A former U.S. Postal Service supervisor who says he was exposed to toxic chemicals from a package at an Orlando facility in 2011 could lose his fight for answers at a hearing Thursday, which his lawyer says is likely to end in defeat.
Jeffrey A. Lill says his life was upended when a colleague alerted him to a foul-smelling package with markings indicating it may have come from Yemen.
According to Lill, a coworker at the USPS processing annex on East Landstreet Road alerted him to the package, which was emitting a harsh vapor. He says he carried it to a hazmat area, but not before breathing its contents.
Quickly, he suffered a headache and a burning sensation, the family says. By June, he was too ill to work.
Vieau says the life her son was living ended that day. Ever since, he’s been barely able to go outdoors. He suffers migraine-like headaches, struggles to communicate or focus, and is debilitated by gastrointestinal distress, she says.
“He can’t express himself well,” she says. “He also has seizures and episodes of intense shaking when he’s stimulated by anything.
She said efforts to treat his condition were hampered by the USPS, which refused to acknowledge the incident, instead attributing his sickness to a disinfectant spill two days earlier. The package disappeared, his family alleges.
Based on Lill’s symptoms and his reaction to treatments, his doctors now believe it held a nerve gas, Vieau said.
Benefit fight led to court
The dispute over how Lill was sickened hindered his access to benefits. According to his legal filings, the USPS maintained the incident never took place, denying a compensation claim even as he went on disability retirement in April 2012.
In January 2013, his attorney filed a formal claim for damage, injury or death, signifying that litigation was ahead.
The next month, his compensation claim was accepted. And after Lill filed a $20 million federal suit in July 2014, officials formally acknowledged that he’d suffered an array of on-the-job illnesses resulting from toxic exposure.
The attorney, Dennis A. Clary of Lewiston, N.Y., does not believe the timing is a coincidence.
Lill sued under the Federal Tort Claims Act, which allows claims by those injured by the actions of federal employees. But since he is now receiving disability, the government argues he falls under the Federal Employees’ Compensation Act.
That law prohibits a compensation claim from being litigated in court. Clary says he believes that Lill’s compensation was granted to avoid a court case — in which he could have questioned USPS officials about the incident.
As a former Haz-Mat “specialist” at a P&DC I can attest to the fact that management largely does not follow regulations in the handling of Haz-Mat mail. Firtst and foremost: training/drills is nonexisant. I had to literally force Mgmnt ,to provide me with the materials I required to do my job and never did receive the full scope of mandatory instruction. Luckily I began documenting my experiences from day one, including a 6-week period where I personally inspected and recorded 500 non-complying mail pieces all of which contained used medical waste [sharps]. When local management still neglected to take action I sent a comprehensive field report direct to HQ where it took them over two months to respond to my findings. And then it was only a cursory response.
Then, one night I had an incident similar to the one I this story: I was exposed to strong fumes that immediately made me dizzy and disoriented. I followed procedures and asked for emergency treatment. Instead of driving me there -since I was very dizzy- they gave me directions to the nearest facility. When I arrived there, it was already closed and I had to return to my plant for more “assistance.” Then I was sent to a ER 5 miles away which I again drove myself. They checked me out and ordered me to go home immediately for rest and observation. But: before my plant would release me, I had to sit and write out a report detailing what had happened. By then, two hours had passed since my exposure and the parcel that cfaused the whole thing was still there exactly as I left it – even though before I left for the ER I instructed the custodial staff and my Supervisor how to handle it safely so others would not be exposed.
After that incident, I’d had enough and began the bid-out process. Now I work in a completely different aspect of the USPS and am very content I no longer have to fight to protect the safety of myself and fellow employees. Mgmnt is great about offering up lip-service, hand-wringing and ALOT of CYA action… but Haz-Mat procedures are an area still overlooked that needs addressing immediately.
Maybe bad dope in the men room? A union employee would have enough help and been rich by now.
Salty pole H3 got a leaky package.
I know 1st responders are very limited. Contain? an evacuation.
A lot of these door knob stupid visor think their something more with their dust mask an paper thin overalls the mechs wear cleaning the DBCS.
You can refuse these door knobs if it is unsafe.
They always call for a custodian for a Leakey package, nobody using any caution. Employees still at a fever pace while the door knob stands watch. Not really knowing what it is? please can you give them space and a minute to clean it up? And oh yea it’s the door knobs job to fill out the paper work with his/her John HandCock signing it in. Not the custodian, so many lazy door knobs try to get the custodians to do it… No no no.