VOCATIONAL EXPERT:
Richard H. Andersen, M.S., C.V.E., C.R.C., C.D.M.S., VECTOR, Inc.
Marianne Inouye of Zengler & Inouye, LLC, Pasadena, (626) 405-1999, Extn. 212, served as the Economist.

CASE BACKGROUND:
Plaintiff, a 58 year old female Islamic Elementary School Principal, was terminated from her employment. She alleged the termination was discriminatory and stemmed from gender bias. Her loss of work resulted in psychological difficulties and diagnoses including adjustment disorder and major depression. She continued to suffer from panic attacks, stomach spasms, spontaneous episodes of crying, and moderate to severe headaches nearly two years after subject incident.

FOCUS ISSUE:
Richard Andersen was hired to determine if Plaintiff’s termination would result in a future loss of earning capacity. He began his investigation with a review of the plaintiff’s educational and employment records. The review clearly demonstrated that Plaintiff was a highly successful educator with 30 years of experience in her field and a Doctorate in Education from Columbia University. Her professional experience was not only in the United States, but internationally in locations as diverse as England, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Sudan, and Egypt. Her employment file was full of commendation letters written by academics from prestigious universities.

Following the incident, however, Plaintiff had little success locating work. She was rejected for two positions and only earned a small income as an Educational Consultant. In fact, although Plaintiff earned approximately $60,000 in annual pre-incident wages, she had earned less than $4,000 in post-incident wages for a period of approximately 1 ½ years.

TRIAL TESTIMONY:
During Andersen’s trial testimony, he opined that Plaintiff was currently unemployable. He used medical documentation, results of his vocational testing, and her inability to locate comparable work as evidence of her unemployability. He further stated that the plaintiff could become employable in the future, but she would likely be relegated to work as a Substitute Elementary School Teacher. This type of employment would provide her a flexible work schedule that could best accommodate her psychological difficulties. Even this possibility for future work, however, would not change the fact that Plaintiff would experience a reduced probability of employment of 59%, significantly less than her pre-incident probability of 76% (see graph).

ABOUT RICHARD ANDERSEN:
Richard Andersen holds national certifications as a Rehabilitation Counselor, Vocational Evaluator and Disability Management Specialist, with 36 years experience in vocational rehabilitation. He has also testified in Superior Court in 10 California counties. VECTOR, Inc. specializes in vocational rehabilitation counseling, disability research and forensic rehabilitation services, including vocational expert testimony on personal injury, medical malpractice, wrongful death, and harassment matters. The firm, founded in 1975, serves both plaintiff and defense attorneys, providing the link between the physician and the economist to precisely determine damages.