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She didn’t know what it was; she only knew it was really heavy.
Angela Moreno was a vendor picker in an Amazon warehouse. In November 2019, she was pulling a box off the second shelf of her picking cart when the box suddenly fell. She caught it in her hands to avoid it hitting her foot, but the weight of the car part in the box pulled her to the floor. And then the pain hit.
“I thought Amazon would have taken care of me, but when I got hurt, I had to work my whole shift that night and the next day,” Angela remembers. “I told them it was too painful and asked them to let me go to the doctor.”
“I had to work my whole shift that night and the next day. I told them it was too painful and asked them to let me go to the doctor.“
Angela was initially diagnosed with a lumbar strain and was sent to a second doctor, who fitted her with a back brace and prescribed physical therapy. As time went by, Angela was not improving significantly; however, Amazon wanted her back at work. She knew she needed help with a workers’ compensation claim.
“I Googled ‘workers’ compensation’ and GGRM was the first law firm that popped up,” said Angela. “They had lots of good reviews, so I called them. I was able to meet with Erik Tondevold. He told me how to talk with the doctor who wanted me to go back to work, and then basically took over from there.”
“I couldn’t even carry a laundry basket, so there was no way I could go back to the same work I did before… Every time I needed an answer, Erik was there. He reassured me and made me feel comfortable. “
Within two weeks of her meeting with Erik, Angela was able to get a second opinion and the proper treatment for her work injury, as well as workers’ compensation benefits. By May 2020, Amazon notified her to return to work.
“I couldn’t even carry a laundry basket, so there was no way I could go back to the same work I did before.” Angela explains. “The doctors wanted me to try cortisone shots, but I didn’t want to do it. I’m too young to have to start depending on those injections; I just didn’t feel comfortable. So I had to quit my job.”
Once again, Erik went to work for Angela. She was rated for her disability, going from partial to full time disability, and received a workers’ compensation settlement.
“Every time I needed an answer, Erik was there,” said Angela. “He reassured me and made me feel comfortable. I was very emotional and didn’t know what to do. I had just moved out of my parents’ house and didn’t know what would happen to me.”
Medical rehabilitation and healing take time. GGRM was able to help Angela receive the treatment and time her body needs to recover. Today, Angela remains on full-time disability and tries to work from home while continuing to heal.