I went to Afghanistan & came back disabled & KBR/Halliburton refuses to pay me disabilities to pay for my medical care - even though it's the law.
That's the story of a Bryan, Tx man, Celester Hall, who went to Afghanistan to support the troops & make a better life for himself & family.
If you get a chance to pick up the latest Houston Press, please check out it's cover story on Mr. Hall. I checked their website but it's not the latest issue. Should be soon I'm expecting.
http://www.houstonpress.com/
Update: 6:30 pm: The Houston Press has the story now. Thanks to halcyon: link
I believe in business. Hey, I'm a Texan. It's in mah blood. I haven't jumped on the KBR are criminals bandwagon but I may have to.
Listen to his story. It's just gets worse & worse.
Mr. Hall was a truck driver who went to Afghanistan b/c it paid him alot more than the $20,000 he made supporting his wife & teenage daughters here.
He contracted a respiratory disease there which has left him deaf, in diapers and disabled. Afghanistan ravaged the Russian military with this disease when they invaded the country. 43% of the Russian military contracted acute pneumonia in the 1st year.
That's happening to our guys there now (#'s unknown of course) but at Mr. Hall's station, the doctor said he was seeing 70 cases a day.
A menigitis vaccine is available that would reduce the chances of pneumococcal infection by 70% - HOWEVER KBR in it's infinite wisdom does not routinely give this vaccine.
All of this is dumb & negligent so far. What happens next is infuriating & IMHO criminal.
Mr. Hall came back disabled which entitled him under the Defense Base Act (DFA) to disabilites coverage. He currently has $100,000 in medical expenses to pay. The DFA covers an civilian who supports the troops & entitles them or their family (in the case of death) financial coverage.
So he should be covered, righ? He put his life on the line, risked death to make life better for his family. Mr. Hall OF COURSE is entitled by law & MORALTY to be covered.
RIIIIGHT? Not according to Halliburton/KBR.
The VERY night Mr. Hall was emergency lifted out of Afghanistan to Germany, KBR terminated his employment.
THEN they refused to pay for his disabilities.
Turns out this is a fairly common practice among unscrupilous comanpies & insurance companies. You may have seen this in the movie, Rainmaker.
The idea is that by denying the claim, the company is banking that an employee will not get a lawyer & fight the matter. KBR is banking on the ROI: that the cost of litigation will be less than the cost of paying out all claims (more on that below).
For them, it may be #'s, but for the families, it can mean emotional & financial bankruptcy.
As their lawyers state: "The people they're screwing here are the widows & children of heroes who are going over there to support the war effort" Gary Pitts.
But wait! KBR doesn't even have fear the cost of litigation! Why? B/c it has a cost-plus contract with the government. Remember those NO-BID contracts? Turns out that all litigation costs that KBR incurs can be (AND ARE) charged back to the American government.
In other words, the American taxpayer pays for their court costs.
In OTHER words, you & me & everybody here is paying to have Mr. Hall's disability denied to him.
How's that make ya'll feel???
I encourage you all to read the article (check later online). If any Texas KOS member is in Bryan/College Station, I'd love to see an interview of him.
Let's get this man's story out. We can talk all the corruption we want but America doesn't get it until we put a face to it.
Cindy is the face of American soldiers who are dying in Iraq for nothing.
Mr. Hall can be the face of government & Halliburton corruption.