Priceless!

[Johnny Stephens]

when I bought the car in 2000 they talked me into buying the extended 3 year bumper-to-bumper warrenty.

I'd be interested to hear what they tell you about coverage.

Man, Bryan, when it rains it pours!

 

[tobagotwo]

You may have gotten some bad gas. It happens to us frequently when we stop in Delaware for gas (I don't know why), and twice in Virginia. Maybe those states don't inspect for water in the tanks that often. Eastern NC may have a similar problem.

Invest in a bottle of good fuel injector cleaner. It can't hurt, and might save you a bundle.

I live in an "at will" state also. That doesn't give businesses the right to hire people into your job and lay you off, due to illness. You've been shafted, and they are even admitting that they dropped you due to your temporary handicap.

Illegitimi non carborundum, or whatever variation of it you subscribe to.

If you could hack NJ, I'll see what's cooking here, if anything.

Best wishes,

 

[Bryan B]

Johnny,

I expect resistance. I've got all the original paperwork and was notified at 3 years by the company that covers the 3 year, 30K extension that it was now in effect.

My suspicion is that somehow I have gotten either water or air into the system while the car sat idle for 5 weeks.

Bob,

I agree that what they are doing is wrong whether it's legal or illegal, but I'm not sure if I want to pursue it. I may try to get some professional advice if it's free or cheap just to explore my options.

And to answer your question about NJ, I'm always open to moving for the right opportunity. That's what I thought I had done by moving to Nashville for this job. Not knowing what the future held for me I wouldn't change my decision to come here. Can't do anything about circumstances and bad luck.

 

[Candy]

Oh, my oh my, Bryan. I wish you could jump in your car(that means it would be working!) with your pup and come for a visit. You could swim, we'd do a bbq my son could keep both dogs busy! All the litigatin points that people make are legit, but I sure understand not wanting to work there again. Are they at least sending you off with any compenstation? Aaagh, I thought I was having a bad day today, but holy cow!
Hugs to you. Candy

 

[Granbonny]

Bryan

Bryan

I dragged John, hubby, over to read about your car...He hates computers.but, I told him, you are my friend and he said the same thing Bob H. said...put some injection fluid cleaner in the gas tank and then take it out on a ride and run the h__l out of it.. High speed somewhere..but, don't get a speeding ticket. ..He takes care of all our cars..Smart Man..Saves us and our kids from gettin ripped off. Bonnie

 

[Sherry]

Oh, Bryan, I am so sorry to hear of all this mess. You have just been hit so hard for the last several months, and to hear of this final slap in the face makes me furious. Ten years ago, my husband was diagnosed with a rare blood condition and was hospitalized and treated. He was terminated just two months later. He did go on to battle the disease and went through a successful transplant, but he eventually went back to school, retrained, and got a good position with the company he's now with. It was a long struggle but worthwhile in the end. It sounds like you could talk to several people on this forum who have been through similar situations, but if you'd ever like to pm him or call him, he would be happy to talk to you about his experience.

 

[Raverlaw]

Illegitimi non carborundum

Bob,

I agree, and I learned a couple of others in law school, too:

in ius voco spurious

and

non circum coitus

And Bryan- litigation is not for everyone, and the point would not be to get your job back- you clearly don't want to work there anyway. But they may have to compensate you, especially if you can show they canned you and hired someone else to fill a job you were temporarily medically disqualified from performing.

 

[Bryan B]

Thanks again for all the support!

I'll definitely try the fuel injection cleaner and then make a run up and down I40 (70mph speed limit).

Thanks for the advice Bill, I have an "exit" interview with the HR manager Friday. If they don't offer me some type of compensation package I may look into it further.

One thing I have experienced since going through OHS, it seems like it has made me less fearful of anything that happens now. It's like there's nothing anyone can throw at me that is any scarier than getting one's chest cracked open.

