My turn to vent! (sorry this is so long!)

I'm sorry that I am bombarding my problems on everyone here. I am so frustrated right now and really needed to vent a bit. This might be a long one...
Ok...here I go:
I work for our local Wal-Mart in the Pharmacy division. I love my job, but right now I'm so frustrated with it I hate going to work. It started last Friday afternoon. My co-worker Maurene decided she wanted to clean our attic area out. We put all of the paperwork which we need to keep for 8 years up there because we don't have any room for it in the actual Pharmacy. She decided to grab a 10 foot ladder off the shelf in the Hardware section to help her get upstairs (this is an attic and the only way to get up there is by a very tall ladder). To make a long story short, she ended up falling off the top of the ladder on to the concrete floor. She was very lucky she didn't get hurt worse...ended up with a concussion and bruises to her legs. The reason why she fell off is so darn stupid...it just makes me mad! She was carrying a box that weighted 20 pounds up the ladder and was hoisting it upstairs. Maurene is not a small woman. She weighs at least 240 pounds and with the weight of the box on top of her own weight, the ladder braces buckled. The weight limit on the ladder was 225 pounds, so it was just too much weight on that ladder. Well we took her to the hospital and they said that since she's got a mild concussion she shouldn't work until the 3rd of December. Needless to say she still hasn't come back to work. She called on Friday to tell us that she couldn't work on Saturday, so I ended up pulling her shift. That wouldn't have been a problem, but she called me Friday night and told me that she was tired of sitting at home so she decided to go to Lincoln (its the nearest city to us...but is over an hour away) to see her kids. That would be just fine...but she told me that she couldn't work because she has dizzy spells! If she was so darn dizzy, then she shouldn't have driven herself to Lincoln!! Plus, if she was ok to go to Lincoln, why can't she come to work on Saturday? She also told me that she has hired a lawyer and is planning on sueing the company. I don't think she's gonna have any kind of case...mainly because she did not use an OSHA regulated ladder that our store provides for us. She used one that a customer could purchase!
On top of her not being at work, another one of my co-workers ripped a tendon in her ankle, had surgery on it and ended up taking a leave of absence & will be gone for a least 2 months. In our little Pharmacy, we only have 4 employees and 1 Pharmacist...so it's really hard to get everything done. I know that she is faking this crap...she is just trying to get away with all that she can and at our expense! I felt bad that she got hurt, but I know she is lying to us about this. Her stories just don't add up. I am at the point that I dread going to work every morning and am starting to get some bitter feelings about her. If she only knew how hard it is on everyone else!
Well...I feel a little bit better. Thanks for letting me vent!

Shell, I can understand your frustration. Does this lady have a doctor's certificate to stay off work still? Maybe you could call her and let her know how difficult things are with 2 people being away and ask her when she's planning to return.

Good luck!

I don't blame you for being upset!!!! Some people just "milk" things for all they are worth (and then some) and couldn't care less how hard it is on everyone else!!!!!!

There is nothing worse than doing the job of more than one person and just getting paid for one!!!

I forgot to mention that this is her 3rd time having accidents at our store..first, she fell off a ladder, second time was when she lifted a box wrong and twisted her back...and now this time. I think she does this to get attention from everyone! She didn't show up for work yesterday...didn't even bother to call us to let us know she wasn't coming to work. Plus.....another associate seen her shopping in Beatrice (30 miles away from here) doing her Christmas shopping on Saturday...which was this day I had to pull her shift! I'm getting more and more disgusted with her everyday...She knows how hard it is for us when one person is gone for a while. It's plain and simple...she is just greedy for wal-mart money and could care less how much stress she is putting the rest of us under!

Ok...thanks for letting me vent some more. Thanks for the replies...it's nice to hear other's opinions on this too.
Thanks once again,
Shell

Shell - you have every right to be upset. If I were you I would keep track of the things she does that proves she is not injured because you never know if you get called to testify in court. It is always beneficial to keep things fresh by writing them down. It is people like her that sue companies and win that make the prices in the stores higher for everyone else.

If all these people are seeing her out and about doing her normal routine, why can't someone call the Workman's Compensation Board? Is she currently on short term disability or she is just taking some time off? Is she getting paid for it?

At my last job I had to handle all the files on employees and saw how many people rip the system off. Believe me, they want to know people who are ripping them off. I would tell someone, because right now "she" is adding stress to your life while "she" does her Christmas shopping?

Who do you think is suffering more? You are. Take some action, since you are more in control than you think.

Well...it doesn't look like it's gonna get any better for me for a while. She came in today with another doctors note saying that she will be gone for at least another week, possibly two. She also was scheduled for a CAT scan (on her head) for this afternoon. ??? They'll probably find that there isn't anything in there in the first place! Jeez...I shouldn't have said that but it made me feeling better!LOL!
As for her getting paid, she is using her sick time right now. She has to be off work for 2 weeks before she gets any money from Worker Comp. This is her 2nd week, so she will be drawing money soon. As for complaining to my supervisors and management...they tell me their hands are tied. I've complained to just about anyone that would listen to me at work and everyone agrees with me, but absolutely nothing is getting done about it. I was told by my District Manager (my bosses boss) "Michelle, stop worrying about and just work!". I just wanted to reach through that phone and strangle that man!
Oh...here's another good one for ya...
I was told today that we will not receive our bonus' this year because of her accident. She has cost our store so much money from all of this that we no longer qualify for our $350+ bonus!! That really ticks me off! Here I am busting my butt at this job all damn year and in 2 weeks our budget is blown because of this woman's stupidity. Makes no sense to me...

As for keeping track of all of this, I am. I was already informed that if she takes this to court (which I'm betting she is since she has a lawyer), I will have to testify because I was a witness when she fell...plus when she told me that she went to Lincoln on last friday. I'll be the first one in line to testify against her...I have lost all respect for her. She obviously is only looking out for herself and could care less what she's done to everyone else.

Once again, thanks for listening to me. I feel like I can't talk to anyone at work because they can't completely understand why I'm so upset. They are all upset too, but I've know this gal for 5 years and I didn't think that would do this to her co-workers.
I'll keep you all posted if anything else big happens...I'm sure it's only begun!
Thanks once again,
Shell

I would be really mad about the bonus!!! That isn't fair at all that the rest of you should lose your bonuses because if her stupidity! Keep us posted on if this goes to court or not.

Since this is the third time she has been "hurt" at work, it sounds like she is hoping for a settlement and retirement. People like that really irritate me.

I don't know about the worker's comp. laws in your state, but it would not be a bad idea for someone to make a statement of what she has reported to your company attorneys. They need to be deposed by the company attorneys to get this in writing and used as evidence.

Well, if it goes to court, hopefully your testimony will help her lose the case. I would be poed too if I lost my bonus because of someone like that. Good luck.

It seems pretty obvious that she is totally trying to scam the company, and doing a good job of it. Like the others said, I would keep track of everything in writing. That way if it does go to court, you will have something written to back you up. They won't be able to sway your memory if you have a written record with dates and tell them you wrote it as you went from the time she told you she was hiring a lawyer. In all probability, unless she sues them for an astronomical amount of money, Wal Mart will probably settle. It costs them too much in legal fees to fight all but the big cases.

Shell, I am so sorry you are going through all that. You can call Workers Comp and report her. They will go and investigate the case. This may be worth looking into, since your bossess are not helping you out any. Good Luck.