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At My Wits End...............

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T

ToBeMe

Guest
What is the name of your state?

Missouri

OK, forgive me if this is lengthy, but, I need a place to vent and get advice...............

I was actually refered to look for either this place or one like it by a Social Security Rep. whom advised me I may need to find a lawyer.

To start at the beginning...............I am a 40 year male. I worked for 18 years as a bricklayer/foreman. I was injured rather severely in Aug of 1999 on the job to the extent it required several surgeries and eventually two (2) 8" Titanium rods in my back. I had dificulty taking this as I was one of few people whom absolutely loved going to work each day. I never did anything except construction.......I started as a laborer (hod carrier) at a very young age (15) and was laying brick by 18, and a foreman over large commercial union jobs by 22. At any rate, after it was deemed all that could be done had been done......I was told I could never return to bricklaying or construction work. Subsequently, upon review, I was awarded Social Security Disability without any problems. I collected S.S.D. from June 2002 until the present time. (I'm still on it...but that's another story!)

After almost 2 full years on S.S.D., I found myself needing to do.......something..........anything...........I'm not the type to sit still and even though I'm still on prescription pain releivers, I felt I could contribute something by returning to work and also do myself personally and mentally some good. I inquired and received a "Ticket To Work" from Social Security. I was interviewed and tested and told that because of my extreme knowledge in construction, a job in a lumber/home improvement store as a specialist/contractor specialist would be perfect. They instructed me exactly how to go about making applications and resumes and soon.......gave me leads to places to apply.

So.....excited as all get out at the possiblity of becoming a contributing member of society again.....I took off applying and submitting resumes. Almost immeadiately I was contacted by the likes of Lowes, Home Depot, Ace, Wal-Mart and others. I was kind of picky as I knew what I'd like to do and set up interviews with those places as they contacted me. I went on 3 very specific interviews which I will ouline below without mentioning names...............

(1)

Arrived 15 minutes early, talked to the Asst. Manager whom was very impressed with my construction knowledge and blue print reading skills as well as my outgoing, pleasent personality as he said. I took all their tests and by their own admission.................scored almost perfectly. After the tests, we talked some more and the department head I would be going to work for was also called in, we talked some more and was told I would be called Monday with a schedule as it would take a few days to proccess the drug screening as they had already pulled a background check.

Result: After many calls................I can not get an answer from anyone as to why I have not been hired.

(2)

Arrived 15 minutes early, escorted to testing area, took several tests, then escorted to an interview waiting area. I was retrieved by a hardware dept. manager whom said he was very impressed with my scores and answers and that it was very obvious I had extensive knowledge in the area I was interviewing for. We talked a bit, he told me I was exactly what he was looking for, he made a money offer which I accepted, I was escorted to an area to take a drug screening test and upon completing that was told I had the job and to be ready to go to work as soon as the results came back.

Result: Never called......called them and told the position was filled.............but...........upon my wife going into the store the position was still available....

(3)

Arrived 15 minutes early, sat in interview reception area until met by asst. manager. (this was a new store location not yet open) we spoke and he asked me many interviewing questions. He told me he was really impressed with my expierience and knowldge of construction and that I was by far the most qualified person they'd interviewed. He then asked me to stay there and got the manager whom spoke with me further and finally made me a wage offer. Not having any luck with the prior two and this being some weeks later, I gladly accepted. We then proceed to the back area where the offices were nearly complete, filled out numerous paperwork including W4's, insurance enrollment forms, etc. and was given the paperwork to take for the drug screening. I was told what attire was expected, we talked some more and I was shown where I would be working and we parted with the manager telling me he looked forward to seeing me either Friday or Monday as neither they nor I was worried about this or any drug test as I don't even drink!

Result: Waited to call until Tuesday after not hearing anything.............now can not get past receptionist and given no reason whatsoever...............

What do I do and why are they doing this??
 


T

ToBeMe

Guest
I know I was.........I told each tester and asked if it would be a problem....they all said as long as it was a prescription drug there was no problem..............
 

