Kathleen Baydala - Clarion-Ledger

City, Workers' Compensation pick up the bills.

JACKSON - DeWayne Collier's medical bills likely in the tens of thousands of dollars - would bankrupt most families.

But the city of Jackson will pay for the 37-year-old police officer's expenses from his extended hospital stay. And when the money from the city's self-insured pool dries up, the state's Workers' Compensation plan will pick up the costs.

Officer Warren Hull, also critically injured on the job six years ago, says paying for his hospitalization and yearlong recovery was not his worry.

"I never saw a bill," he said.

Collier was shot in the head and abdomen on July 7 while pursuing robbery suspects in west Jackson and, after multiple surgeries, is in what his doctors describe as the long-term recovery stage.

Like most government employees in Mississippi, police and firefighters are covered by the mandatory Workers' Compensation plan.

"It works out to where (employees') medical bills are covered 100 percent," said Jackson's risk manager, John Anderson, who oversees employee safety and loss-control programs. "They also get 66 and two-thirds percent of their average weekly wages up to a maximum amount of $398.93 a week."

Because Jackson is self-insured, officials set aside money in the city's budget to pay workers' medical costs and lost wages rather than contract with a private insurance provider. This year, the city budgeted more than $1.3 million in it's workers' compensation program. So far, nearly 64 percent of that money has been spent, leaving about $487,000. Finance officials project that by the end of this month, 83 percent will have been spent.

Anderson said the city has started the Workers' Compensation process for Collier. However, city officials do not have a projection of what his costs likely will be.

"After we pay out the first $400,000 of Workers' Compensation, all future costs will be paid by our excess Workers' Compensation carrier," Anderson said.

If Collier is permanently disabled and cannot return to work, Workers' Compensation will pay his wages for up to just more than 8 1/2 years.

Like Jackson, Rankin and Madison counties also are self-insured.

Madison County Administrator Donnie Caughman said his county's claims appear to have decreased over the last five years.

"I think it's because we stress safety and have safety meetings on a regular basis, in particular with the Sheriff's Department and roads and bridges," Caughman said.

Hinds County is not self-insured, County Administrator Vern Gavin said. This year, Hinds budgeted more than $720,000 to contract with a Workers' Compensation provider.

Gavin said the county is looking for ways to save money next year, including changing its Workers' Compensation program.

"Becoming self-insured is one aspect we are looking at," he said. "There are also different pools, different providers we can affiliate with."

Collier is the main income earner for his family of five, and the Jackson Police Department has held a number of fundraisers to benefit his family. A benefit on July 16 at Hal & Mal's raised $9,642.75.

"We wanted to take a burden off the family. School's ready to start and the kids will need school supplies," said officer Joseph Daughtry, who has been helping the family. "As a Police Department, we just want to make sure the family's only concern is DeWayne getting better."

Hull's experiences - the frustration of wanting to return to work but not being able to stand on his own and the joy of eventually regaining his strength and sense of purpose - could be a template for the kind of recovery now facing Collier.

"When I heard he was paralyzed on one side, I thought, 'Aw, man, I hope he realizes he can come back and do it,' " Hull said. "Just don't give up trying, because I've been through that."

Hull, 54, knows the date he almost died, but remembers nothing about the wreck. His police motorcycle and a van collided the morning of Sept. 12, 2002, in downtown Jackson.

Most of the weeks of extensive rehabilitation that followed also are a blank spot in his memory.

"I wasn't aware of why I was in the hospital. I would say, 'Why am I here?' " he said. "(Doctors) would tell me, 'Well, you were in an accident.' "

As a result of the wreck, Hull suffered a traumatic brain injury. He lost some of his ability to speak clearly, could not balance and lost strength on his left side. His pelvis was broken, and he could not walk.

But now, the only lingering signs are a slight limp and a scar just above his left eye. He's also driving - something he couldn't do even a year after the wreck.

For Hull, getting fully back to work - his ultimate goal in rehab - took almost a year.

Hull said he got through the grueling days of physical therapy by pretending he was going back through the police academy.

On Oct. 24, 2002, Hull was released from rehab at the University of Mississippi Medical Center to a nursing home. He was stronger but still unable to fully care for himself. It wasn't until six months later that Hull was able to return to work at JPD, but only for three-hour days. He went back to full-time work in August 2003.

"I went back to the traffic unit, doing accident follow-up," Hull said. "It wasn't as strenuous (as being a traffic officer). I was doing fairly well, but I still was not comprehending as well as I should."

Hull said his lifestyle has changed: Money is tighter.

"I can't get second (off-duty) jobs like I used to," said Hull, who is the curator of the Police Museum on Farish Street.

He was later moved to the mailroom before being put in charge of the museum. He is now a 33-year veteran of JPD.

Both family and fellow officers played an important role in Hull's recovery.

They cheered him on. Hull remembers one therapy session when several traffic officers he had worked with showed up.

"I was working on my balance, and they were helping me stay up on this little trampoline," he said. "I remember laughing so hard."

And they cheered him up

. "There was something else in my recovery: I cried. And me, as a man, I used to think, 'No way.' I just used to break down because I wasn't able to do certain things," Hull said. "But my friends would tell me not to worry ... that I would get through it."

Collier's father said Saturday his son has made improvements during the last three weeks.

"He's doing a whole lot better," said James Collier. "He's moving his left hand, and he pats his mother's hand and his wife's hand when they sit with him. He's focusing now. He can follow with his eyes."

Collier's family has vowed to be at his side until he can come home. James Collier, his wife and his daughter-in-law visit Collier every day, every three hours, at the hospital.

"My wife is still up there. She hasn't left," James Collier said. "We're doing fine. We plan to keep praying with him until he's able to leave."