Opinion ID: 2188551
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: background of tarvin's claim

Text: Tarvin's History of Mental Disorder. At age 17, Tarvin first suffered depression in 1958 after a serious gunshot injury to his leg, which resulted in chronic arthritis in the injured leg and persistent pain, causing him to limp even to the present. In 1978, Tarvin suffered recurrent major depressive episodes and an apparent schizoid personality disorder. Tarvin was hospitalized and began taking anti-depressant medication regularly and received psychotherapy. In 1985, Tarvin moved to Omaha and commenced employment with Mutual as a computer programmer. Tarvin's Job Performance at Mutual. In June 1987, a supervisor at Mutual gave Tarvin a verbal warning concerning a disagreement. Although Tarvin experienced some subsequent depression, his work improved, and the supervisor withdrew the warning. Tarvin was eventually promoted to systems analyst. On January 12, 1989, Tarvin received a written warning regarding his performance deficiencies. On February 24, Mutual placed Tarvin on probation for 60 days and informed him that unless his performance improved, his employment would be terminated. During these disciplinary procedures, Tarvin experienced excessive pressure and stress; for example, his supervisors began to regularly monitor his work and fellow workers excluded him from social events and coffeebreaks. Finally, on March 10, 1989, while en route to work, Tarvin became so filled with anxieties that he was unable to enter an elevator at work and proceed to his office. Tarvin has been unable to work since that incident. Tarvin's Mental Evaluation. Tarvin then underwent psychiatric evaluation to determine the cause of his inability to work. Dr. James Severa testified that Tarvin's job-related stress caused Tarvin's neurochemical level to become imbalanced, a condition which prevented normal transmission of messages from Tarvin's brain. However, Dr. Severa was unaware of any specific trauma to the body that caused Tarvin's disabling mental condition and that it took [Tarvin] a while to become dysfunctional.... Another psychiatrist, Dr. Stan Moore, expressed the opinions that Tarvin suffered from a schizoid personality disorder and major depression and that Tarvin's brain chemistry has not been altered or changed by the stress experienced at Mutual of Omaha. Dr. Moore expressly rejected Dr. Severa's opinion regarding employment at Mutual as the cause of Tarvin's present mental condition and disability. Moore concluded that there was no causal relationship between any job-related stress that Tarvin may have experienced at Mutual and Tarvin's present mental condition. Dr. Moore elaborated on the basis for his conclusion; for instance, Tarvin experienced almost identical problems before his employment with Mutual, displayed extreme reluctance to form any social relationships, and failed to interact with coemployees. Tarvin manifested those symptoms of a schizoid personality and major depression at least 10 years before he commenced his employment at Mutual.