Happy Trails

Senior Member
ToBeMe said:
I know I was.........I told each tester and asked if it would be a problem....they all said as long as it was a prescription drug there was no problem..............
**Seems like they love you, that you are qualified, when can you start sort of deal, then the drug test is putting a damper on the whole deal.

**Have you been able to get a straight answer from any of them, as to what seems to be the problem?
 
Just how much pain killers are you taking? Is it really "heavy" ? I know you may not want to share that information in public, but clearly, that seems to be the "trip-up". I find it hard to believe that an interviewer will discuss money issue and say, "see you on Monday or Tuesday after the drug test" - unless they were seriously considering you for the job.

For some occupations, they restrict what you can do on the job depending on the type and amount of prescription drug that you are taking. And the reason why they are not telling you outright - is to avoid any potential lawsuit - as well as, they are not legally obligated to tell you such.

Go for a job that doesn't require a drug test... :D
 
T

ToBeMe

Guest
All I get is "the runaround".........................I ask to speak to specific people and mysteriously the phone gets hung up or simply nobody ever comes on the one time I did talk to someone at two of the places, I inquired as to the problem and asked about the drug test and was told they did not know of any problem............
 
T

ToBeMe

Guest
BeenAround said:
Just how much pain killers are you taking? Is it really "heavy" ? I know you may not want to share that information in public, but clearly, that seems to be the "trip-up". I find it hard to believe that an interviewer will discuss money issue and say, "see you on Monday or Tuesday after the drug test" - unless they were seriously considering you for the job.

For some occupations, they restrict what you can do on the job depending on the type and amount of prescription drug that you are taking. And the reason why they are not telling you outright - is to avoid any potential lawsuit - as well as, they are not legally obligated to tell you such.

Go for a job that doesn't require a drug test... :D
First, I take 2 - 3 100mg Darvocet tabs a day depending upong what I'm doing..................

Second, this "position" I'm sure wouldn't be anything restricted...........it's selling building materials to contractors.

Third...............easier said than done............I can't take a strictly comission based job like a car salesman...............first off, I don't know anything about that, second, this position would allow me to do what I know how to do...........read blueprints, figure jobs and talk to/sell to contractors.............

I know for a fact that I was seriously considered for each position and according to Social Security and the testing facility, any prescription drugs are not a problem................they check for illegal substances and note any prescription drugs you're taking at the time of testing............
 

BlondiePB

Senior Member
Since your injury happened on the job, was there a work comp claim and settlement? If so, did you sign the paperwork with a stipulation that you would never again work for the company and any of its subsideries, including those that have the same work comp insurance carrier? If so and these companies do have affiliations, they cannot hire you.
 
T

ToBeMe

Guest
BlondiePB said:
Since your injury happened on the job, was there a work comp claim and settlement? If so, did you sign the paperwork with a stipulation that you would never again work for the company and any of its subsideries, including those that have the same work comp insurance carrier? If so and these companies do have affiliations, they cannot hire you.
The company I worked for was a local area Contractor whom had American Family as it's comp. carrier..............

I actually never thought of that though so I just got off the phone with my lawyer who's still working on the second injury part of the case and he said no, there are/were no stipulations signed or implied that would bar me from working for a company whom contracted the same comp. carrier.................he also stated, from past expierience, two of places I've applied definately do not use the same and he's fairly positive the other does not either because Am. Family is basicly a small business carrier...............

EDIT: Also......I never gave it any thought but.........I still insure my vehicles and home htrough Amercian Family.............LOL!
 

BlondiePB

Senior Member
Well then, if it's not you taking prescription medications or some sort of stipulation preventing you ever being employed by these companies, you may be too much of a liability to the company - which is what another response indicated. Not only could you easily be reinjured on the job and have another work comp claim, you have pre-existing conditions. The company's health insurance will be liable for them after a year. Why not utilize your energy with volunteer work? There's plenty of organizations that need volunteers. This would be mutually beneficial.
 
