TIME FLIES

I can't believe the last time I posted was April! Time does fly when you are enjoying yourself. It seems I see something new every day.

It was 5:00 AM Christmas day 2007. My client, I will call her 'Katy', was just finishing up her midnight - 8AM shift at her employer's place of business (one of those 24-hours/365-days per year establishments). She was working alone, as usual. There were only a few customers in the 'back', watching films not made for PG audiences, when a man entered the store. There was no security. The emergency security button was broken. The man robbed Katy at gunpoint, took her personal property and the employers cash receipts. He then proceeded to do to her what the customers were watching in the back room. She was raped; but not physically 'injured'. Touched; but not broken.

The man took off. Katy used one of the customers cell phones to call 911. She was taken to the county hospital (Jackson Memorial) for a rape kit and referred to a psychologist for counseling.

Katy was contacted by the compensation servicing agent for her employer. She was told that they would not refer her to a psychiatrist unless she had a personal doctor who would say she was physically injured. It is nearly 6 months later and Katy has not returned to work. She has not received any indemnity benefits and the servicing agent is taking the position that she voluntarily quit on the day of the incident. She is also now pregnant by her boyfriend, having stopped her use of birth control at the suggestion of the Rape Center (I have no idea why she was told to do this. Maybe somebody reading this can let me in on this protocol).

In their response to the recently filed Petition for Benefits, the servicing agent took the position that the event of 12/25/2007 was 'compensable' but no medical or indemnity benefits were owed. More to come as the case progresses...