No 9-11 Compensation for Flight Attendant (No money for NON-victim of attacks)

Atlanta Journal Constitution ^ | 11/27/03 | AP

[mountaineer]

TRENTON, N.J. (AP)--A flight attendant who would have died in the Sept. 11 attacks if she hadn't traded shifts with a co-worker may not receive workers compensation for emotional distress, a state appellate court ruled.

Kim Stroka claimed that she was too distraught to work after her colleague died on United Airlines Flight 93, which was hijacked shortly after taking off from Newark Liberty International Airport en route to San Francisco. It crashed in a field in Pennsylvania, killing everyone on board.

Stroka, of Howell, had taken that day off without pay to care for her daughter.

She said she soon had difficulty eating and sleeping and could not return to work, and was treated by a psychologist for post-traumatic stress disorder.

A workers' compensation judge awarded her medical and disability payments but that was overturned Wednesday by the three-judge state appellate court.

The panel ruled that Stroka, 43, is not entitled to the award because ``nothing happened while she was working which led to her current condition.'' The ruling was based on a 1979 measure that made it harder for workers to collect money for injuries that occur outside the workplace.

The judges said that if Stroka were allowed to keep the award, ``off-duty police officers, firefighters and others whose jobs are inherently risky could seek compensation benefits when a fellow employee was injured or killed while taking that employee's place.''

A lawyer for United, Christopher Saracino, said the company sympathizes with Stroka and anyone else affected by the attacks. He said Stroka probably could have sought permanent partial disability benefits if doctors had agreed that she could never fly again.

[mountaineer]

No compensation for non-injuries not suffered at work - gee, it sounded like a good idea at the time.

[Lancey Howard]

Every Democrat scumbag is looking for an angle.
Free stuff. It's what it's all about.

[mountaineer]

BTW, a friend of our family was scheduled to work TW800 as a flight attendant, but she switched with another woman, who perished. It must not have occurred to her to sue for her own non-death.

[mountaineer]

Brings to mind reparations for slavery that occurred hundreds of years ago, somehow ...

[Lancey Howard]

Notice this part?

A workers' compensation judge awarded her medical and disability payments but that was overturned Wednesday by the three-judge state appellate court.

So, some scumbag Democrat judge did think it was a great idea to give away (somebody else's) money for nothing.

[Paul Atreides]

Umpteenth "victim:" "I brushed up against a guy in the elevator, who later died in the World Trade Center; can I have three billion dollars?"

[martin_fierro]

Nice work if you can (not) get it.

[mountaineer]

Didn't most of us suffer some emotional distress after Sept. 11? I know I did. SHOW ME THE MONEY!!!

[lowbridge]

bump

[mountaineer]

some scumbag Democrat judge did think it was a great idea to give away (somebody else's) money for nothing.

I imagine most of us have known someone who collected workers' comp payments for some "injury" that somehow prevented them from working, but didn't prevent them from doing yard work, making home repairs, doing carpentry, hunting, playing baseball, etc. (I refer directly to my former neighbor, George).

[Pedantic_Lady]

No compensation for non-injuries not suffered at work - gee, it sounded like a good idea at the time.

I think some people aren't being very fair; how would you have felt if you had traded shifts with someone and they met such a horrific end? I would feel extremely guilty and might not ever be able to get over it. It would affect me every day for the rest of my life. If anything, United should have at least paid for psychiatric care and medication; after all, it's the airline lobby in the U.S. that partially contributed to the soft security underbelly that allowed these attacks to happen in the first place. United is a very vocal part of that lobby, so they must bear some responsibility.

[highimpact]

"I think some people aren't being very fair; how would you have felt if you had traded shifts with someone and they met such a horrific end?"

The fact that this employee was distraught after trading shifts with somebody who died in her place isn't the issue. I was upset after 9/11 too. We all experience emotional distress in our lives, but how many of us expect the rest of America to compensate us for it?

If this woman feels guilty because she survived, then she should take the money that she was paid and give it to the family of the deceased flight attendant who took her place. Then she should get on with her life, and stop expecting the rest of us to take care of her until she feels better.

United should bear some of the compensation for the true victims of this tragedy (the family members of the deceased who died as a result of their pathetic attempts at security), but that's another topic.

