Workers Comp Help
Fell At Work
After many years working in low paying jobs, I was able to go to college and obtained the education necessary to be employed doing something I loved, with good pay and flexible hours. My job allowed me to work as many or as little hours as I wanted. I was able to start my own business, work less for others and take care of my mother which developed Alzheimers.
My business allowed me to have time for my mother and I was only employed a few days out the month, to maintain my skills and have some steady income, since business go up and down. I worked for the same institution for ten years, and recently had found a new employer with better pay and better benefits. I was still employed by both institutions, while making the change. I had worked hard, and had my life organized.
One day, at one of my jobs I fell. Without going into details of the actual case let me tell you that, the reason of my fall was completely fault of the workplace conditions.
After nine months of surgery, therapies, medication, etc, I was told I could no longer work doing the same kind of work I used to. I was declared permanent partially disable, and needed to be re-trained for another job.
At first I got very happy when I learned that there was a fund of about $16,000.00 for me to re-trained. I thought I could go back to school and study for something I could do and get my life back.
The money that is for us to learn some other job, ends being eaten up by the "Counselor". Which I thought was going to help me find something I could do with the knowledge I had and maybe learn something new. The only "work' this Counselor did was to give me a phone number for a school. For this he pay himself about 3000.00.
Then I found out that I would not receive any more money, now my weekly check came out of the same fund.
From the time the doctor send my to vocational rehab, to the time, the insurance company referred me to the counselor, four months had passed. So I had already eaten a big chunk of the school money.
Bottom line was I could only pay for 12 weeks of school. Before my injury my hourly pay was $20.00 at the job where I got injured. My other job, the new one, was paying me $25.00 to $28.00 depending on the schedule I work. The "training" I received was for a job like I used to have before I went to college. Paying no more than $10.00 per hour. Still I was looking forward to go back to work and re-gain control of my life.
After I finished school, I looked for a job every day, all day. I used the school placement office, the employment agencies, the internet, the news papers, every resource available. But I am competing for jobs with girls young enough to be my children, with no physical limitations, and I did not find any work.
How this work related injury has affected my life, let me tell you, the first three months after the accident I could not take care of my own person, my husband and children tried to help as much as they could, but my mother required constant care and watch, so two months later I had to place my mother in an nursing home, since I could not take care of her.
If you ever took a child to a school the first day and this child cried, and ask you to take him with you, you know it hurts. My mother is like a child, she did not understand why she could not live with me anymore, why she was not home, why she had to be with strangers, leave her room. I tried so hard to organize my life because I promised her I would never leave her. And I failed to her.
Financially, my income has been dropped from $50,000.00 per year to $10,000.00. My husband and I have used up our savings, drained what was left on our retirement account, and maxed our credit cards. Our son is helping us so we do not loose our house.
Medically, I am with constant pain, need help to do housework, have severe digestive problems, and I am depressed. I take medication in the morning for the depression, at nite I can not sleep, because of the pain, so I take sleeping pills, but they are only good for a couple of hours, I wake up every two hours.
As for my business, after months of not being able to take care of it, I could no longer pay the rent, and other expenses. In October I finally accept I had to close.
My accident took a fraction of a minute. In this little time, I lost my business, my career, my health, my income, my license( I was a licensed medical worker) and the satisfaction of caring for my mother.
The workmen's compensations system allowed the insurance company to pay me very little per week. Since I fell in the job with the lowest hourly rate, I was only working 12 days per month at that time and none of my business income was included, because it was not "salary".
As for the permanent disability payment that I should received, my employer lawyer keeps sending me to Qualified Medical examinations, every time they feel like it.
I finally got a job, a company I had worked for, before I went to college, gave me job as receptionist. I am very grateful for this job. I left this company 14 years ago, and they took me back, but it is not full time, I have no benefits and only 5 hours per day.
I know how much money the employers pay to the insurance companies.
But the system is such that every body makes money, the insurance companies, the "Rehab Counselors", doctors, and lawyers. The one that looses all is the employee.
I am fortunate that my family has given me their love, support and help. If I did not have them maybe I would be like those poor souls that end up taking their own life.