‘I don’t get nothing from them’

A National Solid Waste Management Authority (NSWMA) sanitation officer, who claims an injury on the job led to the amputation of his left leg, is accusing the state agency of failing to offer any assistance or compensation.

But the NSWMA has denied liability, countering that Veron Myers, a 14-year contract worker with SPM Waste Management Limited, did not report the injury either verbally or in writing until several months later.

SPM Waste Management Limited is the southcentral regional branch of the NSWMA. It serves the parishes of Manchester, Clarendon and St Elizabeth.

“Mi lose mi leg from the 9th of February, and from it cut off, no one say anything to me. No one call mi and say how they going to look after me. I don’t get nothing from them,” Myers, who is from Santa Cruz, St Elizabeth, told The Sunday Gleaner.

The 54-year-old man said while on the job on September 26, 2023, an unknown sharp object pierced the base of his left big toe. He initially dismissed the injury, believing it was minor.

At the time, he said the ‘hard’ shoes provided to him by the agency were damaged and unwearable, prompting him to switch to a pair of water boots also issued by NSWMA. He said this was also compromised by a break at the bottom, but he considered them more usable than the damaged shoes.

Myers could not pinpoint the exact location where he picked up the injury when asked by The Sunday Gleaner, noting that the nature of the job requires sanitisation officers to make several stops and to travel to numerous locations in a day. He said the team had been working from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. and so it was difficult to remember where the injury had happened.

CONTINUED WORKING DESPITE INJURY

Despite the injury, Myers said he continued working while wearing the water boots. He visited a private doctor twice during this period, but the prescribed medication did not seem to help.

He recalled working until December 24, 2023, before his condition worsened, and he was hospitalised on December 26.

“It gather up infection pon me and swell up. The whole foot swell up; so me go Black River Hospital and in deh the whole of January until the 9th of February [when] dem cut it off,” he said.

Myers said doctors informed him that his foot had developed wet gangrene. This is a complication of cellulitis that occurs when the infection progresses and causes irreversible damage and death of cells in the skin and surrounding tissue. He was also diagnosed with ascending cellulitis.

Cellulitis is a bacterial infection that usually occurs when bacteria enter a wound or area where there is no skin. It is typically treated with antibiotics and should go away within seven to 10 days.

The condition progressed into critical limb ischemia, which is a serious condition that occurs when the arteries in the legs are severely blocked, reducing blood flow and oxygen to the limbs.

Myers said several medical certificates were sent to SPM Waste Management Limited, which is headquartered in Mandeville. Documents seen by The Sunday Gleaner show that they were submitted belatedly, months after he picked up the injury. He said the NSWMA responded by requesting that he specify where the injury took place and provide the names of any witnesses.

He said he wrote back to the agency, but has not heard from it, adding that several telephone calls and visits by family members have not yielded any success in getting assistance.

“Right now, a God help me through. The likkle money me did a work and save a month end, a it me a spend out. Mi mother dead too and a outta that mi bury her and the likkle weh leave, mi affi up and dung a hospital and doctor a spend until now,” he said, noting that he has had to relocate to Maggotty in St Elizabeth to live with his sister, who is assisting him.

His latest contract for two years will expire in January.

NSWMA Executive Director Audley Gordon confirmed to The Sunday Gleaner that Myers is contracted to the agency.

A statement he provided regarding the situation said that more than a year ago, Myers’ supervisor realised that he was embarking a compactor truck.

It said Myers’ supervisor examined his foot and realised that there was a cut on his foot. He moved him to lighter duties in the form of sweeping.

SIX-MONTH WAIT TO REPORT

NSWMA said it was approximately six months later, after Myers’ condition worsened, that he mentioned that his medical condition was caused by an injury on the job.

“At no time prior, did Mr Myers report that he had an injury on the job or what caused such injury. It must be further noted that the NSWMA has conducted training on an annual basis and have distributed SOP (standard operating procedures) to sanitation officers and drivers over the past eight years on procedures to follow when there is an injury on the job,” the agency said.

It said all injuries must be reported immediately to supervisors and thereafter in writing.

Further, NSWMA said sanitation officers work in teams of three or four.

“As such, the likelihood for a witness to an injury is high. This team work is necessary based on the nature of the job undertaken. Even though Mr Myers is a contract employee, the NSWMA prides itself is issuing similar benefits to contract officers as permanent staff members as we see both as equal. As such, Mr Myers is entitled to 15 vacation days with pay, 14 days paid sick leave, and five departmental days.

“Currently, Mr Myers has exceeded all his sick leave and necessary vacation leave and we are working to see what other humanitarian efforts can be extended. The NSWMA, at this point, cannot claim liability for the alleged injury on the job. Mr Myers’ supervisor and the Authority did not receive any report of an injury on the job, verbal or in writing, when the alleged incident was said to have occurred,” the NSWMA said.

But Myers said he did not report the matter because he felt “it was just a small cut”. Similarly, he said it was after he got off work and felt the burning sensation that he noticed the wound. He said his colleagues would not have been able to stand as witnesses because he realised hours after the fact. Further, he said they had noticed him limping in the days that followed and encouraged him to see a doctor.

kimone.francis@gleanerjm.com