Fluor loses seven contractors in Kabul Suicide Bombing

 

Cross Posted from MsSparky

13 Americans believed killed in Kabul bombing    UPDATED October 21, 2011

From the comments:

Team Fluor,

Saturday we suffered a tragic loss of seven of our own teammates during an attack in Kabul. Each of those we lost was a friend and valued part of our team. We lived and worked together. We forged bonds of camaraderie that are only found at times like this.

We each deal with our grief in different ways; some will find comfort in memorial services like the one we held at Dubbs or the ramp ceremony at Bagram, others will find that talking to friends, a Chaplain, or counselor helps. We have Site Managers and Employee Assistance Program teams on site to help us through this difficult time and find ways to cope.

Yesterday we notified the families of those we lost and we have assistance officers with them to help each of the families get through the difficult times ahead. I have asked our leaders to stay engaged with our colleagues that need assistance here and answer the questions that we can. I want to be sure you all have this information, as I know that rumors and internet blogs have not always been the best source for information.

Should you have any questions or need assistance, please talk to your immediate supervisor. He or she can provide the first step to find direction or help and ensure the proper steps are taken. Keep in mind that we have professional counselors on our EAP team available to assist you.

Although many of us know them personally, out of respect for their families we are not releasing any names of those lost in the attack. Please join me as our thoughts and prayers are with our teammates and their families during this difficult time.
George Rabb, Country Manager, LOGCAP
Fluor Government Group

Please see the original at MsSparky

Jarod Keith Cravens Contractor killed in Afghanistan

North Texas Man Killed in Afghanistan

CEDAR HILL, Texas – A 32-year-old North Texas man died over the weekend when his convoy was attacked in Afghanistan.

Jarod Keith Cravens had served eight years in the Marine Corps but returned to work as a contractor, his wife Stephanie said.

The couple has a 12-year-old son and a 9-year-old daughter.

Cravens had most recently been in North Texas just a few weeks ago on leave, where he was able to attend Game 4 of the World Series with family members, and the State Fair of Texas with his children.

His Facebook page is filled with messages from friends and family mourning his loss

Eight Civilian Contractors, some Fluor Employees, killed in Kabul Suicide Car Bombing

It was initially reported that 12 American Soldiers were killed in this blast.  It is now being reported that eight of these killed were contractors.  It is also being reported that two of the Contractors Killed were British Electricians and were working for a building contractor, Fluor

Fluor Corp., a company based in Irving, Texas, that employs contractors in Afghanistan, confirmed on Sunday that some of its employees, including the two British nationals, were killed in the attack. Their names were not being released out of respect for their families, said Keith Stephens, a company representative.

One Kosovar National reported killed.

Scotsman October 31, 2011

The British contractors were named locally as Stephen Brown, 52, and David Quinn, 34. Both men were electricians, employed by the Texas-based engineering company Fluor. Their bodies were due to be repatriated last night. “The company has notified the families involved,” said Fluor spokesman Keith Stephens. “Our thoughts and prayers are with the family, friends and loved ones of our co-workers. Right now our focus is helping them.”

About 165 civilian contractors are thought to have died in Afghanistan since 2001, but just six of them were British, and five worked as security guards.????????

Fluor Contractors killed

The British contractors were working for the Texas-based construction and engineering firm Fluor, which has extensive contracts with Nato forces in Afghanistan, including managing essential facilities on army bases all over the country.

9 Americans among Kabul suicide blast victims

Kabul, Afghanistan (CNN) — Nine American, including four U.S. troops, were among those killed in a suicide bombing in Afghanistan’s capital this weekend, a western diplomat told CNN Sunday.

Saturday’s blast — which also claimed the lives of two British civilians, a Kosovo naitonal and a Canadian soldier — occurred when a car packed with explosives struck an armored bus in a NATO convoy, the diplomat said.

Confusion over casualties arose because some people onboard the bus were not listed on its passenger manifest, the diplomat said.

