A Lansing area carpenter suffered a severe foot injury at work, which resulted in the development of complex regional pain syndrome, a very painful nerve disorder. He was unable to read or write due to learning difficulties. The insurance company required him to “volunteer” at a non-profit thrift shop. He was confined to a wheelchair while working and had to elevate his leg on a table. This abnormal posturing caused a herniated disc in his lower back that required spinal surgery. The insurance company stopped paying him when he hurt his back, saying it was not work related. We fought very hard to get his benefits back and after a trial we were successful. The insurance company then tried to stop the benefits again when they hired a vocational counselor to help him find a job. The vocational counselor was sending him job leads to pursue but he could not read the job leads or write to apply for the jobs provided, and his benefits were threatened to be stopped again. We won another trial and saved his benefits. The insurance company was also found to be liable to provide him with wheelchair accessible housing and a new residence was built for him. He later settled his case for $1.3 million after having been paid for 25 years. We also were able to get him Social Security Disability and attendant care to have his family help him with activities of daily living.