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"I have no clue where I'll be," come Friday, says Greg Staffa in a phone interview with HousingWatch. The Farmington, Minn. man claims that is when he will be thrown out of his modest townhouse into the bitter Minnesota cold at week's end -- and all because he is overweight. Oh, let's just skip the political correctness here. Because he's "fat."
Staffa's troubles began, he says, when he was injured on the job as a baggage handler for Northwest Airlines back in 2006. At the time, the now 34-year old Staffa weighed in at 275 pounds. He stands 5'9, he says...
My Big Fat Foreclosure
Seeded on Wed Dec 16, 2009 2:04 PM EST
Article Source: housingwatch.com- Enjoy this article? Help vote it up the 'Vine.
- Public Discussion (5)
I guess my question would begin with what specific reasons did the original doctor give for excessive weight contributing to this man's injury? Is he of the opinion that had he not been overweight that the accident would not have occurred? Workmen's Comp claims are denied by whatever means necessary. The medications I take all have a drowsy/dizziness warning label on them, so if I were injured at work, they would probably deny me too since they could blame medication side effects for my loss of balance resulting in injury. That's the adjusters' job; to find a reason the insurance company doesn't have to pay. The employer doesn't want its rates to go up.
Regardless of his weight, he suffered an injury and by rights it should be taken care of by WC. He's hardly the largest human being I've ever seen. I suppose I would begin with a civil suit against his employer under a negligence tort, as long as he can demonstrate the company's negligence or lack of safety regulations being followed. He should definitely get a second and third opinion by doctors not associated with workmen's comp and see if their findings are different. Basically, I have to ask if he were about the same size as when he was hired. If that's true and they hired him anyway, his employer assumed responsibility for accidents resulting from his size.
He could also file complaints with the Insurance Commission, the labor board in his state that deals with discrimination, the Social Security Disability section, and try to obtain pro bono counsel from a Workmen's Comp attorney. I feel he has a case.
- 2 votes
#1 - Wed Dec 16, 2009 4:17 PM ESTHe's done a lot less--on the surface at least--than others I know of who use and abuse drugs legally and illegally, abuse alcohol, buy properties beyond their means, abuse the system, and other complaints about those who have foreclosure problems and too much "nanny" care. Moreover, their irresponsible "nanny" takes care of them, i.e. the government, though I suppose their parents could be part of those taken care of and those taking care of them. These irresponsible people get jobs too and abuse worker's comp whereas I thought Mr. Staff presents a good example of someone who gets unfair treatment and to have a legitimate worker's comp claim. He deserves help much more than others.
- 2 votes
CORRECTION: Staffa is the correct spelling of his surname according to the article...
- 2 votes
Just because others less deserving receive WC doesn't mean he ought to be entitled to it. If it was actually his weight that caused the issue in the first place (I'm very aware that it's the insurances job to make sure they don't pay) then why should he get it? I'd like to think if you had a condition there would be a make sure you don't do x,y and z because your condition might either affect your ability to do it or you wouldn't be insured. Then you can make that decision to do those things. If at some point he was told he was too fat or overweight then he really doesn't have anyone to blame but himself.
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