Afghan officials said four Afghans, including two students, were also killed.

A senior NATO official described the bus as a custom-built, heavily armored Rhino

12 Americans Die as Blast Hits Bus in Afghanistan

KABUL, Afghanistan — At least 12 Americans were killed when a Taliban suicide car bomber attacked an armored shuttle bus in Kabul on Saturday, military officials said

The bombing was the single deadliest assault on Americans in the capital since the war began, military officials said, and follows brazen Taliban attacks on the American Embassy and NATO headquarters in the city last month.

A Western defense official said at least four of the dead Americans were G.I.’s and the rest were contract workers; a Canadian soldier and four Afghans were also reported to be killed

2 British civilians among those killed in suicide bombing of NATO convoy in Kabul

KABUL, Afghanistan — Britain’s Foreign Office says two British civilians working for a building contractor were among the victims of a weekend suicide bombing of a NATO convoy in Kabul that killed 17.

A Taliban suicide bomber rammed a vehicle loaded with explosives into an armored NATO bus on a busy thoroughfare in Kabul on Saturday, killing five NATO service members, including one Canadian soldier, eight civilian contractors and four Afghans

American Civilian Contractor Injured in Attack on Foreign Base Kandahar

Attack on foreign base ends after six hours; one killed  October 27, 2011

Kandahar (dpa) – One Afghan interpreter was killed Thursday in an attack on a NATO-led reconstruction office in southern Afghanistan that lasted six hours, police said.

Three attackers climbed a building close to the Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT) office of the NATO-led forces in Kandahar city and launched an attack on the compound, said Salim Ehsas, the commander of police for that zone.

‘The fight is over. Two of the insurgents were killed by police and one escaped. We are looking to find him,’ Ehsas said.

NATO’s southern command said in a statement that an Afghan interpreter was killed in the gun-battle in the volatile southern province of Kandahar.

Five international soldiers, an American civilian contractor and two Afghan security guards were also injured in the attack, the statement said

 

True to Insurance Company Form ‘Miracle’ tornado survivor denied workers’ comp

CNA, AIG, ACE, and Zurich will be trying this one next…..

You were at no greater risk  than anyone else of getting blown up or getting PTSD/TBI in the War Zones !!

Accident Fund Insurance Company of America

Jim Salter Associated Press at Yahoo News

JOPLIN, Mo. (AP) — By all accounts, Mark Lindquist is a hero, an underpaid social worker who nearly gave his life trying to save three developmentally disabled adults from the Joplin tornado. Both houses of the Missouri legislature honored Lindquist, the Senate resolution calling him “a true hero and inspiration to others.”

But heroism doesn’t pay the bills. The tornado’s 200 mph winds tossed Lindquist nearly a block, broke every rib, obliterated his shoulder, knocked out most of his teeth and put him in a coma for about two months.

Lindquist, 51, ran up medical expenses that exceed $2.5 million, and the bills keep coming. He requires 11 daily prescriptions and will need more surgery.

But he has no medical insurance. Lindquist couldn’t afford it on a job paying barely above minimum wage. He assumed workers’ compensation would cover his bills, but his claim was denied “based on the fact that there was no greater risk than the general public at the time you were involved in the Joplin tornado,” according to a letter to Lindquist from Accident Fund Insurance Company of America, his company’s workers’ comp provider.

Please read the entire story here

Veteran EOD Brian Sullivan tells his story to President Obama

What he did not realize is that he had something much worse than a bad leg: post-traumatic stress disorder.

“It was just the way they describe it,” he said of his state after leaving the Army. “Your world is spinning out of control. You’re going out of your mind. And you don’t know why.”`

Foxboro veteran tells his story to President Obama  October 21, 2011

U.S. Army veteran Brian Sullivan has a story to tell, and Wednesday he had the chance to tell it directly to President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama over lunch at a pizzeria in Virginia.

