what would you do in this scenario.(non jeep)

[in4aride]

Lets set up a hypothetical situation here......

You work for an employer who is absolutely shady. The dont comply with fire codes (brother is in fire dept. does inspections, signs off even tho they have items stacked more than 3' above no stack line, and none of the equipment is/was up to par). When there is an incident at work involving injury, they toss out the first injury report, dont file under workers comp and "pay cash" for the charges as not to increase their rates.

So one day you are at work, prying a lower control arm on a tundra, pry bar snaps, lift gives a lil bit and you fall back - smacking your head on a piece of metal -youre out cold.
They get you to the hospital (how you dont remember car/ambulance/stork) and you are x-rayed for any injuries in your neck/head and sent on your way.

now after this incident there is another 1.5 years of hell working for this company between other BS they pull and just slips and slides......


But now being the 'responsible' person you are, you do your annual credit check to see if anything has changed (do it annually cuz i havent had an account/loan/whathaveyou in 3 years) and you see this collection account you have never heard of. You look into it, low and behold, its the unpaid bill. Your shady ass previous employer XXXXed you and never paid the medical expense that should have been a workers comp claim, and has now been sitting in collections in your name for basically a year.


Now you are pretty pissed off. And I say "pretty" pissed off loosely. Do you just send them the bill and call it good once the sub $1k bill is paid. Or because they dicked your credit and are super shady and have a history of not paying bills- do you demand some sort of compensation/seek legal advice/counsel?


thanks :hang:

 

[planefixer]

because they dicked your credit and are super shady and have a history of not paying bills- do you demand some sort of compensation/seek legal advice/counsel?

This.

Talk to a lawyer, the Dept of Labor/Workers Comp, OSHA and the fire chief.Don't say anything to the former employer so he can't try to cover his tracks.Time to be ruthless. :firedevil

 

[in4aride]

Thats kinda how i felt. just dont know if I am screwed since they never filed the report with work comp that ill have no way of proving they owe on the bill....

altho i dont know why else i would be in uniform at a hospital in woodland park....

 

[in4aride]

just called workers comp claims mgmt. and never filed for incident w/ workers comp

 

[xj-grin]

PM sent. F em.

 

[in4aride]

Where I am lookin like I am screwed is:
As an employee that was injured I have 2 years to file a claim with workers comp. I filed the report (initial injury report) and turned it in to my employer the day of the incident. They tossed it. and never filed the incident with Work Comp. So there is no record of it. And since the incident was 4/9/09 I am a few weeks late. Also it is such a small amount ( <$1k) that its gonna be hard to get a lawyer interested in the case anyway.

Here are some interesting factsoids......

There are 9 Big O franchises between denver and the springs/woodland park that are owned by the Koldenhoven Brothers ( K Bros). They have another business, Koldenhoven Enterprises, which manages the franchises. NONE of the Big o's have Workers Comp insurance. not a single one. (this is per the Work Comp office in denver.) K Ent. DOES have work Comp. and go through two different insurers depending on the claim/incident.

So technically, the franchise i was working at did NOT have workers comp. Only K. Ent. who manages the franchise did. Because they did not file the incident as work comp at the hospital, but instead, as individual responsibilty,the fees were never sent to Work comp. so were never paid. I never received a bill/invoice. And now its on my credit.

 

[xj-grin]

Don't decide you have little hope before you talk to your attorney tomorrow, Mike. There may be some punitive provisions in the law to motivate businesses to handle work comp claims more above the table, as the legislature has in the past made this a hot button issue (when they're not raiding the WC trust fund to fund the government, that is...). That would increase the value of your claim, and perhaps get your attorney more interested.

 

[in4aride]

Oh im not tossing in the towel, im just getting started on this. Im just in awe at how shady they are. Back to more calling around and asking questions

 

[grolla42]

I don't know if you're interested but I specialize in helping people requalify their credit

 

[YELLAHEEP]

Call the media networks. They have those special investigation crews that love to dig up dirt like that. Big O doesn't carry work comp insurance????? I bet they would real quick and make things good for you if Tony Kovaleski came around asking questions......

 

[in4aride]

the franchises dont but koldenhoven enterprises (the management company) does. basically they set it up so if anything ever happens itll come out of the franchise bank and not their pockets.

 

[in4aride]

Well now i dont know what to do. I cant get anyone at the billing area to answer the phone or call me back, everyone has said this is still gonna sit negatively on my credit even if just "gets paid". and the owners dont care two shits about what happens..
im about to blow a XXXXin lid......

 

[NW-ZJ-SCOTT]

eek.. Shitty situation, It looks like your In4aride!...


bad timing?

 

[in4aride]

ha im used to it by now with the screenname puns.

 

[in4aride]

ok, well while I wait here for the missed appointment with the owners, ill update this.

The billing place called me back, and confirmed what i have heard so far. That even when ths is paid, it is staying on my credit as paid in settlement - collections.

The owners are again footing the bill out of pocket, and were supposed to meet me at approx 730 this morning, they are in denver. :soap:

My credit isnt clean, ive been trying to clean up the mess I made as a kid and since 07/08 havent had a damned thing on my credit, just taking care of whats on there....

Now this is on there, a nice big slap in the face to any effort, I can put it as disputed, but im past the 2 year limitation and it CANNOT be changed or removed, just marked as disputed.

No law office wants to look at the case because the original bill amount isnt substantial enough to win any money. Ive been told that I have a pretty solid case against them since this is the SECOND time they failed to pay a bill, and they have never filed with state of CO. But ultimately, there isnt enough money to win to make it worth their while.

So its looking like i am shit out of luck. And that, combined with them not showing up, really has me pissed off. Very, Very pissed off.

 

[r33pwrd]

for that amount why not just take them to small claims court? I would think getting it off your credit would be doable by someone that knows the tricks (like the person up a few posts)

 

[in4aride]

Well here is the catch.

(if they ever show up) they will be paying the bill, so all i would be persuing would be punative damages (is that the right term/use of that term?)

so i dont know if there is a monetary value to base a suit on. feel me?

 

[in4aride]

i think the term would be "special damages" in this instance

 

[xj-grin]

I think you're screwed, which brings the suck, Mike. Get the "disputed" on your credit report, and then start using your credits, such as it is, and paying it off monthly so you can build up a positive history. Just letting it sit won't help you much.

 

[in4aride]

I think you're screwed.

This is the most frustrating part. They always seem to get away with things because there just isnt enough of anything to bury them.