Friday, September 03, 2004 Survivors of the Interstate 95 van crash near Fort Pierce that killed nine migrant workers in April are still trying to repair their lives and bodies. None of the 10 who were injured in the rollover is able to work. Some are still healing in hospitals. Five are sharing a three-bedroom apartment trying to recover from surgeries and broken bones. All of them have learned that the outpouring of community support after the crash had a short shelf life. It could be months or years before any of them earns a paycheck again. Unlike most farmworkers who become part of such tragedies, they had a slightly better safety net. The men were working at a grove that had workers compensation insurance, and Circle H Citrus Inc. also carried a $1 million liability policy on the 2001 Ford Econoline, though that policy provides limited coverage. Circle H leased the van, and it was one of 19 the company had registered for use. The injured workers are receiving insurance checks and haven't had to pay for medical visits. Shortly after the crash, Gov. Bush changed the law that prohibited Mexican residents from receiving full death benefits from workers compensation, so each of the dead men's families received a full $150,000 payment. Florida workers comp laws cover immigrants, regardless of their legal status, a justifiable acknowledgment of their essential contributions to the state's economy. The problem is that most employers don't have it. The U.S. Department of Labor fined Circle H owner Jorge Pantuso, who sits on the Florida Citrus Commission, $38,000 for violating the federal Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act. Nearly all of the fine was for twice failing to provide "safe transport vehicles." The company's van was designed to carry 15 people, not 19. Circle H is appealing and has reduced its fleet of vans and added three 35-passenger school buses. Federal studies have found cargo vans prone to rollovers, especially when carrying more than 10 people. More companies are switching to buses because of their stability. Lawsuits are likely from all the survivors and the families of the dead. Suits already filed target the driver, Salvador Leo, as well as Circle H and Ford. Most of the injured will have a hard time working for a living again. As so often is the case, the courts are left to clean up the mess that a system of abuse and neglect has created. |