Just a few short weeks after the world said good-bye to James Avery, aka The Fresh Prince Of Bel-Air‘s Uncle Phil, his TV wife Janet Hubert has revealed her own medical issues.
Hubert, who played Aunt Viv until 1993, recently filed a lawsuit against the American Federation of Television and Radio Acts and the AFTRA Health Fund, claiming that she’s suffering from “intense spasms” and “strange chattering” that has kept her out of work.
“There’s a lot going on health-wise,” Hubert told Radar Online. “I have had a lot of issues over the years, but I’d like my benefits back. That’s all. They’ve sort of denied me some very very important medical things that I need to feel good.”
Janet began struggling with her health in 2004 following a visit to a chiropractor, according to court documents. She was treated for “military neck,” a rare condition that causes the loss of spinal curvature. Her treatment was covered by the H&R fund, an employee benefit plan associated with AFTRA.
The following year she claims to have developed vertigo so severe she “was unable to drive…and was told to sleep sitting up for six weeks, which she did and which did not help.”
Unfortunately, her condition only got worse.
Janet claims it wasn’t long before she “began developing a strange ‘chatter’ in her jaw; was unable to comb her hair; could not touch her face; had severe reactions to sound; would awaken with her mouth clenched; could not move her body in a manner she was used to; and found light painful.”
“During this time,” according to the documents, “the Plaintiff’s ability to work all but stopped.”
Finally she found a cure: “Trigger point injections” into important parts of her muscles.
According to Janet, in 2011 H&R sent her a letter stating that they had never intended to pay for her trigger point sessions and that they believed it had been “excessive in terms of frequency and duration.” According to the company, they believed only up to 4 injections per year were “medically necessary” and Janet had gotten 42 since 2010.
Janet filed numerous appeals, but had no luck. She “has been unable to afford continuous treatments” with her specialist. Because of this she claims “she has been unable to accept numerous jobs. She has been forced to go on disability.”
The actress filed the lawsuit last year in L.A. and requested a jury trial to get her unpaid benefits, attorneys fees and cost, retroactive relief for her treatments and an order forcing H&R to pay for forthcoming treatments.
SOURCE: Radar Online | PHOTO CREDIT: NBC