“I was there to advocate for veterans’ benefits and rights,” said the Foxboro native who served two tours in Afghanistan as part of an Army Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) Unit. “I was glad to be able to voice my concerns, and that my voice might be heard for veterans nationwide and worldwide.”

Sullivan, who lives with his wife, Michele, and four children in Virginia and works for defense contractor BAE Systems, was one of four veterans chosen to meet with the Obamas on Wednesday. They got together in a casual setting at Anna’s Pizza and Italian Kitchen in Hampton, Va., after the First Couple spoke on jobs for veterans at nearby Joint Base Langley-Eustis.

“It was totally unexpected,” Sullivan said, adding that there were regular patrons in the restaurant at the time as well. “I was just expecting to meet with some White House staffers for about an hour.”

He was selected by the nonprofit Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America for what he thought would be some sort of roundtable discussion. Instead, he found himself conversing with the President of the United States about his dangerous Army career, his post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and how, after a seven-month struggle, he was able to not only find work to support his family, but eventually landed a job where he can help other Iraq and Afghanistan veterans.

“He asked everyone to tell something about themselves but, when he came to me, he said, ‘Brian, I see you were an EOD guy,’” Sullivan recalled, impressed that President Obama knew his name and background as an Army Staff Sergeant who disarmed improvised explosive devices (IEDs) in a warzone.

“I had a compelling job and some true stories to tell about my life,” Sullivan said. “I told my story.”

Please read the entire article here

Department of Labor holding Defense Base Act Claims Hostage

The Department of Labor has been denying Defense Base Act Claimants the informal hearings that are required under the Act in order for your attorney to get paid among other things.

The Department of Labor itself made it very clear that an informal hearing must be held and a Claims Examiner must recommend that a claimants attorney be paid.

The Informal Conference is an integral step in the drawn out process claimants must endure.  The DoL Claims Examiner’s recommendations are only acted upon if they go against the injured contractor but still the Informal must be held.

But for many months now the Department of Labor has been denying claimants Informal Conferences. We have no way of knowing how many claims are being held hostage on the desks of the District Directors and Claims Examiners.

Claimants in this Administrative Law System are already being denied many of their constitutional rights.  Claimants are suffering ever more serious and permanent injury due to a lack of medical care while the DoL sits on their claims.

How many claimants with untreated PTSD and TBI will commit suicide during this Department of Labor embargo?

Is this not physical abuse and how much more of it before this is considered denial of “Due Process” ?

Due process is best defined in one word–fairness. Throughout the U.S.’s history, its constitutions, statutes and case law have provided standards for fair treatment of citizens by federal, state and local governments. These standards are known as due process. When a person is treated unfairly by the government, including the courts, he is said to have been deprived of or denied due process.

Defense Base Act Claimants have fewer rights under the law than convicted criminals.

Who Pays Your Defense Base Act Attorneys Fees: Dante replies to Gary Pitts

Who Pays Your Defense Base Act Attorneys fees  to see the original thread with comments

Gary B. Pitts said

October 15, 2011 at 5:11 am e

Mr. “Dante,” does not identify himself, but his allegation is in every respect a a lie. I have never represented any client who had an email address address or referred to himself as “Dante.” I have never been paid any money from any Defense Base Act client ever. If they win or settle a DBA case, attorneys representing DBA clients get paid whatever the U.S. Dept. of Labor orders the insurance company to pay them, usually years after beginning work on the case. If there were a lot of money in handling these cases there would be a lot of attorneys handling them. There are very few who are willing to handle them. If Mr. “Dante” will be kind enough to identify himself and his address to me, I will be happy to consider suing him for libel.

Gary Pitts

Dante replies with (forwarded):

War Widow Blames VA Neglect for her Husband’s Suicide

Sadly this reads like so many  Defense Base Act  PTSD Suicides, Neglect and unreasonable demands….

