A young resident of Lanzarote has filed a complaint against a mutual insurance company in the Social Courts of Arrecife for discharging him after being on leave for more than half a year after suffering a work accident. "I'm not better, they discharged me with several hernias and my back is a mess," says Juan Ramón Balsa, who argues that he is not fit to work and has extended his complaint to the National Institute of Social Security and the General Treasury of Social Security.
Specifically, Juan Ramón was given medical leave on March 27 of last year, after suffering a "work accident" in a company for which he worked in Galicia, his homeland, as a machine operator to manufacture plastic material products. According to him, the company made him lift "by weight" a "cardboard reel" that could weigh "about 200 kilos" together with another colleague, after which he was injured and diagnosed with lumbago by the mutual insurance company.
After that, this 38-year-old claims that he received physiotherapy sessions from the mutual insurance company and that the leave was extended until June, when he was discharged, after his diagnosis was also changed. According to him, he was then given the results of medical tests showing that he had "protrusions" and "several hernias", also in the groin. Thus, Juan Ramón Balsa challenged the discharge, managing to get the National Institute of Social Security to agree with him.
Later, and after his contract with the company was terminated in June without him wanting to renew it, in August he moved to live with his then partner in Lanzarote, where he claims that he continued to be treated by the mutual insurance company, which also has a headquarters on the island. However, in October he was discharged again and, although he also challenged it because he claims that he has not improved, his challenge was rejected by the National Institute of Social Security by means of a resolution dated December 2, after a doctor examined him.
"Helpless" and "on the street" for six days
So, now he has decided to resort to Justice. "I consider that the resolution extinguishing the period of temporary disability should be annulled as there is no improvement in the state of health," his lawyer argues in the lawsuit filed with the Social Courts of Arrecife, where he insists that "the ailments prevent him from working."
In addition, as a result of the medical discharge that he did not expect, Juan Ramón claims that he feels "helpless" and that he is having economic difficulties, to the point that in December he found himself "on the street" and had to sleep "six days in a commercial premises" with his two dogs.
Now, however, he points out that he is living in the house of an acquaintance who offered him help and that he has obtained an unemployment subsidy of 426 euros, which he will start receiving in February. "And my family, who are in Galicia, are also helping me, but 600 euros come into my house," he says.
"I don't want to be sucking on a handout, I want a medical solution"
However, Juan Ramón assures that he "doesn't" want "to be sucking on a handout." "What I want is a medical solution because I want to continue being useful. I want someone to tell me you have this and we are going to fix it," adds this young man.
In this regard, he claims that he has visited "other doctors" and that they have told him that his problem "could be operable." However, although he acknowledges that he could resort to public health, he believes that his problem should be treated as an occupational disease and that, therefore, the mutual insurance company should take care of it.
"Because it is true that a hernia does not come out overnight, but I think it is the result of work, because they made me do jobs that I did not have to do," says Juan Ramón, who is confident that Justice will rule in his favor.