Facts

The plaintiff Boris Kolas, was 61 years old when he was terminated from Access Business Group after 9 years of good performance reviews. He injured his back on the job. Two weeks before his injury he received an excellent performance review. A week after his injury, he filed a workers' compensation claim, which his supervisor was informed of, and five days later he was fired by that supervisor.

The defendants claimed they made the decision to terminate plaintiff the day before he was injured. Plaintiff's work was distributed to an outside vendor. The defendants claimed they made the decision to terminate plaintiff the day before he was injured, based on an audit that was ongoing for several months, but was terminated because it showed so many errors.

PLAINTIFF'S CONTENTIONS:
The plaintiff contended that he was fired because of his age or because he was injured at the job. Plaintiff suffered a herniated disc when he was working.

DEFENDANT'S CONTENTIONS:
The defendant argued that he was fired because audits that were done before the injury showed plaintiff was not doing his work correctly, and he was subjecting the company to regulatory problems. The errors in plaintiff's work were first discovered by a regulatory agency from Australia, and internal auditing of the plaintiff's work revealed that at least 1 in 5 items of equipment were mislabeled by plaintiff.

Settlement Discussions

The defendant refused to offer anything until the week before trial when they offered $20,000.

Specials in Evidence

$112,500; $250,000.

Damages

$185,000 (emotional distress).

Injuries

The plaintiff claimed emotional distress, loss of his career and loss of earnings.

Result

A jury found that plaintiff's disability, age, and filing a worker's compensation claim were reasons for plaintiff's dismissal. The jury awarded plaintiff $225,000 in future lost earnings, $175,000 for past lost earnings, and $200,000 for non-economic damages.

Other Information

FILING DATE: Nov. 27, 2006.