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Brian Vastag
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[[File:brian_vastag.png|right|300px]] '''Brian Vastag''' is a journalist, previously with the United States ''The Washington Post'', advocate, and person living with [[ME/CFS]].<ref name="dx">{{Cite news |url =https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/glacier-and-me-amid-a-stunning-landscape-an-ailing-science-journalist-weighs-his-own-uncertain-lifespan/2019/09/13/3aed9004-bac0-11e9-bad6-609f75bfd97f_story.html?itid=ap_brianvastag | date = Sep 14, 2019| publisher = Washington Post | last = Vashtag | first = Brian | title = Glacier and me: Amid a stunning landscape, an ailing science journalist weighs his own uncertain life span}}</ref> ==Career== When the [[National Institutes of Health]] announced in late 2015 they would be increasing funding for [[myalgic encephalomyelitis]]/[[chronic fatigue syndrome]] (ME/CFS), [[Francis Collins]] called a number of advocates including Brian Vastag to break the news.<ref>{{Cite web | url = https://www.healthrising.org/blog/2015/11/07/nih-effort-chronic-fatigue-syndrome/ | title = Promises To Keep: NIH Commits to Reinvigorate Effort on Chronic Fatigue Syndrome | last = Johnson | first = Cort | author-link = Cort Johnson | date = 2015-11-07 | website = Health Rising|language=en-US|archive-url=|archive-date=|url-status= | access-date = 2021-12-20}}</ref> In 2015 he confirmed his latest project was contributing to a new edition of ''The Science Writers' Handbook''.<ref>{{Cite web | title = The Science Writers' Handbook: Everything You Need to Know to Pitch, Publish, and Prosper in the Digital Age | url =http://www.amazon.com/Science-Writers-Handbook-Everything-Publish/dp/0738216569/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&q&tag=rnwap-20 | last = | first = }}</ref> In 2012, he was a News Winner of the David Perlman Award for Excellence in Science Journalism for his article, “For Virginia’s fault zone, an event of rare magnitude,” published 23 August 2011 in ''The Washington Post'' about an earthquake near Washington,D.C.<ref name="award2021">{{Cite web | url = https://www.agu.org/Honor-and-Recognize/Honors/Union-Awards/David-Perlman-Award | title = David Perlman Award for Excellence in Science Journalism-News | last = | first = | author-link = | date = | website = AGU|archive-url=|archive-date=|url-status= | access-date = 2021-12-20}}</ref> == ME/CFS disability claim == On May 31, 2018, the United States District Court of New Jersey in Brian Vastag v. Prudential Insurance Company of America, Civ. No. 15-6197 (KSH), (CLW), awarded Mr. Vastag both short-term [[disability]] (STD) and long-term disability (LTD) noting "the plan administrator improperly denied him STD and LTD [[access to benefits|benefits payable]] under the plan".<ref name="Vastag2018Win">{{Citation | url =https://cases.justia.com/federal/district-courts/new-jersey/njdce/2:2015cv06197/323449/44/0.pdf?ts=1527932072 | last = US District Court District of New Jersey | title = Brian Vastag v. Prudential Insurance Company of America, Civ. No. 15-6197 (KSH) (CLW) (D.N.J. May. 31, 2018)}}</ref> ===Evidence=== Lubet and Tuller explain how Vastag won his claim after health insurer Prudential being wrongly denied him sickness and [[disability]] payments when he was forced to stop work:<br> <blockquote>"Prudential essentially accused Vastag of malingering, declaring that he “stopped working, allegedly due to [[chronic fatigue syndrome]],” and maintained that medical evidence did not support his claim. Most troubling, Prudential revealed that it had attempted surveillance of Vastag but had not managed to observe him...<br><br>"Surveillance can be a valid way of exposing false claims in disability or personal injury cases. But the use of surveillance in Vastag’s case — especially given the extensive evidence submitted by national ME/CFS experts — suggests an alarming level of denial about the [[:Category:Severity definitions|severity of the illness]]. There was no evident reason to suspect Vastag of deception other than the diagnosis of ME/CFS.