Please see update from 12/2025 below.

Please sign this petition to have Texas Workman's Compensation system Justice & Reform for legitimately injured employees. It's been almost 4 years me fighting for reform, employee rights to proper medical treatment & compensation!!

In the early 2000's, laws were passed to protect the employer, giving employees zero rights. In Texas an injured employee cannot sue an employer, their insurance company or the company Dr for negligence, pain & suffering, Compensation past, present or future wages, or even the mental stress that is put on an injured employee for all the financial stress or improper medical treatment. Our 7th Amendment Right to a civil trial with a Judge & jury have been refused to us by the Texas Worker's Compensation System Law. 

I have heard from many others that have or are currently experiencing the same treatment. Here is my story:

I worked unidentified, damaged freight on a freight dock. Part of my job was to take pictures with my own phone of damaged freight, mis-labeled freight or any labels that may identify where freight belonged.  On 1-3-22 it was a fairly windy day, blowing lose items around the dock. As squeezed through, climbed over pallets of freight that are commonly shoved against each other, which we were informed that we "had" to do to "get the job done." I was stepping over 3 separate bundles of pipes/steel that was overhanging a pallet just behind me, to the left, when the top of my right boot, barely caught the last bundle. I immediately threw my left leg over to gain my balance. However, loose strapping from an adjacent pallet wrapped around my left ankle, tripping me. As I fell, I initially fell on my left knee & hand, dropping papers & phone that was in my right hand as it came down. Being as the dock was dirty, oily, my hands gave out & I faceplanted into the concrete. A driver happened to be on the dock, seeing me fall. He rushed over to me & asked if I was ok. I remember sitting there seemed like forever, my 1st thought was that I was ok. Before I gained my senses & realized I was not ok as blood was coming from my nose & mouth.  He went to get help & 3 co-workers got me inside to my supervisors office. I have the video of the accident. I was on the phone with corporate for over an hour explaining what happened, where I hurt (which at the time, everything hurt & I don't even remember the conversation, I wasn't even coherent enough to make any decisions or understand things nor do I even remember who all I spoke with. I was then sent to drive myself with blood on my face to a clinic. No ambulance, paramedics or hospital.  Why was an ambulance/ paramedics not called with such severe injuries? Negligence by my Supervisor & Estes Express Lines.  Now, me never being injured on a job ever, thought I was doing the correct thing to follow my employer's instructions & that I would be taken care of. Wrong. Absolutely Wrong!!   The clinic only bandaged my knee, x-rayed my knees & face. They threw ibuprofen 800mg & physical therapy on me. Never addressed a head injury/concussion. I was at work the very next day as I'm single & have no other income.  By that afternoon I began throwing up, which continued for over 2 weeks, I couldn't even hold water down. The clinic refused to give me anything for the nausea or acknowledge I had a head injury. As the next couple of months went on, I continued to complain to co-workers, family, friends & the company Dr that I was experiencing dizziness, falling down,running into walks, falling asleep sitting or even standing up to feed my dogs, the daily "face" headaches, stiff neck, randomly dropping things, not being able to sleep at all, sometimes for 2 days, slurred speech, forgetting so much, even words in the middle of a sentence, ringing in my ears, couldn't taste, or waking myself up screaming, sitting upright, grabbing at things & yelling.  The company Dr. blew it off as "sounds like you have the flu". I would recently find out, none of my complaints were ever listed in the Dr's notes during my visits. Then on 3-25-22, I went to work & was brought home by my supervisor as they say I was being short with others, couldn't remember my password to log into my computer & fell asleep.  I don't remember leaving work or arriving home. Once again, my Supervisor at Estes Express Lines didn't notify my emergency contact, my daughter yet again.  A co-worker did. My daughter called me (I don't remember), & she later told me the minute I answered the phone she knew something was terribly wrong with me.  She said I was speaking gibberish & she thought I was having a stroke.  