 

[Granbonny]

I don't want to horn in on Bryan's thread..but..just what is COBRA. Glenda..you are paying $1,000 a month and it will run out next July?? And you have a few years to go before Medicaid? Yikes, I go on it next June..but have United Healthcare to pick up whatever they don't pay. Million dollar policy with Delta Airlines and have around $900,000 left lol..and we pay nothing a month... However, when my daughter graduated from College. we paid like $400.00 a month until she got a job. 3 months later. thought that was bad. 15 years ago..Trying to do what was right..but have learned in my old age..many people are not covered and we (taxpayers) pick up the tab.. Son has great insurance but we still ended up paying $900.00 on his appendix surgery, ect. Everyone wanted a little piece of his operation. Many bills from odd people and if we didn't pay. Collection letters every month. Told my son..give them to me. pay them off..No more crap. Excuse my language. bonnie

 

[Bryan B]

Bonnie,

Not sure what the letters stand for in COBRA, but it's a law that allows you to continue your health insurance from your former employer uninterrupted for up to 18 months for the same cost as the employer pays. As a single person I'm just guessing mine will be in the 500.00/mo range.

 

[ShezaGirlie]

Bryan said:

One thing I have experienced since going through OHS, it seems like it has made me less fearful of anything that happens now. It's like there's nothing anyone can throw at me that is any scarier than getting one's chest cracked open.

Right-on Bryan -- you've got the right idea and I know you'll come through this smelling like a rose!

COBRA = Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act

 

[Nan]

Hi Bryan, just wanted to add my voice to the others..., so sorry this had to happen to you. It's hard enough to deal with OHS without worrying about your job!!! Perhaps, as someone else said, it was meant to be, perhaps something better is going to come along for you. The proverbial cloud with a silver lining! Let's hope that the silver lining is the perfect thing for you.

Take care of yourself, and don't stress out! Sounds like you are pretty calm though.

 

[Mary]

Bryan,
I'm really sorry you have to contend with this situation. I hope you continue to look at the bright side and ignore the negative.
Mary

 

[bvdr]

Bryan, I am so sorry about your job situation. I think we (heart patients) do run into some very unpleasant situations with our jobs and employer provided insurance coverage. A few months ago when our group policy came up for renewal our premiums skyrocketed. Family coverage was close to a thousand dollars a month. I really think my medical bills this past year were responsible. I felt so terrible about it. I didn't want all our employees to be penalized on my behalf. We really shopped around and ended up changing insurance companies and our premiums are still a bit higher and the coverage not quite as good.... but it is the best we could find.

Tonight you will be in my prayers.

 

[lemonstuff]

priceless indeed

priceless indeed

Bryan,

I am so glad that after all this time and all the stuff raining down on you now that you are keeping such a great attitude about everything! I don't know that I can offer any words of advice, but just some encouragement to keep that great attitude and know that we are here for you to vent to when needed.

Hopefully your COBRA won't break the bank, mine is only a little over $200/month, but is running out in November.

Stephanie

 

[Harpoon]

The offical reason the HR manager gave me was that business was such that they needed to fill my position.

As I understand it (and I was very nearly in the same position you were in that my company had hired employees to fill the void I had left when I went on medical leave) it is against the law to fill a position you've left "vacant" for medical reasons and not give you the same position or one similar with equal pay and benefits when you're fit to return to work, regardless of whatever other reasoning they might provide.

Granted, it might mean you return to work for a week and THEN they lay you off, but they can't lay you off WHILE YOU ARE ON MEDICAL LEAVE.

Not unless the company goes under or moves overseas or burns down or something catastrophic like that which would effect everyone's jobs, not just yours.


I know in New York State, it's highly illegal. I think it's illegal on a federal level too as was pointed out before.

By all means seek out another job right away, but you should also give SERIOUS consideration to a lawsuit even though it might be a lot of effort to deal with. That's criminal behavior on the part of the employer.