<br><br>"U.S. District Judge Katharine Hayden saw through Prudential's smokescreen. Explaining in her decision that “the exact cause of CFS is unknown, and no [[:Category:Medical tests|laboratory test]] can directly diagnose it,” she noted that “the objective medical evidence … indicates that even low-level [[exercise|physical activity]]” required more energy than Vastag could generate... Hayden concluded that Prudential had wrongly denied Vastag's benefits due to its “significant failure to understand the current state of medical knowledge about CFS and its devastating impact."<br><br>In forceful terms, the judge rejected Prudential's arguments and ordered the company to pay up."<ref name="Stat2018">{{Cite web | url = https://www.statnews.com/2018/07/19/chronic-fatigue-syndrome-insurers-disability/ | access-date = 2022-04-08 | title = The medical community is changing its mind on chronic fatigue syndrome. Why aren’t insurers?| first = Steven | last = Lubet | author-link = Steven Lubet | first2 = David | last2 = Tuller | author-link2 = David Tuller| publisher = STAT News | date = Jul 19, 2018}}</ref></blockquote> ===Medical tests=== Brian was able to prove his [[post-exertional malaise]] (PEM) was a severe symptom causing disability with a [[Two-day cardiopulmonary exercise test]] (CPET). [[qEEG]] and [[Cognitive dysfunction|cognitive]] tests revealed he had "significant problems with [[Visual dysfunction|visual perception]] and analysis, scanning speed, attention, visual motor coordination, motor and mental speed, [[Memory problems|memory]], and [[Word-finding problems|verbal fluency]]."<ref name="disability">{{Cite web | url = https://www.meaction.net/2018/06/04/victory-for-me-disability-claim-court-upholds-plaintiffs-lawsuit-after-being-denied-disability/ | title = Victory for ME Disability Claim - U.S. Court Upholds Plaintiff's Lawsuit After Being Denied Disability | last = Tillman | first = Adriane | author-link = | date = 2018-06-04 | website = #MEAction|language=en-US|archive-url=|archive-date=|url-status= | access-date = 2019-02-02}}</ref> ==Talks and interviews== *May 3, 2017 - [https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/nih-study-takes-deepest-dive-yet-baffling-condition-n754271 NIH Study Takes the Deepest Dive Yet Into Baffling Condition] - NBC News ==Online presence== *[https://www.facebook.com/Brian-Vastag-Washington-Post-188000647905185/ Facebook - Brian Vastag Washington Post] *[https://www.linkedin.com/in/brianvastag LinkedIn - Brian Vastag] == See also == * [[Two-day cardiopulmonary exercise test]] * [[Post-exertional malaise]] * [[qEEG]] * [[List of famous people with ME, CFS, and/or FMS]] * [[Disability]] * [[Access to benefits]] ==Learn more== *2018, [https://www.statnews.com/2018/07/19/chronic-fatigue-syndrome-insurers-disability/ The medical community is changing its mind on chronic fatigue syndrome. Why aren't insurers?] - Stat News, [[Steven Lubet]] and [[David Tuller]] *Jun 4, 2018, [https://www.meaction.net/2018/06/04/victory-for-me-disability-claim-court-upholds-plaintiffs-lawsuit-after-being-denied-disability/ Victory For ME Disability Claim – U.S. Court Upholds Plaintiff's Lawsuit After Being Denied Disability]<ref name="disability" /> - #ME Action *2015, [https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/to-your-health/wp/2015/07/20/dear-dr-collins-im-disabled-can-nih-spare-a-few-dimes/ "I’m disabled. Can NIH spare a few dimes?"] - Washington Post *2015, [https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2015/10/chronic-fatigue-patients-push-for-an-elusive-cure/409534/ The Tragic Neglect of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome] by Olga Khazan - The Atlantic<ref name="Khazan, 2015">{{cite news| author = Olga Khazan| title = The Tragic Neglect of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome| journal = The Atlantic| date = Oct 8, 2015 | url = https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2015/10/chronic-fatigue-patients-push-for-an-elusive-cure/409534/ }}</ref> *[https://www.washingtonpost.com/people/brian-vastag Washington Post - Brian Vastag] ==References== {{Reflist}} [[Category:People with ME, CFS, and/or FMS]] [[Category:American advocates or allies]] [[Category:Psychological paradigm critics]]
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