[highimpact]

I watched my neighbor build a 100' privacy fence after he suffered a "debilitating" accident at work. Behind the fence I could hear him tinkering with his classic cars all day long while he collected workers comp benefits on my dime. He didn't appreciate it very much when I called the state on him.

[Agnes Heep]

My work caused me to come into contact with the remains of all the Pentagon victims; something I was very ill prepared for. Not very pleasant; but damned if I'm about to sue anyone over it. This woman should consider herself lucky and make an end of it. I suspect, however, that her motives are purely mercenary.

[Hatteras]

"100' privacy fence"

Dang, that's one tallllll fence!

[Pedantic_Lady]

The fact that this employee was distraught after trading shifts with somebody who died in her place isn't the issue. I was upset after 9/11 too. We all experience emotional distress in our lives, but how many of us expect the rest of America to compensate us for it? If this woman feels guilty because she survived, then she should take the money that she was paid and give it to the family of the deceased flight attendant who took her place. Then she should get on with her life, and stop expecting the rest of us to take care of her until she feels better. United should bear some of the compensation for the true victims of this tragedy (the family members of the deceased who died as a result of their pathetic attempts at security), but that's another topic.

Of course we were all emotionally affected by 9/11, but few of us came as close as this woman did to being killed by a terrorist that day. I don't think most people are really qualified to make a judgement about how this has affected her. I for one feel sorry for her because if it were me, I don't think I could go even one day without feeling guilty. I think that she has undergone genuine pain and suffering...and I think this because if I were in her place, I would feel the same way. I think it's too bad that she didn't get compensation; how could you move on with your life if something like that happened to you?

I'll tell you something. My great-grandfather moved to the U.S. from Russia in 1909. He sent for his two sisters in 1912, who traveled to England but encountered delays and missed their ship. That ship was the Titanic, and they would have been steerage passengers, which would have been a near-certain death sentence. They never got over it and both of them suffered nightmares and psychological problems for the rest of their lives. They eventually met a horrific end at the hands of the Nazis; they returned to Eastern Europe in 1920 after Poland became an independent nation (they were ethnically Polish) and were murdered at Auschwitz. My great-grandfather never recovered; he felt guilty for allowing them to return to Europe and I feel it shortened his life significantly. He died a few years after WWII ended, his health ruined by the guilt he felt over his sisters.

So I'm not sure we're qualified to stand in judgement unless we've come so close to disaster. Just my .02.

[jimfree]

I'm sorry for her situation. But, she has been given an opportunity to go well beyond a possible death. She took the day off to care for her child and because of that choice she remains here to continue to care for that child. She chances fritting away that wonderful gift if she focuses on bogus litigation. I cried profusely on 09/11/01. I learned several months later that I knew folks on flight 77 and cried some more. I don't have anybody to sue or make a claim against. She got a pass from certain death and owes much to God and her family and her coworker that covered for her. She renegs on that debt by pursuing compensation.

[Centurion2000]

So I'm not sure we're qualified to stand in judgement unless we've come so close to disaster. Just my .02.

No disrespect but I came within 1mm of detonating a white phosphorus artillery warhead literally under my butt in the middle of a battallion level artillery ammunintion depot.

I got over it even though it scared the living sh|t out of me ... this lady will be fine.

[Pedantic_Lady]

I got over it even though it scared the living sh|t out of me ... this lady will be fine.

No offense, but the armed forces are voluntary in the U.S. (I'm assuming you were in the armed forces) and people who join the armed forces would likely naturally assume that there is a risk they will die in the line of duty. Flight attendants are rarely killed in terrorist attacks or even plane crashes; they're more likely to be killed in a car accident on the way to the airport...but you can't really compare your experience with hers. They're just not the same.

[JoeFromCA]

The World Owes Me A Living (lyrics from Now and Forever (1934) Shirley Temple):

Oh the world owes me a living
Deedle dardle doodle deedle dum
Oh the world owes me a living
Deedle dardle doodle deedle dum

If I worked hard all day I might
Sleep badder when in bed at night
I sleep all day so that's alright
Deedle dardle doodle deedle dum

There once was an old grasshopper
Who could only think of fun
He looked on work as something too
Unpleasant to be done

He loved to sit in the summer sun
And fiddle all day long
While dozing there he played this air
And singed this little song