The following Story was published in the Indianapolis Star on Sunday, February 29th.

By Diana Penner

Seven months after a devastating fire aboard a moving truck, several seriously burned painters say that financially, they have been able to maintain their lives with a combination of worker's compensation, company support and private donations.

But that's the extent of it; they are not getting rich.

The worker's compensation system isn't like the world of civil lawsuits. Like other states, Indiana has a system that prevents employers from being sued by employees injured on the job.

In that way, the painters -- employees of RPT Painting of Franklin -- might have been better off financially if they had been burned by super-hot coffee at a restaurant.

The foundation of the no-fault worker's comp system is avoiding legal action that can drag out for years and require proof of responsibility.

The system also lays out how much workers can receive for salary reimbursement, figured at 662/3 percent of a worker's average weekly wage for the year before the injury, and lump sum payments for permanently injured body parts, based on a complex formula.

Indiana's system covers 100 percent of medical care related to on-the-job injuries. The painters have received weekly pay ranging from $210 to $426 tax-free.

Employers carry worker's compensation insurance, and when an accident results in an employee's injury, the insurance carrier covers medical care.

All 11 surviving RPT workers have worker's compensation claims on file; for the most part, the files are still open as the workers continue to receive medical care. However, several have been cleared to return to work, and their wage compensation checks have stopped.

One painter remains hospitalized at Wishard.

Worker's compensation has proved a godsend for the workers, including Joe Gallagher, one of the most severely injured.

Gallagher, 29, was burned over 85 percent of his body, from his head to his ankles.

He was released from inpatient rehabilitation in January, and faces several more operations and grueling therapy.

Right now, Gallagher can't walk on his own, but he is hopeful and determined; it's impossible to say when he'll be able to return to work, but he said RPT has assured him there will be a spot for him when he can.

Worker's compensation has covered all of his medical bills, and wage compensation checks started coming within about a week of the accident, said his mother, Pearl Gallagher. Hospital bills were more than $360,000 after the first month, and the family doesn't have a total cost.

Private fund-raisers have filled in gaps, including providing one of the most bountiful Christmases the couple's two children have ever had, the Gallaghers said. And RPT has come through whenever the family has asked for help, the family added.

With an incident like the truck accident, it's not surprising that worker's comp comes through, said Randy Klezmer, an Indianapolis attorney who specializes in worker's compensation cases representing employees.

With catastrophic injuries in such a public event, there is unlikely to be much dispute that the workers deserve as much compensation as the system allows, he said.

Cases with less serious injuries are likely to trigger more disagreement, and possibly argument among attorneys for workers and employees, he said.

For the RPT painters, the system has worked smoothly.

Before the accident, painter Danny Maple, burned over about 42 percent of his body, knew little about worker's comp.

"We were completely, 100 percent covered," he said. "It's worked beautifully. They have done everything for us that they possibly could."

Diana Penner - Indianapolis Star