defense succeed in convincing an
administrative law judge that the woman is merely mentally ill,
or will the woman's objective medical findings, along with the
monofilament fiber lab results, the woman's exposure history,
and the deposition of  a former fellow employee prevail?

Two other questions arise:

[1] How many workman's comp cases consisted in the de-
      fense's independent medical examiner lying on record?

[2] How do defense attorneys and independent medical exam-
      iners sleep at night, when the workman's comp claimant
      involved is one fighting for economic survival, and there-
      fore, physical survival?  That is to ask, what is it like to
      live without a conscience?

December 2006 Update

In November 2006, the woman filed her workman's comp
case pro se, in the State of  Tennessee.  That is to say, she
is going forth with her case, and she is doing so without an
attorney.