She left work, got her husband & came over. I do remember I was cleaning up a glass of tea I dropped before they got here, shortly after, I fell again I guess because I remember my son in law grabbing me up, holding me by the shoulders & telling me "there is something seriously wrong with you,  you need to go to the hospital. They got me to the hospital where I was admitted. I don't remember driving to the hospital, any of the ER, being admitted, going to a room, nothing. My daughter said the Dr's did not know what was wrong with me. They ran every test, for epilepsy, tumors, aneurysms, stroke, diabetes, Covid... the attending Neurologist diagnosed me with Post Concussion Syndrome from a Traumatic Brain Injury.  That my brain was healing & I would go through stages, some maybe not as bad, some as bad, as there is no specific healing. I do not remember driving home from work on 3-24-22, maybe 5 things from 3-25-22 to 3-26-22.  My daughter said I was parked almost sideways in the company parking lot when she went to get my car. Extremely dangerous as I was driving in this condition. As I was released over the weekend,  I again was at work on Monday 3-28-22, still on light duty because I had not been released from the company Dr, their Dr. to full duty, as I was still limping, hurting. The company Dr's never x-rayed my hip even though I requested it to prove my injuries.  They refused to pay for repairs to my front teeth from faceplanting into concrete, stating my age.  On 4-1-22 at approximately 3:30pm (the time I leave work), I was called into the supervisors office & told that until "my neurologist" released me to Full duty I could not return to work. At this time,  Worker's Compensation began blaming all the Traumatic Brain Injury on my migraines.  The fact I had a Neurologist was involved versus taking liability for the Traumatic Brain Injury.  Workman's Compensation stopped paying me at this point. They had been making up the difference in my pay checks when my company reduced my pay to half when I was put on light duty. But now, I wasn't being paid at all. Workman's Compensation denied paying the $30,000+  hospital bill citing the episode on 3-25-22 was because of my migraines not a head injury, which is far from fact, just a lie to get out of being liable for my severe injuries!! Even though the CT scan & 2 highly accredited Neurologist's diagnosed me with Post Concussion Syndrome from a Traumatic Brain Injury.  I've had migraines for 40+ years, before there were even migraine targeted medications. My pain level is very high, so if I say I hurt, you can guarantee I hurt!!   I've had the same Neurologist since the 90's, I've been on the same regiment of medication for well over 10-15 years. My migraines are well controlled & I have never, ever in 40 years experienced what I experienced after 1-3-22 with any migraine. My migraines start in the back of my head. The headaches I have now are in my face, in the part that was smashed against concrete. Since that time, I have went to numerous tests, jumped through all the Workman's Compensation requests, Functional Capacity Evaluation, to see my level of Impairment. A psych test that was a fiasco, a complete joke no one could even make up because it was that absurd.  It basically had me put things in order or reading a list & reciting the words I remembered, where they claim there was no Post Concussion Syndrome. So I remembered 5 words out of 25????  Not good... Guess I'm not senile or have dementia, but they never tested the physical aspects of a Post Concussion Syndrome that I had experienced. They rather diagnose & "rate" my Impairment/disability than actually provide the proper medical treatment to possibly heal me, so I could go back to work possibly.  Here I am almost 4 years later, no payments, no job, no x-rays on my left hip or hand by Worker's Compensation Dr's.   I still suffer effects from the Traumatic Brain Injury. I'm now told by my attorney in order to fight their tests, I have to find & pay out of pocket Dr's that can dispute their tests.  The Neurologist at Texas Health & My Neurologist have done MRI's, both with the diagnosis of Post Concussion Syndrome from a Traumatic Brain Injury.  I have Orthopedic Surgeons that jave done the proper MRI's, heck you can see the damage with x-rays alone. I've worked my entire life since 14, sometimes 2 jobs, 47 years, to end up bankrupt & homeless. At 61, I lived in my car in 105° temperatures with my dog & cat waiting for Social Security Disability to get my benefits corrected. While Social Security Disability approved me 1st try, immediately because my injuries were so severe, they had my monthly benefits wrong as they assumed Worker's Compensation was paying me.  It took about a year to get to the correct person & send them information proving that Worker's Compensation stopped paying me after 6 weeks.  

