Hey everyone, just thought I should post this I guess to tell someone else about my situation, and as a warning for any auto techs or tradesmen out there, heck any employee really.
So I have worked at a large US shop for 3 years, we will call it “Hotrock complete auto care”. I was a B tech, meaning I am a mechanic who does almost everything besides in depth engine work which they would not do there anyway.
5 months ago, I hurt my back on the job, 3 separate times.
1. Putting a spare tire in the trunk of a VW Passat
2. Installing a water pump on a Jeep 4.0 straight 6
3. Throwing out used tires
I could not afford to miss work, and they would not give me any kind of workers compensation, so I continued working 4 months and made my problem worse.
To the point I was in constant pain, and after work would just lie in bed until my physical exhaustion overcame the pain and I could finally sleep. Went to the urgent care when pain was too bad, 3 times, they treated me with naproxen and muscle relaxers. Routinely I had been taking 1500-2000 mg ibuprofen/Tylenol/naproxen a day to get me by, and still in pain.
Finally I could no longer stand it, and with my loved ones and friends urging I took a leave of absence. The company would not compensate me, neither would they allow me to take a medical leave, but required me to take a personal leave.
X-rays, MRI, and many doctor visits later they tell me I have slipped disks on L4 and L5. Also a congenitally narrow spinal canal and other issues.
This causes me to have severe sciatica pain in my right leg, ass, and back. I’m in unending, constant, pain made worse by exertion and certain movement. I cannot even lay down, sit down, drive, or do anything in my life without being in pain 24/7.
The first thing my boss ever said to me when I got hurt and told him, was “well if you can’t perform your job to the full extent we will have to fire you”
They never compensated me
They didn’t even allow me medical leave
When I took personal leave they still called and asked me to come in to work
Their third party workers comp company ruled that since my injuries occurred at work, but were not the result of an “accident”
(Like if I had a car fall on me or slipped on the floor)
I get NOTHING
After this experience, and because the doctors told me I cannot lift anything above 5 lbs, and my constant pain, I just quit the miserable company.
I won’t make that company another cent off of my labor.
Please everyone remember that your employers (big corporations) don’t care about you one bit, only the labor you provide to make them money , and when things go wrong you are by your self.
I don’t know what to do now
I have bills and a family
I’m in constant pain
I need money to survive, just to live
Surgery is expensive and might not work
I’ve been doing odd jobs to get by, but everything I do hurts me more
I have to trade my health for money to survive
I lie awake at night in pain and stress
I’m only in my mid 20s
Sad thing is I really enjoyed my job
I’m great at it
And I use work as kind of an escape
It helps me
And I want to work but I can’t
Is it too much to ask to work, be paid fairly, treated well, and to have a good support system for when things go bad?
TLDR: rant about how I got screwed by a company that doesn’t care about their workers, now I’m basically disabled , worried about my future. Don’t fall into the rat race, take care of yourself and your family first, don’t trust or overwork yourself for shitty companies