Bedbound. Severe ME/CFS. The judge granted my accommodation. I still can't find a lawyer.
Hi,
I'm a bedbound person with severe ME/CFS, POTS, MCAS, and hEDS. I have been fighting the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare for a written, asynchronous, remote communication accommodation because phone calls for official business trigger extreme post-exertional malaise and do not allow me to meaningfully participate.
I recently made it all the way to the Office of Administrative Hearings. They granted my accommodation and found "sufficient cause" to proceed with a written hearing. The judge urged me to get an attorney because my claims are "highly complex." I've been trying. I contacted all of the primary legal aid in Idaho, including, but not limited to: the ACLU, Disability Rights Idaho, the Idaho Volunteer Lawyers Program, Idaho Legal Aid Services, and dozens of private attorneys. No one will take my case on contingency. The Supreme Court's decision in Cummings v. Premier Rehab gutted emotional distress damages under the ADA, so there's no money in it for private firms. I've been forced to do everything alone.
The ultimate goal is to take this to the federal level. I had a very experienced attorney reviewing my case. It was someone who has spent decades fighting DHW. He asked for my materials, gave me strategic advice, and told me I was doing well. Then he said he's retiring due to his own health issues and can't take new clients.
I'm back to the drawing board, and I'm crushed. I didn't come this far to give up.
The system is designed to exhaust you into silence. The merits of my case are strong enough that it's been taken seriously by anyone who's looked at it. But it's still not enough to get the help I need. And I've looked absolutely everywhere I can conceive of. People say they care about issues like mine until they have to show it.
So what am I trying to accomplish by posting this? Visibility is the only leverage I have left. The kind of attorney I need is a unicorn: someone who does ADA Title II and Section 1983 civil rights litigation against state agencies, who is willing to work with written, asynchronous, remote communication as an accommodation, and who will take a case with no guaranteed payout. It's probably the hardest thing I've ever done in my life. But I know there must be someone else somewhere in the United States who would care enough to realize that this is a fight for an extremely vulnerable community.
If you know a lawyer, please tell them about me. And if you can share this post, please do. My reach is small. I'm stuck in the same circles. I haven't totally burnt out yet, but no one can do this sort of thing alone.
Before anyone says it, yes, I know talking about my case online is not what lawyers recommend. If the system worked, I wouldn't be here. I cite the law because I was forced to learn it. I've been systematically violated at multiple levels, and no one was coming to save me. Knowing my rights kept them from completely steamrolling me.
If you've read this far, thank you. Even if you can't help, I'm grateful to be seen by my community.
TL;DR: Bedbound with severe ME/CFS. The Office of Administrative Hearings granted my written, asynchronous, remote accommodation and found sufficient cause against Idaho DHW. The judge urged me to get an attorney. I've exhausted every legal avenue in Idaho. No one will take my case on contingency. I need a unicorn: an ADA/§1983 civil rights litigator willing to work with written communication. Please share.