Student4Life
New Member
- Jurisdiction
- New Jersey
I have been working for Amazon for over four years as a Fulfillment Associate. In August 2020, when I started as a picker, I sustained a knee injury after a few weeks of working. I reported the injury to my manager, who escorted me to AMCARE. There, an injury specialist tested my knee and started heat therapy. However, even after a couple of weeks of treatment, the pain did not subside. I experienced sharp pain in my knee and requested AMCARE to send me to a doctor. They referred my case to Sedgwick, but a few days later, I received a call from Sedgwick stating they could not send me to a doctor because they did not have a witness to confirm that my injury occurred while working.
My roommate, who was working in the same building at the time, used to take me to work. After our shift, I informed him about my injury, and he can confirm that I went to work fully fit. Despite this, I continued working with the pain for years, as I was too lazy to visit my own doctor. I started taking painkillers and continued to work. A couple of months ago, I experienced intense pain in my left knee, the one originally injured at work. This time, I was unable to kneel down or get up, so my manager took me to AMCARE, and they arranged a doctor visit. The doctor took an X-ray and diagnosed me with a knee sprain, putting me on light duty.
After three visits, Sedgwick denied my claim, stating it was an old injury and they would not pay to treat it. I am back to square one. Since my left knee is injured, I have been putting all my weight on my right leg, which has caused pain in my right knee as well. This time, AMCARE sent me to a doctor for the pain in my right leg. After the first visit, Sedgwick denied my claim for the right knee as well, even though the doctor clearly explained that my knee sprain is due to repeated motion, as my job requires a lot of kneeling and squatting. Sedgwick denied this, stating it is not a work-related injury.
I have no idea what to do. I cannot fight Sedgwick as I do not earn enough to pay for a lawyer's fees. I do not know of any pro bono organizations that can help me deal with this. It seems Amazon and Sedgwick just want to leave me with no options. Please help me find any lawyers who can take up my case without a fee. I live in Jersey City, NJ feel free for any further information. Thank you.
