In Jan. 2007 I applied for employment with Schwans Home Food Service, as part of pre-employment I was sent to Atlanta for a test that envolved lifting 60 lbs from the floor to a shelf that was shoulder level, carrying wieghts up and down a step ladder, lifting and moving wieghts repetively, and running in place while holding wieghts and having blood pressure and pulse monitored.
I was hired and went through training but was put in a truck running a route in half the normal time. The hours were brutal but I'm use to working hard so I worked. Health and other benefits were not offered to me at that time.
On my sixth month of working I was told the company would supply me with proper foot gear, since in this job you surely wear them out quickly. They were having trouble keeping managers but we had a new one. I requested my new footwear as mine were slick and had holes, I repeated my request daily for several weeks with no results.
In july while raining I fell off a coustomers porch that was being repaired a svsn foot fall onto bush stumps, rocks and landscape timbers. It tore me up really bad. I reported the fall to my new manager in front of witnesses, and was told because we had no other drivers I couldn't miss any work.
I was in terribkle pain and had several cuts and bruises. I paid my self to go to our family doctor, who prescribed pain meds and patched me up. He ran no test because I had no insurance of any type.
The pain continued to get worse. At times I would get out of the truck lay on the ground and cry. I would call friend at work and have them meet me to help finish the routes. I ate alot of pain meds but nothing helped.in December I was able to sign up for health insurance. I also applied for long and short term disability. I got the health ins. But they turned me down for the disability sighting pre existing conditions. We were again without a manager.
I returned to my doctor with insurance and he took x-rays. He said my condition was getting worse because I had compression fractures in my back.
He then sent me for a MRI. Because of the amount of medication and my condition he took me out of work.
We had yet another manager and he finally called SRS. They refused me any treatment and Schwans refused me any compensation.
I hired a lawyer but still had no relief, they have had 3 continuances and finally sent me for an Independant Medical Exam. What a joke. I have lost everything over the last year and I raise a 5 year old Grandson by myself.
I have been treated like a dog, and even the treatment and testing done on the companies health insurance was refused payment. If this is the system for workmans comp in the state of Georgia some should be very ashamed.
I'm in constant pain and need medical help. I've spent everything trying to hold on to the few things the boy and my self own which is in storage. I've been evicted, and all credit cards, car payments, medicine, school expenses.
Utilities, and anything of value are gone or agressively being colllected on.
I sure thought there were laws to protect the American worker from such companies as these. Ive been out of work and terminated since February 08 and hurt since July 07.
If you do business with any one of these companies you are supporting people who think they are above the law and are certainly morally corrupt.
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