It's not every man who could do what Paul Green did. Last year, first in a lawsuit and then on the local news, he came forward and admitted that he'd peed his pants. Granted, Green had a perfectly legit medical condition the precipitated the episode, but still. It's not a flattering revelation.
Was Green's candor worth it? That depends on how much he values $165,000, which he was recently awarded by a jury.
Green's legal victory came at the expense of Dallas County Schools, the agency that provides buses that serve Dallas ISD and surrounding districts. Green was working for DCS as a bus monitor in 2011 when his episode of incontinence took place.
According to court filings, Green, 58, had been battling colon cancer for several years and had been diagnosed with hypertension and congestive heart failure not long before he was hired two years earlier.
See also: Former Bus Monitor Sues Dallas County Schools After Being Fired For Urinating On Himself
The cocktail of prescription drugs Green took to address his medical conditions had a number of side effects, one of which involved frequent trips to the bathroom. DCS was aware of this. So was Carlos Barillo, the bus driver Green was riding along with on the evening of August 31, 2011.
When Green told Barillo that he needed to use a restroom, however, Barillo ignored him, passing by several gas stations and public restrooms. Eventually, Green couldn't hold it any longer. He stuffed a towel into his sweatpants to soak up the mess. Three weeks later, after a week's leave for colon surgery, he was fired.
DCS officials argued that they had accommodated Green and given him plenty of opportunities to use the restroom, but that he'd decided on his own to pee in a water bottle.
A Dallas County jury didn't buy it. They decided this week that the district had illegally fired Green because of his medical condition and awarded him just over $41,000 in back pay and $125,000 in damages.
