Cancer-stricken Ground Zero worker Edgar Galvis has finally received a compensation check — for zero dollars.
The 51-year-old Queens man, who suffered sinus problems and then throat cancer after months of removing toxic debris from the World Financial Center, was relieved to get a check in the mail for his court settlement with Merrill Lynch, whose offices he had cleaned.
But he was stunned when he saw the amount: $0.00.
His award had been $10,005, but his lawyers at the firm Worby, Groner, Edelman & Napoli Bern lopped off $2,579 for unitemized legal expenses.
Then they took a 33.3 percent fee of $2,124.
They also subtracted $352, a fee to the lawyer who referred him.
The remaining $4,950 was withheld for unspecified “liens,” the letter says. Galvis thinks this was repayment of workers’ compensation for aid.
“I have hit rock bottom,” said Galvis, who is jobless and $30,000 in debt. “I was expecting a check, and you can imagine how I felt when I opened it. I couldn’t believe it. I thought it was a joke.”
The father of two, who lives in Glendale with his fiancée and her two kids, said he had to sell his car and relies on relatives for rent. “I get collection agencies whenever I open the mail. What little credit I had I don’t have anymore,” he said.
4 Responses
This is how Republicans treat hard working Americans. Tax them, take out fees, liens and leave them with nothing. He’ll die soon and there won’t be anyone to complain.
1. This illustrates why it is a good deal to be a lawyer (at least from an economic perspective – not so cool from a musar perspective). He might have a claim for the unitemized expenses since they were added to the “flat fee”.
2. If one is awarded Workers Compensation, you can’t also collect a judgement against your employer (in effect they already paid – Workers Comp money is actually from the employer). Under the law that existed before the Workers Comp system was set up, the employer wouldn’t have been liable since alQueda caused the injury, not the employer, or that the employee assumed the risk of cleaning a downed building.
3. The client doesn’t pay the referral fee – he can file a complaint for that amount.
4. Unless he has substantial assets not mentioned in the article, he should file for Chapter 7 bankruptcy.
“lopped off $2,579 for unitemized legal expenses.”
“The remaining $4,950 was withheld for unspecified “liens,” the letter says.”
If I were him, I’d be suing these lawyers for the shirts on their backs. Or how about making THEM clear the 9/11 debris and see how they like it when their body catches up to them!
#1- New York City lawyers are overwhelming Democrats