HOUSTON - Houston resident Marilyn R. O'Hara claims the U.S. Postal Service dismissed her because of her knee problems and has filed a lawsuit, recent court documents say.
According to the suit filed Mar. 1 in the Houston Division of the Southern District of Texas, the USPS "subjected (O'Hara) to discrimination on the basis of disability."
O'Hara joined the USPS as a full-time letter carrier in September 1993.
She states that she began to have problems with her knees supposedly because of her duties in 2007.
Three scopes and a total replacement were then performed on the plaintiff, prompting her to take leave as part of the Office of Workers' Compensation Programs.
The suit further explains that the postal inspector general visited O'Hara's physician in December 2007 and apparently made the doctor change his work restriction to light duty.
It adds the complainant returned to duty about a month later "in poor health," stating she sustained a back injury in late August 2008.
O'Hara went off-duty again only to be "forced" back on the job on June, 22, 2010, the original petition says.
The plaintiff asserts that "her back injury would never have occurred had her medical restrictions surrounding her total right knee replacement been respected."
The area manager informed O'Hara that no positions would be made available to her, the suit states.
The USPS sacked the complainant on Feb. 10, 2012.
A jury trial is requested.
O'Hara is representing herself.
Case No. 4:13-CV-563
USPS fired mail carrier because of knee problems, lawsuit says
ORGANIZATIONS IN THIS STORY