(Lugoff-Elgin) - More than five weeks have passed since Kevin Lane suffered second degree burns while at his job at the Smokehouse Restaurant in Lugoff.
"I went to light the grill and it blew up and that's all I remember," Lane says.
The burns cover fifteen to twenty percent of his body, but that's better better than what his mother, Joanne, saw just after surgery at the Augusta Burn Center.
Joanne Glanton said, "When I got there I couldn't even look at him, it was real bad," says Joanne Glanton. "His arms, his legs, and his whole face was burned up."
Joanne says the situation got even worse when they learned the Smokehouse Restaurant didn't have worker's compensation insurance. She says the entire procedure, even therapy, will cost thousands of dollars, and Kevin has no money coming in.
"$50,000 is just the beginning. Air Med is calling right now because they want money every week."
The owners of Smokehouse Restaurant declined an on-camera interview but did issue this statement: "We were told we didn't have to have Worker's Comp on our part-time employees. Since the accident, we have applied for Worker's Compensation. After the accident, we paid him his weekly salary until we received a letter from his lawyer. We were advised to stop any contact or payment to Mr. Lane by the our attorney."
Now, as they prepare for an impending lawsuit, Kevin and his mother hope he continues to heal and financial help will come very soon.
In case you are wondering, state law does require business with four or more employees to have worker's comp insurance. The State Worker's Compensation Commission does have a program for employees of uninsured businesses to file claims for worker's comp. Many times the businesses will end up paying in the end.
The owners of Smokehouse tell News19 they were told that's what would happen in this case.
7/11/2007 2:50:59 PM