I am $50,000 in debt trying to pay bills & buy groceries. The years I should be planning my retirement,  I'm disabled & bankrupt,  desyroyed. I will be filing bankruptcy soon.  I need to start a Go Fund Me to continue to survive. No one that's worked hard their entire life that gets legitimately injured, should not have their livelihoods, retirement taken away because the corrupt Workman's Compensation system & Insurance only looks out for & benefits the major companies. Companies that have millions & has insurance to pay for injured employees.  I have filed complaints with every organization I can think of, I've contacted the Attorney Generals office, I've contacted every news media about bringing this corruption,  this injustice brought to the forefront, the public. The only response I've received are from others going through or has gone through this corruption, this injustice.

My hands go numb constantly. My feet go "to sleep" if I stand or walk more than 5 minutes.  

Update:  Skip to 2025, now that I have Medicare & Medicare Advantage plan the Orthopedic Dr said I have 4 disk in my neck that are compacted. July 2025 I had Cervical Spine Surgery. Was in a neck brace until December.  Very,very painful. I have screws & plates in my neck now. 

I literally cannot walk most days as my lower back is crushed. My pelvis on my left side pushed upward into my spine crushing disks. I will be having Lumbar Spine surgery 12-30-25 & will be in a back brace for months.

In the last 4 years, my life has been completely destroyed due to this negligence. I lost my home, I used all my retirement/savings trying to survive plus charging up 3 credit cards to just live.   I live in such excruciating pain 24/7 it cannot even be described fully.  I cannot do normal chores or walk through a grocery store even using the cart as a walker. I have no help & the good life I once had has been destroyed physically, mentally, emotionally and financially. My depression is out of control because I have lost everything.  Everything I worked 47 years for.

All I ever wanted was proper medical treatment, compensation while I healed. Now, I want proper medical treatment, surgeries paid for, pain & suffering & the mental duress living in my car, being in bankruptcy has caused me for simply doing my job!!! 

We need to come together,  demand reform, demand proper medical treatment, demand proper compensation. When we don't receive it, we should have the right to sue for negligence (which mine was from the beginning when they sent me to drive myself to a clinic), pain & suffering (excruciating pain for almost 4 year now), for Compensation (for me 4 years now). To fight for employee rights! I can only do approximately 10% of what I could do prior to 1-3-22. Simple daily tasks, sweeping, mopping, vacuuming, going to the grocery store can make my pain go from the normal 5 to 25, yes 25. The pain can be so excruciating that I'm unable to walk, stand or sleep.

Please sign & share this petition to change Workman's Compensation system to bring justice to working people everywhere. For employee rights, rights to prompt & proper medical care, compensation & the ability to sue for our pain & suffering, the negligence.

To the Texas Attorney General, the Governor of Texas, all the Senators, Representatives, we the employees deserve our rights & we will not stop until every injured employee gets the proper medical treatment, compensation, justice for our pain, suffering, mental stress. I am now disabled & will never again be able to go jog, ride a bike, play with my grandkids on the playground. I never received proper medical care, almost 4  years & whatever it is has healed back wrong, making it worse. My life was completely destroyed because of this corrupt bureaucracy, this flawed, corrupt system. 

Every working American deserves equal, fair, prompt & proper medical treatment & compensation. We the workers are the backbone to every succesful company, yet we are treated as a liability, unfairly when an injury occurs. We demand our 7th Amendment Right to a Civil Trial with a Judge & jury outside of the corrupt Workman's Compensation system!!

ESTES EXPRESS LINES & GOVERNOR GREG ABBOTT NEEDS TO BE HELD LIABLE & PAY FOR ALL THE PAIN I'VE LIVED IN,  LIVING IN, WHAT I'VE LOST.