Recently, the Eleventh Circuit Court of
Appeals clarified the type of evidence that a plaintiff must present to
establish a disability under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
A plaintiff seeking relief under the ADA who alleges that an impairment
significantly restricts the performance of a major life activity must present
comparator evidence of how well the average person in the general population
performs the major life activity in question.
Plaintiff Donald Maynard suffered an
on-the-job back injury in which he herniated a disc in his back. As a result
of the back injury and related pain, Maynard could not lift more than 14
pounds, sleep sufficiently, sit in a chair for more than 15 to 20 minutes at a
time, stand for more than 10 to 15 minutes at a time, bend at the waist, run
up steps or walk more than 40 to 50 yards at a time. When he was fired nearly
two years later because the Company said it was discontinuing the product line