T

ToBeMe

Guest
BlondiePB said:
Well then, if it's not you taking prescription medications or some sort of stipulation preventing you ever being employed by these companies, you may be too much of a liability to the company - which is what another response indicated. Not only could you easily be reinjured on the job and have another work comp claim, you have pre-existing conditions. The company's health insurance will be liable for them after a year. Why not utilize your energy with volunteer work? There's plenty of organizations that need volunteers. This would be mutually beneficial.
Yes...........I've actually been pondering that for a while....(the liability part) because that was the reason I could not return to work even as a job super. or estimator in construction...............I had several companies wanting me and even calling me to ask if I would/could do either of the aforementioned jobs, but, when it came time to insure me...................their insurance companies balked because both positions would still require me to be onsite and even climbing scaffold, etc. at certain times......................but these positions I've been applying for.............they are almost 100% either behind the desk or walking/standing/talking jobs with contactors whom come in the business...............no out of office site visits or anything...............I spoke again today with two different Social Security reps. and they are quite troubled by this also as they've confirmed too that none of these jobs would violate my restrictions.................

Now..........to cover the "why I don't just volunteer" issue..............I actually did that for a while with our school district and a sheltered workshop..................it was a lot of fun and very fullfilling......................now, here's the catch/problem.................I'd do that from now on except....................I have 4 kids, a wife, a mortgage and now 4 cars with the two older boys reaching driving age.....................not a problem you'd think with S.S.D. & bricklayers pension......................well..........here's the catch part..............

My first lawyer in all this was a very nice fellow....................just apparently not quite up to speed or in a failing state of mind.............and I had no idea what was going on since I had never been through anything like this. He (my lawyer) settled my primary comp. case first for an amount which astonished me (badly astonished) but he said under the MO comp laws it wasn't so bad so I agreed and settled for $42,000 + medical costs of which he took 25%. After that, as I said in an above post, he settled my Social security claim for me without any problems.....which was good.................................or so I thought...................about a month after getting my Social Security Disability award....................I received a letter out of the blue that he was withdrawing as my lawyer!!!! I had no idea why and he didn't state one.................included was some of my paperwork and that's it. Well, I knew some lawyers in the area, not "comp." lawyers but I thought I'd ask..................they found his withdrawl very odd too, but, directed me to one of the best comp. lawyers in the state of MO. So....I found myself a new lawyer!

OK...........first meeting with new lawyer for the second injury case...............I drop off the paperwork about a week earlier and schedule a meeting for the following week...............upon walking in, he asks me to sit down and tells me we have some real problems in his estimation...............First off, the ratings from the doctors are all from the comp. doctors......well.........I knew this..........what's the problem I ask? Well, apparently I should have been seen by a doctor of my own for a rating.............I never was..........and this lawyer says just by looking over my records he knows this case was settled for about 40% of what it should have been.............OK.......bad, but wait...............it gets worse..............

Second, I come to find out I'm only receiving 50% of my S.S.D. amount and my kids are receiving 10% of there's.......................why???? Because according to this new lawyer, any decent lawyer knows that you seek the Social Security award before settling the comp. cases or S.S.D. takes out the entire amount of your comp. award..................this is what is happening............they are taking 50% of mine and 90% of my childrens award amounts until the $42K is paid back and I got no back pay..............all the first lawyer would have had to do was finlaize the social security disability award before the comp. hearing (he settled the comp. 9 days before the S.S.D. anyway!).

So, there you have it...............I have to go back to work................we skrimped and saved all we could out of the money I got, but, it has run out and now, between the two of us (my wife and I) we can't make ends meet............her job she had when this started was eliminated and she had to take a pay cut a year and a half ago and my disability pension from the bricklayers (50% of retirment amount) and the amount I'm receiving from S.S.D. until the $42K is paid back just don't cut it. My lawyer is working on re-opening the primary case, and on the second injury case..............but who knows when that will happen. Like the people I was working with as a volunteer said................you've got so much energy and hate to sit still.................why not find a job and say the heck with S.S.D. since they're only paying you half anyway................so here I am, and now I can't even manage to do that..................what a mess..................
 

