Compensation denied! - Healthcare worker refused insurance payout after losing leg in mishap

A nurses aide who lost her leg after a motor vehicle crashed into an ABM she was using in Spanish Town, St Catherine, has been denied compensation by the insurers of the vehicle.

The victim, Dionne Simmonds, has been told that the insurance policy on the vehicle was voided because the driver had possessed a motor vehicle for less than a year. The policy states that no one with a driver's licence for under one year is permitted to drive the car. The decision of the insurance company not to provide a payout has hit the 52-year-old Simmonds like a wall of bricks.

"The only thing left to do is to sue the owner of the car," said Simmonds.

She said that while such action is being contemplated, it is unclear whether the owner has any assets that could be used to compensate her.

Simmonds' world was thrown into a tailspin on February 18. She was exiting an ATM along Brunswick Avenue when the driver of a white Toyota Axio lost control of the vehicle and slammed into the door of the machine, pinning her. Simmonds suffered life-altering injuries as a result of the mishap.

"It rough enuh," she told THE WEEKEND STAR. "I was coping at first because I had a little savings, but it is all spent out."

Simmonds said her struggles have been compounded by the fact that she has to be finding money for rehabilitative care for both her and the eldest of her sons, who is also a motor vehicle crash victim.

"My son met in an accident in December of last year and he has to do therapy, and then I had my accident in February," she bemoaned.

In addition to therapy and other medical related costs, Simmonds has had to retrofit her car in order to drive it.

"I had to take a lot of taxi and then it was getting too costly, so I got a driver to drive my car, but that didn't work out as well," said Simmonds.

The healthcare worker of two decades said her employment now hangs in the balance.

"My workplace asked me to get a letter from my doctor to state if I am capable of returning to work, but in the letter the doctor state that I am not ready. Reason being is because I am walking with two equipment and I am not able to balance properly on my own, so it would not be wise for them to have me there in case something happens that can cause more injury to what I have," she said.

"I have also exhausted my special sick leave so I am not sure how much longer I will be getting paid. It is really difficult and it's taking a toll on me," Simmonds said.