It Can Happen To You! The stories are varied and many, but the common theme remains the same. The laws that supposedly protect America's injured workers simply don't work! They are ignored and seldom if ever enforced. Our legislators' and our governors' are simply are too busy pimping and pandering for insurance company interests and have totally lost track of the fact that their primary job is to represent the interests of all citizens. But the green color of all that special interest money just blindsights them all.

These are stories of America's injured workers and the horrors that their familes have had to endure in the name of obscene insurance industry profits. We are fortunate to have video footage of some so that you can meet them by the medium of television and see what has happened to their families. Some we have press articles of, and others have simply told us their stories of horror.

If you would like your story of Workers' Compensation horror placed on these pages, simply create a timeline of your case and e-mail it to us. That is, as you can best recollect, write down on paper a history of what has happened in your case in chronological order and we will contact you if we can use your story on our public access television program, "Injured On The Job". Email it to stories@noiw.org.

We apologize if some of these stories get "in your face!" They're supposed to! Sometimes people have to be shocked into doing something about the injustices that face us. Hopefully these stories will make you think about the fact that "there but for the grace of God go I!" Think about it for a few minutes....

Read On......

All video is encoded in RealVideo at a bit rate of approximately 150Kbps which gives a smooth and fluid video stream while conserving bandwidth. The window size will be approximately 360 X 240 pixels in size which is quite adequate to view, even if you are using a high video screen resolution of 1024 X 768 pixels.

It is suggested that only viewers with at least a DSL or Cable Modem connection, (T1 or T3 would be nice) view this video. If you only have a 56K dialup connection, your viewing experience won't be very pleasant as your computer will be constantly rebuffering.

Sheryl Amaral
Sheryl Amaral was a long-time employee of the County of San Mateo until she developed Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy. She was driving her car and doing basic tasks that her doctor suggested such as minor shopping, and Northern Claims Management interpreted this as not being acceptable. She was terminated by the County and indicted for fraud by the District Attorney. She was found innocent of all charges.

Karol Ballard
Karol Ballard was a television producer at the Santa Anita racetrack in Southern California working for Magna Entertainment Corp. until she was injured due to improper placement of television monitors which caused her to injure her neck. This started a years long battle to get simple medical treatment approved to treat her injury.

Les & Melanie Baptiste
Les Baptiste was a school bus driver in Santa Rosa and his wife Melanie was a bus aide. They were asked to transport an emotionally disturbed 16 year old student who not only attacked Melanie, but then attacked Les, leaving both of them disabled. So what is the bus company doing for them? And what about the responsibilities of the school district to inform them of this potential problem prior to their injuries.

Police Dispatcher Anita Blick
Anita Blick was a dispatcher for the Atherton Township Police Department as was her husband. Anita injured herself when she ran to answer the 911 phone at work. She eventually realized that the town's insurer, Cities Group of Burlingame, CA had made errors in the handling of her case, and this is where her tale of horror started. She was railroaded into a conviction of Penal Code 550B3.

Nurse-Practioner Barbara Clark
Barbara Clark was a successful delivery room nurse/nurse practicioner until she was injured at work. The self-insured employer, Adventist Health Systems has systematically refused to obey the orders of the court and take care of her injuries despite numerous witnesses to her injury. Barbara and security/HIPAA specialist David Sweigert visit the "Injured On The Job" television show for an in depth interview.

Michael DiRubio
Michael DiRubio of Morgan Hill, CA, a member of Carpenters Local 262, was working in the field for Mission Bell Manufacturing until he became injured on the job through no fault of his own. Now his family stands to lose their house while State Compensation Insurance Fund plays the dog and pony show with them, and refuses to provide him with his benefits. His former employer simply ignores him.

Joseph Dow
Joe Dow was a Master Plumber back in Massachusetts. After a life altering auto accident, he and his lovely wife decided to move out to sunny California. He found a job at Lowe's Home Improvemnt Centers where he could make good use of his contracting skills to assist their commercial customers. His horror story began when his employer asked him to do something that was beyond his physical capacity.

Traffic Reporter Radene Cook
Radene Cook was the helicopter traffic reporter for radio station KFWB in Los Angeles until one day when the helicopter got into trouble and landed with a hard crash. Radene's back is destoyed and she suffers from arachnoiditis. The radio station's Workers Comp carrier gives her nothing but problems.

Robert Hanley
Injured worker Robert Hanley joins us by phone from Whittier in Southern California. Robert worked for Porto-San until August 2000 when his truck was hit by a driver who ran a red light. His injuries resulted in a ruptured disc in his back. The insurance comapny kept denying the doctor requested treatment. Robert lost his home, his car and his credit was destroyed.

Adria Hernandez
Injured worker Adria Hernandez joins us by phone from Whittier in Southern California. Adria worked for Wells Fargo Armored as a vault teller. She has been fighting St. Paul-Travelers Insurance and notorious defense attorney Dennis Hershewe for over 12 years to get proper medical treatment for her injuries.

Norene Merlo
Norene Merlo worked for Wells Fargo Bank & Providian Financial until she was injured on the job. She has carpal tunnel and radial tunnel syndrome in both arms which has debilitated her extensively and caused her much pain. Apparently her employers were not sensitive to ergonomics in her working environment and are denying responsibility for her injuries

CHP Officer Bill Parkin
Bill Parkin was injured in the line of duty working as a California Highway Patrolman in the San Francisco and Sacramento areas. Bill put his health and safety at risk to protect the public and thought he'd receive the medical care he needed to heal. He was wrong! He's had to fight for his constitutionally mandated benefits!

Postal Worker Jennifer Schafer
Jennifer Schafer was a letter carrier for the United States Postal Service in San Diego until she was injured on the job. Then the Postal Serrvice denied her injuries despite medical evidence to the contrary. Because she worked for the Postal Service she was covered under (FECA) Federal Employees Compensation Act. And she is still fighting for her rights under the law.

Deputy Sheriff Bill Setzler
Bill Setzler worked as a San Francisco Deputy Sheriff at the San Bruno County jail until he got injured on the job. The fact that he was injured on the job is undisputed. The San Francisco City Retirement System has been refusing to give him a disability retirement for almost 16 years despite the pleas and request of the San Francisco Sheriff himself, Michael Hennessey. Bill has lost his house as well as his health.

David Michael Tracey
David Michael Tracey worked for self-insured Waste Management in Contra Costa County until one of his debris box loads fell on his leg. The 3rd party administrator Gallagher-Bassett of Sacramento, CA refused the repeated requests of the attorneys and doctors for a pain management program to help him. David took his life. "Injured On The Job" brings you this exclusive interview with Jamie & her family.

Jamie Tracey
Jamie Tracey is the widow of David Michael Tracey who worked for self-insured Waste Management in Contra Costa County until one of his debris box loads fell on his leg. Jamie talks with "Injured On The Job" by phone almost 2 years later about how her husband's suicide has affected her family.