BlondiePB

Senior Member
ToBeMe,
Sorry for not getting back to you sooner, but Charley had my utmost attention. The last time a hurricane was predicted to hit Tampa (Irene, in 1999), it suddenly turned and came right over me. It appears that Charley will not be paying me an unwanted visit now. I still have vivid memories of the destruction Andrew caused twelve years ago.

The complexity of your issues is best to be handled by experts. What I have learned is to utilize an attorney that specializes in the law with which I require, even if this means hiring more than one attorney who has no affiliation (preferable) with the other. So far, no problems have been encountered. Rather, one attorney protected me in a matter that would have had an affect on another matter that the other attorney was handling. Therefore, it would be very prudent of you to speak with an attorney that specializes in just Social Security.

Briefly, I read some of the SSD laws. The SSD laws require concentration and time that I am unable to expend at this time. If what I did read is accurate: 1) getting paid a lump sum prior to you w/c claim being settled may not have made a difference because SSD would award you the difference between the w/c award for average weekly wages (AAW) received and the amount of SSD with which your are eligible; 2) You are not paying back $42K. Your SSD award is reduced until $42K in compensation has exhausted your AWW. Then, your SSD will increase to the amount with which you are eligible. Was your settlement broken down into amounts for compensation and future medical? If so, how would that affect the amount SSD is reducing your benefits? Please ask an attorney that deals with Social Security if this is correct and if the reduction is on the gross amount of 42K or the net amount you received.

As for your other issues, I'm going to be very frank. Do not take this as being mean. Your thread states that you are "at your wits end." So, get a "grip on yourself." You may need it for the following. All clients of attorneys are presented a contract. A lot of clients do not thoroughly read these contracts. Rather, clients just sign them because the attorney briefly explains the highlights of the contract. Once upon a time, I was guilty of this too. Now, I take the contracts home, thoroughly read them, ask questions, and negotiate any part of the contract necessary (usually done with an addendum). Furthermore, clients tend NOT to take any initiative in finding out information of how "the system" works and do not read the statues for the state they reside in leaving themselves clueless to what's going on and clueless to asking intelligent questions regarding their own lives. Since your first attorney took 25% of your settlement, you signed the contract agreeing to such.

You also signed the settlement agreement. Have you thoroughly read the settlement agreement? Doing so would be a good thing to do. Most settlement agreements have clauses that state you cannot reopen your claim. By signing you settlement, you agreed to the terms - including your impairment rating. Do you know that leaving your impairment rating at a lower percentage could be more beneficial to you? Should you incur another injury in the same area, a lower impairment rating can increase the liability due to you. You never mentioned what your second injury case is. Is it a different injury that happened on the job? Still, changing your impairment rating to a higher percentage may not be in your best interest and may not be possible according to the terms of your settlement. And if there is any chance that you new attorney can reopen your first case, increase your impairment with the intention of acquiring more settlement money from work comp, that will only increase the length of time your SSD is reduced. Read your settlement and decide whether or not you are able to or want to "open up this can of worms." Perhaps speaking wih another w/c attorney can assist you in making up your mind of how you want to proceed with this case.

As previously stated, you are a LIABILITY that companies, so it seems, choose not to take regardless of any employment position that does not violate your restrictions. Moreover, you could lose the medical coverage that you now have. If Medicare is solely taking care of your medical expenses, you go to work and become covered by an employer's medical insurance and then lose your job and medical insurance, what are you going to do about medical insurance? Won't you be ineligible for SSD and Medicare because you can work? If you haven't asked an expert these questions, wouldn't it be a good idea to do so?

Lastly, take a good look at your life. If you cannot afford the four cars, you cannot afford the four cars. Find a way to live within your means. By writing down EVERYTHING you spend, even money of a cup of coffee, even writing down what the rest of your family is spending on what, you'll be able to determine what is and what is not frivolous. Including your children in on how much money is coming in verses how much is going out and where it is going has been found to be a tremendous help to parents resulting in the children understanding there's only XX amount of funds that are available. You may actually be surprised at how the kids are willing to help.

Go do some homework and start to take control of your life.
 

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