GREENEVILLE, Tenn. Courthouse News   October 18, 2011

Neglect and unreasonable demands from the Veterans Administration caused another Iraq war veteran to kill himself,

his widow claims in Federal Court. She says that despite a doctor’s “clear diagnosis” of post-traumatic stress disorder, from roadside bombs, including one that killed 93 people, the VA refused to admit he suffered from PTSD, with excuses such as “the diagnosis ‘does not specify which Diagnostic and Statistical Manual was used'”; and that he “‘failed to provide dates of the incidents or names of any casualties.'”
Tracy Eiswert says her husband Scott suffered substandard care from the VA hospital in Mountain Home, Tenn., before he killed himself in 2008. He was 31. She survives, with their two young children.
It’s the latest in a string of lawsuits from families of veterans nationwide, who say the VA was less than helpful after veterans returned from wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The VA in July 2010 relaxed requirements for veterans seeking service-connected PTSD benefits, but the agency still faces criticism for its mental health services.
The 9th Circuit ruled this year in a California class action that the “VA’s failure to provide adequate procedures for veterans facing prejudicial delays in the delivery of mental health care violates the Due Process Clause of the Fifth Amendment,” according to Tracy Eiswert’s complaint.
Scott Eiswert joined the National Guard in 2001 and served in Iraq in 2004 and 2005.

Tracy Eiswert says her husband first sought help for his symptoms after he was honorably discharged in November 2005.
She says Scott saw a professional counselor at a private mental health facility in Greeneville for almost 4 months. Scott’s symptoms included depression, acute insomnia, extreme stress and irritability, according to medical records described in the complaint.
His counselor recommended individual psychotherapy and reported to Scott’s physician that he “certainly appears to meet the criteria for PTSD,” the complaint states.
According to the medical records, in May 2006, Scott’s counselor wrote a letter to the Department of Veterans Affairs, stating: “After meeting with Mr. Eiswert for several appointments, we have established a diagnosis of PTSD, per the Diagnostic & Statistical Manual Criteria.”
The widow says her husband applied to the VA for service-connected PTSD benefits based on the counselor’s diagnosis.
The complaint states:
“In the application Scott describes a number of incidents in Iraq as follows:
“Various Route Clearances – Roadside Bombs, Raids
“Convoy Escorts, all the Outside Wire Dangers and Stresses.
“Close Calls on Roadside Bombs
“Car Bombs and the Destruction they Cause, Including Civilian Fatalities (Body Parts)
“‘I was on a Raid with Fellow Soldiers when they got Blown-Up by a Massive Roadside Bomb. (93 Dead, 1 Crippled)” [Punctuation as in complaint.]
But the VA denied his claims three times before he killed himself, his widow says.
In its September 2006 denial, the VA stated that Scott’s counselor “does not specify which Diagnostic and Statistical Manual was used.’ The denial analysis also states that even though Scott provided ‘sufficient details concerning a stressor …’ it ‘failed to provide dates of the incidents or names of any casualties.'” (Ellipsis in complaint).
Tracy Eiswert says the VA doctor who assessed Scott did not have access to the records of Scott’s private counselor and “relied entirely on Scott’s narrative to make his assessment.” She says the VA doctor “concluded that ‘veteran has current diagnosis of depression, NOS. He does describe symptoms of Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome, however not enough to meet criteria.'”
(NOS apparently indicates “not otherwise specified.”)
The VA denied Scott’s claim a second time in November 2006, after receiving additional medical records from the Tennessee National Guard.
Tracy Eiswert says VA doctors gave Scott medications for depression and insomnia, but he did not tolerate them well.
By early 2007, Scott reported increased marital and family problems, increased irritability, nightmares, night sweats and difficulty sleeping, according to medical records in the complaint

Please read the entire story at Courthouse News

At Least 119 Civilian Contractors Killed in Third Quarter 2011

According to number of Defense Base Act claims filed with the Department of Labor

Defense Base Act Case Summary Reports through Sept 30, 2011

Third quarter Contractor Deaths were                                              119

Third Quarter Contractor Injury longer than 4 days              1,350