When I went on leave they hired a few interns (some didn't work out as well as others, one guy even came in to work drunk a few times) to fill my position. I ended up waiting until the intern's term of employment ended (he went back to college) before I could return to work, though I was picking up a few odd assignments as needed before returning to my old schedule.

 

[Susan BAV]

Once my COBRA ran out several years ago, I went on the HPPA plan. I don't know if I will be able to describe it accurately but it's some clever thing protecting people with pre-existing conditions. I think it's a Federal thing. We pay a lot of money for it but it is still incomparably less than paying out-of-pocket for open heart surgery!

Hope things get better for you, Bryan!

PLEASE NOTE THIS EDIT: I believe the acronym that I provided was incorrect. I believe the correct acronym is HIPAA, which is for a health insurance reform called: Title I of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996. The following has a link to the HIPAA Insurance Reform information, including pre-existing conditions information: http://www.cms.hhs.gov/hipaa/

Best wishes!

 

[Guest]

The offical reason the HR manager gave me was that business was such that they needed to fill my position. The interesting thing is that one of the words in my company's name is "Healthcare". As Cort would say..."irony rocks"!

*grins*

Awee.....someone remembers me . LOL!

Bryan,

Very sorry to hear about all of your "irony rocks" troubles as of late. It sounds, however, that you are keeping your sense of humor and a relatively positive outlook, which is a definite plus.

Good luck with finding a new job, getting your car to work properly, and keeping that positive attitude!

Yeah know, you could always come to Chicagoland for a visit . Who knows...you might even find a new job here! [Course, this coming from the guy who is trying to convince himself to take a chance at moving elsewhere...lol...irony does rock .]

Cort, "Mr MC"/"Mr Road Trip"/"The Uniter", 30swm/pig valve/pacemaker
'72/'76/'79/'81/'87 & train & models = http://www.chevyasylum.com/cort/
Spotting MCs = http://www.chevyasylum.com/mcspotter/main.html

 

[gijanet]

Just had to send my hugs, too.............

Just had to send my hugs, too.............

along with everyone else's. I am constantly dumbfounded by the generosity and kindness of total strangers, as well as the heartlessness and callousness exhibited by some of the folks who should be "sympathetic" and we might have once called "friends."

A similar occurrence happened to a good friend of mine who was battling ovarian cancer (she beat the odds, by the way; ovarian cancer has a dismal survival rate). She was "let go" by her employer (a major airline) while she was on chemo because she was missing so much work. I can't remember the actual wording of the reason as to why they let her go, but it was whitewash as they were not in the middle of a RIF at that particular time. She, too, chose not to fight it as she just wasn't up to it. She now has a job that she loves, but here's food for thought. I wonder if so many companies flagrantly violate the law because they can, and they get by with it because no one ever fights them on it. Just a thought and I fully understand if you don't feel up to it.

You have my sympathy, love, and prayers. Please keep us posted.

P.S. Do you really want to accept mechanical advice from a praying mantis - and a wicked one at that???

Take care and God bless............

 

[JimL]

Bryan, best wishes on all your troubles which are so much less than heart surgery, as you said.

Your car troubles bring back memories galore of a previous vehicle, whose engine light was always going off. I kept finding new parts they had put on the car that kept going bad. I found that I had a MAP sensor on the car, which I didn't know I had, but when it didn't work, the car didn't either.

I replaced the O2 sensor myself. The dealership wanted $85 to replace it, but I knew I could do better. I went to my local NAPA dealer, and bought the part for only $60, and came home to put it on. But there was this wire coming out the end of it, which made all the tools I had worthless for putting it on. There is a special socket you need to remove the old one and install the new one. So I went to the parts store and bought the socket for $25, and it worked great! So I replaced it myself for only $85, AND I have the socket to boot, which I haven't used since.

On that car I had learned how to check the codes myself for what was wrong. I'm not sure that that still works. And I'm probably remembering some of these details sideways or backwards. But anyway, I sympathize with your car problems.