Donahoe Kearney: What was your position, and what were you doing for a living when you got hurt?
Mr. S: I was working as a special police officer at a local university. I patrolled the grounds of campus, looking for crime. Part of my job was customer service; allowing access to secure buildings for faculty and staff members.
Donahoe Kearney: What were you doing specifically, when you got hurt?
Mr. S: I was chasing somebody stealing a bike. A group of five guys had used bolt cutters to steal a bike. All but one had been captured and we were pursuing the fifth.
It was about 10 p.m. I was on a detail, driving the shuttle that day. I heard that the guy was running in my direction. I initially responded to the scene just to assist with bystanders and crowd control. In these situations everybody thinks they are on an action movie.
I thought two officers had him under control, so I turned around to deal with the crowd. When I turned back around I saw the guy was running toward me. I tried to head the guy off and tweaked my knee. I stumbled and caught myself.
I knew my knee was hurt but it wasn't too bad in the moment. I patrolled for another hour or so, got up and tried to walk on it and couldn't walk at all. At that point I went to the ER; at 1 a.m. or so in the morning.
Donahoe Kearney: What advice would you give to an injured worker at the start of their case?
Mr. S:
First of all, get an attorney definitely.
I believed everything was fine; they were paying me and everything. But when things started to get sticky, I called Mr. Kearney.
I was referred to another attorney by a friend and it was like pulling teeth just to get an appointment. I would say, definitely look for Mr. Kearney.
Donahoe Kearney: How did having an attorney help you throughout the process?
Mr. S: Immensely. From that point on you guys handled everything. This is my first time dealing with workers comp and I had no idea how things were going to go or what was going to happen. I wasn't even anticipating a settlement; I just wanted to make sure that my benefits got paid and I got medical treatment.
Donahoe Kearney: How is your life different now?
Mr. S: Life is not too different. Physically my leg is different; it doesn't work the same anymore. Losing a third of your income makes a big difference, so I have some financial recovery to do. But I am back to work full-time at the same job.
Donahoe Kearney: Anything else to add?
Mr. S: Just thank you guys. Thank you.