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agreed that Mr. Forste would not be required to fly. Between
August and November 1976, Mr. Forste flew twice as an employee of
DHS. When scheduled to fly, he would have nightmares and wake up
in a cold sweat nightly for approximately 2 weeks before his
flight. In November 1976, Mr. Forste flew to Florida for DHS.
Following an eventful return flight, he resolved never to fly
again and informed one of the managing partners of his decision.
He told the managing partner that if his inability to fly was a
problem, he would seek other employment. DHS did not respond,
and Mr. Forste continued working for DHS. Mr. Forste thereafter
traveled by personal car or by train. His fear of flying and his
choice of alternative modes of transportation did not interfere
with his job performance, and he received only positive
evaluations from DHS.
In the early part of 1983, a supervising partner in DHS told
Mr. Forste that his inability to fly was an issue and that he had
to fly or he would no longer be of any value to the firm.
Because of the pressure to fly and the manner in which the issue
was brought to Mr. Forste’s attention, he experienced a great
deal of stress, anguish, anxiety, fear, anger, and sleeplessness,
as well as nightmares. He also experienced headaches which he
treated with Tylenol and codeine. In March 1983, a psychiatrist
examined Mr. Forste and diagnosed his fear of flying as an
incurable form of “delayed stress syndrome”. DHS was made aware
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