Shrub v. Univ. of Tex. Health Science Ctr. at Houston-School of Med. (Summary)

ADA

Shrub v. Univ. of Tex. Health Science Ctr. at Houston-School of Med., No. 4:13-CV-271 (S.D. Tex. Oct. 24, 2014)

The United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas dismissed a medical student’s Americans with Disabilities Act and Rehabilitation Act claims against a university, holding that the student failed to establish that he suffered from a disability, that his alleged disability was a motivating factor in the medical school’s decision to remove him from the program, or that he was “otherwise qualified” to continue enrollment in the medical program. The student alleged that he suffered from obsessive compulsive disorder and severe anxiety and was a visual learner. The student requested his professors’ PowerPoint slides to aid his “visual learning disability.” Every professor provided him access to their slides except for one. The student alleged that this lack of accommodation caused his anxiety to worsen, which led to blinding migraines. The student took a medical leave of absence and was admitted to the hospital. Rumors began to swirl around campus that the student was suicidal. After his discharge, the university requested a copy of his discharge summary and a report from his psychiatrist that he was not a danger to himself or others before resuming classes. The student intentionally did not comply with this request, and was withdrawn from the university. The student sued claiming that the university discriminated against him based on his “visual learning disability.”

The court stated that besides the student’s own claims there was no evidence that he suffered from a disability that limits any of his major life activities. Additionally, by the student’s own admissions, he failed to cooperate with the university and provide it a certification of fitness from his treating psychiatrist because he thought it was unreasonable and “grossly overbroad.”