Brian Ashe Quoted in Business Insurance
“New Eating Disorder Raises Bias Concerns”

Brian Ashe was quoted in the February 22, 2010 Business Insurance article, “New Eating Disorder Raises Bias Concerns.” The article discussed a proposal to add binge eating disorder to the American Psychiatric Association’s handbook of mental illness, which could result in more disability lawsuits against employers.

According to the article, adding binge eating disorder is among several proposed revisions to the American Psychiatric Association’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) scheduled for publication in 2013. The article suggested that even though it is not a legal document, it could help plaintiffs’ attorneys successfully sue employers for violating the American Disabilities Act. Brian noted that if binge eating is included in the DSM, plaintiffs’ attorneys would argue to juries that “the best psychiatric minds in the nation have agreed, after exhaustive deliberation, that this is a medical condition that does amount to a recognized psychiatric disorder, and they will use that as a launching pad to say it's a disability in the eyes of the law.”