Trucker injured at work

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assilembob

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I am a truck driver for PAM Transport INC (Choctaw Express). I was injured at my job on March 21. I haven't been able to drive since then. I was completely off work from March 21 to June 4. I am not being paid lost wages because my company does not subscribe to Texas Division of Worker's compensation. Instead they use private insurance which does not pay lost wages. They were paying my medical, but now they have determined my condition was pre-exisiting, which I have no records of having back pain before the accident. For over a month I have been working a light duty assignment at our terminal in Irving. The light duty is only paid $7.50 an hour and I am only eligible to work 7 hours a day. When I first was injured it was 2 hours. I live in Haltom City. That wage isn't even enough to pay for the gas to get me to and from the terminal. As a driver I made more than $600 a week. I won't make even close to that on 7 hours a day at $7.50 an hour. Now I can't work that assignment since the insurance company has determined my condition was pre-existing. As of now I have no ability to make a living. I have applied everywhere I can think of but since I have restrictions and can't lift, stand, sit or have a lot of stairs, no one will hire me.
The insurance company has decided my condition is caused by degenerative disc disease and make no mention of my torn disc. I had an MRI on the 3rd of June and this is how they reached their conclusion.
Basically, I am told I can't drive a truck (which is my normal job) and I can't work light duty. Effective immediately, I am not to work light duty which as it was didn't even provide me with 1/3 of my normal income. I am soon to be homeless because of this. I was hurt because the company did not want to pay to have the truck serviced, I was told to determine the problem and as a result was blown off the truck when the coolant revision exploded.

There is another employee also hurt and off work right now. She has been told by a company doctor (who she was required to go to) that she is able to return to work full duty when she is having ringing in her ears and major headaches she didn't have before the accident she was in.

Both of us no longer have the ability to make a living. We are unable to drive a truck and yet we are unable to work light duty. We are basically fired without being fired because we were hurt on the job. This is really an outrage. As of next week, I don't know what I am going to do to survive. I can't get another job because I have restrictions. I will soon be on the street, injured, because of this company and their unwillingness to help their employees who are hurt on the job.
 
Bob, I don't have any legal advice but I want to say good luck to you. I almost signed up with PAM last year, now I'm glad I didn't (went somewhere else and then got laid off). But really, most companies are like that anyway so in the end it's all one big crap shoot, right? As a driver, I feel for you.

My suggestion is to learn to do something on the computer to make money... but it takes a while to get income from that and you need it now. I am going through that now--unemployed driver grasping at straws to avoid homelessness. I started a computer gig but I guess I'm not publicizing it right because it's not generating the revenue it should. If you can do computer stuff and want to work together, let me know.
 
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