Worker’s Testimony Enough to Show Disabled, Sought Accommodation

Sunrise, Fla., must face trial on its former chief electrical inspector’s claim that he was denied accommodation after having a heart attack, the Eleventh Circuit ruled Monday.

A lower court improperly discounted Jimmy Sugg’s testimony in deciding he failed to show he was “disabled” under the Americans with Disabilities Act, the appeals court said.

“We have not explicitly held that a plaintiff’s testimony is sufficient to establish the existence of a disability under the ADA,” the US Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit said. But the ADA’s implementing regulations don’t require medical evidence to prove a disability, so “we ...