 |
 |
K's troubles aren't so far from home, I think its quite common for Parkinsonians to be tried and convicted with out the opportunity to face their accusers or give any defense. I work for the Oregon Department of Revenue as an industrial appraiser. Because of my position with the department I would on occasion drive a state owned vehicle. One day as I was driving home from a job I picked up a tailgater. The tailgater followed me for about a block and then another lane was available. I quickly moved to the right lane. I guess when I moved to the other lane it was kind of jerky as I was annoyed by the tailgater . Later that afternoon a call came into the state Department of Administrative Services (DAS) with a complaint about my driving. The complaint had me driving where I had never been that day and the description of my driving was woven out of whole cloth. The next day my supervisor called me in and told me that because of the call I could no longer drive any state owned vehicles and I was prohibited from visiting the working floor of any industrial plant. I was not given the opportunity to answer the accusations because I was not shown a copy of the complaint until much later. The result was a conviction without a trial . The prohibition from visiting any industrial plant threatened my livelihood since my profession was an industrial appraiser. It was a full year later after my pallidotomy when I was allowed to return to industrial plants. I felt that my rights had been trampled on in at least two ways. One ,I was not given the opportunity to face my accuser and refute the story and two, the arbitrary prohibition from doing the things that I do. I think the department's actions violated A.D.A. There are people who are ready to report anything especially when driving a state car. David Moreland [log in to unmask]