Joplin tornado hero is denied workers comp for injuries

Joplin tornado hero is denied workers comp for injuries

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from article
"JOPLIN, Mo. • By all accounts, Mark Lindquist is a hero, a social worker who nearly gave his life trying to save three developmentally disabled adults from the Joplin tornado. Both houses of the Missouri Legislature honored Lindquist, the Senate resolution calling him "a true hero and inspiration to others."

But heroism doesn't pay the bills. The tornado's 200 mph wind tossed Lindquist nearly a block, broke every rib, obliterated a shoulder, knocked out most of his teeth and put him in a coma for about two months.

Lindquist's medical expenses exceed $2.5 million, and the bills keep coming. He requires 11 daily prescriptions and will need more surgery.

But he has no medical insurance. Lindquist, 51, couldn't afford it on a job paying barely above minimum wage. He assumed workers' compensation would cover his bills, but his claim was denied "based on the fact that there was no greater risk than the general public at the time you were involved in the Joplin tornado," according to a letter to Lindquist from Accident Fund Insurance Company of America, his company's workers' comp provider.

That reasoning has angered Lindquist's family, employer, even lawmakers.

Read more: http://www.stltoday.com/news/state-and-regional/missouri/article_cb4b252a-5617-5cdd-bc18-9c6522c68b12.html#ixzz1bhqkxQ7v

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comment: and some folks wonder why folks protesting in the streets. this sucks and should not be allowed