In 2006, a New Jersey man suffered a serious on-the-job accident. He was 24 years of age at the time and working as an electrician. Even though he was strong and healthy, he almost lost his life after getting hit by a high-voltage shock while completing his job duties at a construction site in West Windsor. Following the accident, he spent 29 days unconscious.
After a month in a coma, the worker eventually came to, but he never fully recovered. Now he is 34 years of age and completely disabled. He cannot bathe or dress himself, he cannot speak, and he has to use a diaper. Until a couple of years ago, the young man’s medical care was paid for by the insurance company of Best Way Electric of Jersey City. The payments stopped in November 2014.
The disabled man’s father says that he does not know why the insurance company stopped making payments. Now, his father pays nearly $20 an hour to have home-health aides spend 14 hours a day at their home seven days a week. This amounts to approximately $92,000 annually. Initially, the father was able to use benefits checks he had saved for his son to pay for the expenses, but the money soon ran out. The father has since appeared at the Department of Labor’s Workers’ Compensation court over 12 times.
Later, with the help of some investigative journalists and some expert advice from workers’ compensation attorneys, the father was able to adjust his court strategy and get the money the insurance company owed his son. In total, he received over $70,000 to cover expenses from the insurance company. Furthermore, he was able to discuss with the insurance company how to ensure that no further issues in getting payment would erupt.
Stories like the above are not uncommon among New Jersey families struggling to get workers’ compensation benefits owed to themselves or their loved ones. With the assistance of an experienced workers’ compensation lawyer, however, a lot can be achieved to make sure an injured workers’ rights to benefits is honored.
Source: nj.com, “Bamboozled: Dad fights insurance company for son’s medical care,” Karin Price Mueller, Aug. 01, 2016
