Sorry things aren't going well purple. I think John is asking the right questions though. I have a little experience with this.

In my former life I had a pretty dangerous profession. I would have to test experimental equiptment at least twice a year. As a result, I (and everyone in my line of work) would eventually get injured while on the job. It wasn't a matter of "if" it was a matter of when.

So, in my line of work, I was employed on contract. My staff though would be hired by the company I was under contract to. They did this to keep them from leaving with any exclusive information and going to a competitor.

One day, while testing out one of these experimental items, it blew up under me. I was thrown thirty feet up and out (contiguous arc) and given a couple of broken ribs and a concussion.

My mechanic, who was on staff, was burned badly on his arm and had a broken scapula. (he got off lucky too). He also, was exposed to a chemical that my company used exclusively as a coolant and is a result of that exposure, he had a burned lung.

Here is the pertinent bit. We were told by our physician that he would be out for at least 5 months. That was important to us because we were employed for a specific number of events that would happen over a specific period of time. His injuries would make him unavailable to us well past the end of this time span.

We had to replace him. I didn't worry about that because he worked for the company that I was under contract to and I knew that they would take care of him. I was wrong.

While under doctors care, they approached him and told him that they would either fire him for deriliction of duty causing a major mechanical malfunction that ruined a machine that was valued at over 300K or, he could accept a severance package that included paying him for the remainder of the year (6 months) and all of his medical expenses regarding the injuries he recieved from the incident.

He called me and as I was in a position to leave at any point if I wasn't satisfied with the level of support I was recieving from this company (as they were if I didn't perform up to expectations) I acted on his behalf.

I called an employment atty. and asked him if my worker had any legal rights. He asked me allot of questions many of what John has asked you.

To make a long story a little bit shorter. If my worker wanted to get any satisfaction from the company then he would have to hire a lawyer and sue them. He, would have to take his own money, and sue a company that is a family household name and one of the biggest of its kind in the world (if not the biggest).

So, while he was easily in the right, it was his lack of funds that made it impossible for him to get any satisfaction. He called one of those "Larry Parker got me a Million Dollars" TV lawyers but what he found was that if he was lucky that guy would have gotten a settlement that would have been around the same as what they were offering him and then he would have to pay the lawyer as well.

I was able to use the "you aren't supporting me the way I expect and will walk" clause of my contract as leverage for them to "work out a better package" for him and in the end, he recieved two years of full pay and a little more.

I was able to hire him back a little more than a year later (the company hated that) and he ended up giving some of his money back and he works for them to this day while I have retired.

So, answer the questions jon asked as they will help you get a better understanding of where you stand legally and then, hire a lawyer if you can and go get them. It sounds like you not only have pain and suffering but recieved on going injuries along with the loss of your means of employment.

Hang in there purple,

Migranes are one of the worst things to go through and you have freinds here if you need to vent.