Here’s a good (aka absolutely horrifying) story

[Let'sgoflying!]

Head injury misdiagnosed as alcoholism
30 year UA check airman
dismissed
Co avoids expense of appropriate medical care & disability
good story of how getting into a bad system can eff your life up bad

‘Drunk’ United Airlines pilot was forced into rehab for alcoholism. He actually had a concussion, lawsuit claims

Exclusive: Capt. Mike Tallon was sent for inpatient treatment, attended AA meetings, and blew into a breathalyzer twice daily, when he says he should have been treated for head trauma

www.yahoo.com

 

[hindsight2020]

The status quo remoras will be in shortly to set us all straight and dismiss the complaint as an outlier, but this is the kind of stuff that absolutely cures me from the thought of relying on a medical for money after the military... and I don't even drink!

I'm trying to align my household finances pre mil retire so that the pressure of "having to make 400k" is never a thing in my life. To say nothing of debasing my integrity like this guy had to do, and admit to something I'm not guilty of. I'd gladly torch a 20/30 year career over a principle, but I'm "self-righteous" like that.

I don't blame the guy for succumbing to that pressure given the high overhead these senior 121 guys tend to live like. But I certainly applaud him for finding his spine and fighting back, even at the immediate expense of his livelihood.

I got a coworker in a different but similar HIMS related situation, complete crap show. An AAilrline is calling, but can't proceed cuz he's snagged in HIMS hell over voluntary help request (no alcohol convictions, frankly dumb dumb naivete on his part answering the medexpress trap without proper guidance) as a byproduct of the death of his little girl. This admin law paradigm is absolutely rogue.

 

[Racerx]

I hope he's also suing alpa for their role in these shenanigans.

 

[Tools]

The unions are even more difficult to get than the company or faa.

Has it been more than six months? If so DFR is already out…

 

[Notrub]

Sounds and reads like they were trying to get rid of a pilot that makes a crap ton of money….really suck when one person and a medical have that much financial leverage!

 

[Tools]

He’s cheap compared to the money he makes them.

Odds are he was outspoken. As likely the hims folks over there simply saw, in their biased eyes, another chance to save a life… This whole system is BAD amok. Simply off the rails. The story sounds incredulous, too bizarre to be true. I know DOZENS of these stories. All the same. I know the players (both sides) personally. It’s NOT far fetched. It happens EVERY DAY. This one is right down the middle, not even an outlier. Plain old fear has kept it in the shadows, because until not too recently it had an end. It doesn’t now, so speaking up has less consequence than not.

I only know aviation, and I see how bad “experts” are, how poorly info is reported, how well problems are hidden. I assume the rest of the world is this way… wow. The older I get, the more I learn how little I know.

 

[Salty]

I have to question whenever denial of something is used as proof that thing is true. I understand that denial is a large part of dependency, but it should have no bearing on the diagnosis of dependency.

Even if the pilot was drunk, whoever said “admit you are an alcoholic or you’ll never fly again” should be fired immediately.

You cannot treat dependency by force. That would only drive a dependent person deeper into denial, and is obviously wrong if the person is not actually dependent, so in neither case is it appropriate.

 

[Tools]

Yet here we are… with no real force for change in sight. This has been happening for YEARS. None of these bad actors will likely face consequences.

This guy is YEARS from relief likely, if he gets any at all. The ALJ may say the faa was arbitrary and capricious, but that’s not new, they said that before any of this.

Union statute of limitations gone. Company will say the faa made them do it, faa will say (like they already have) that they have no say over hims.

This IS the situation.

 

[kayoh190]

Friggin' scary stuff. Unbelievable.

but this is the kind of stuff that absolutely cures me from the thought of relying on a medical for money after the military... and I don't even drink!

Your wife is in the medical field and you've done your time - just say eff it and be a Kept Man.

 

[bbchien]

Actually this happens because well meaning HIMS union peers (The first guy a pilot in distress sees or will trust) are not trained to recognize anything but ETOH. Remember they are volunteers doing the best they can. IF he's got a well meaning hammer....you're a nail.

I had a nearly identical case- it was at a well known frac....but his RN wife got to me first. The Evaluation, lab and HIMS psychiatrst and neurospcyhologist were eventaully paid for by Harvey Watt.

The tough part was that he was really bad at understanding instructions and later could not understand why he couldn't (wasn't ready- head trauma takes TIME....) to go back to work.

The lesson is to get a full evaluation (well guided) ON YOUR OWN DIME B4 you accept that HIMS is (or might not be) your path.

 

[Tools]

Yep… know a guy who JUST tried that and was told he’d get FIRED if he didn’t accept hims.

It’s the airline, not just a peer monitor.

You read correctly, he wanted to go get an eval by his own doctor and was threatened with termination for attempting.

 

[bbchien]

I have B.T.Seen.THAT. And when your brain is in distress just try resisting that hammer....usually the poor guy has used up all his leave (becuase he doens't "get it") and so he does face discipline

 

[UTLonghorn_1979]

This is all great insight and feedback. The issue is, however, that in many instances the FAA treats and advises others to treat everything as a nail that doesn't fit into the 100% falls into AME discretion/decision in office category.

There would absolutely not be these backlogs and lawsuits if the FAA, and their appointed agents by proxy, didn’t treat every situation as defcon 1.

Hopefully this guy gets his health and life back.

 

[Hugh Despenser]

Wow.
Another in a long list of reasons to despise that company.

The guy that should have gotten canned for complete negligence for coming within 800 feet of dunking a B-777 into the Pacific Ocean is somehow still gainly employed there.

 

[Tools]

Wow.
Another in a long list of reasons to despise that company.

The guy that should have gotten canned for complete negligence for coming within 800 feet of dunking a B-777 into the Pacific Ocean is somehow still gainly employed there.

This is easy. THAT GUY is a yes man. THIS GUY is not.

We’re getting scary close to root cause…