‘At the end of my rope’

By Ed Koch

Monday, Oct. 30, 2006 | 7:27 a.m.

Trash collector Derrick Graham has endured the unimaginable after his garbage truck ran over him 19 months ago, slicing off his right leg just below the knee.

And then life just got worse.

Graham, 42, returned to a desk job this year - only to be fired from Republic Services of Southern Nevada in late August after failing a random drug test. His benefits - including unemployment checks, further rehabilitation and an annuity cash settlement from the accident - are now on hold.

On Wednesday he is scheduled to appear before the Nevada Department of Administration, which will decide whether he receives future vocational benefits and job retraining.

Graham, who is still getting accustomed to his prosthetic right leg, is broke, seemingly unemployable and facing eviction from the Henderson apartment he shares with his unemployed bus driver fiancee and his three teenage children.

"I am at the end of my rope," said Graham, who joined the company in December 2004. He pitched garbage into the trucks, and aspired to become a driver.

"I've sold or pawned nearly everything I have of value. I just do not know what I am going to do now for me and my family."

Graham, whose post-accident drug regimen included painkillers morphine, xanax and oxycodone, insists he does not use illegal drugs. But since the drug test indicated the presence of an illegal drug, Republic Services says it is now off the hook in paying hundreds of thousands of dollars in future benefits to Graham.

His legal representatives question the validity of Republic's blood tests and procedures, complaining that the accuracy of the urine test is questionable and that Graham has not been presented with the actual test results within 60 days, as they say the law requires.

Republic Services area President Bob Coyle, in a written statement to the Sun, said that as of Oct. 25 "all of Mr. Graham's records were provided to his attorney at their request."

Nevada Labor Commissioner Michael Tanchek said the 60-day requirement on providing records after termination is a "weird law" because there is no enforcement mechanism in place should an employer not oblige.

Tanchek said a hearing master or a judge can issue a subpoena for the records.

The only thing Graham says he has received from Republic is a letter of termination dated Aug. 22, citing his violation of company standards based on the positive drug test.

Graham said he was not offered an opportunity to go through drug counseling as other Republic employees have been allowed in order to keep their jobs - including, he said, the man who ran him over.

Coyle said professional drug counselors and treatment programs are available to any employee who asks for help - before being tested positive. But, he said, "Republic Services has a zero tolerance policy" for those who test positive.

Coyle said the company doesn't know exactly what drug was detected in the testing by a lab in Kansas, because federal law prohibits releasing that information to an employer.

Graham lost his leg on March 26, 2005, when he and his partner were picking up big bins of garbage on a commercial route. The garbage truck drove over Graham's right leg, leaving the limb dangling by just threads of skin. Doctors had no choice but to remove it, Graham said.

He spent three weeks at the University Medical Center, where he underwent two surgeries, before undergoing six months of rehabilitation at another facility.

Republic says it did right by Graham during his time of need.

"Republic Services provided Mr. Graham with benefits that exceeded mandatory coverage stipulated by the State of Nevada," Coyle said in his statement. "All of his medical bills were covered in full and he was paid full compensation for lost wages during the time he was disabled. The company followed all Workers' Compensation laws. Mr. Graham was provided the best medical care at all times and he was represented by an attorney during the entire process."

Coyle said Republic Services also offered Graham an appropriate desk job, at a similar wage.

About a month after he went off of light duty status and accepted the permanent non-union desk job at his union salary, Graham was tested for drugs. Because he no longer is represented by the union, he is unable to tap its resources to appeal his fate.

Upset by the results of the company's drug test, Graham paid for an independent drug test. It showed the presence of a small amount of cocaine.

Graham insists he has not used cocaine, and hopes to prove that the myriad drugs he has taken in recent months might have, in some combination, suggested the presence of cocaine.

That's going to be tough to prove, experts say.

"This is a somewhat problematic area," said Dr. Iain Buxton, pharmacy professor at the University of Nevada School of Medicine in Reno. Buxton said urine or hair samples can indicate drugs, but it requires an analysis beyond those typical tests to ensure a substance is in the body.

Prior to his firing, Graham was in negotiations with Republic for a cash settlement, but those talks have collapsed now that he has been terminated, he said.

According to a May 11 letter from Republic's claims examiner, Graham was offered $1,347 per year until age 70. Graham thought the offer, which comes to about $37,700, was insulting because as a garbage pitcher he earned about $40,000 a year. Graham says earlier this year he accepted a permanent partial disability lump sum award of $74,814, from which he repaid $35,000 in loans from his attorney and others stemming from the six months he was laid up, $15,000 in attorney fees and $8,500 in back child support payments for his other two children who reside with their mother in California.

The rest, Graham said, went to pay for medical needs, utilities, a trip to California to see his children and the general expenses of raising a son and two daughters in Henderson. The money went even faster the last 60 days with no paychecks, he said.

Graham only recently applied for Social Security disability payments. It generally takes five months to learn if an application is approved. If approved, he will receive a disability award retroactive to the day he applied.

But time is running out for Graham who by Sunday must come up with $1,035 for rent or risk finding himself on the streets.

"The accident may have taken my leg, but what has happened to me since has ruined my life," he said. "All I ever wanted to do was work and take care of my family. I never thought things would wind up like this."