He’s The 99 Percent: Facing $2M In Medical Bills After Being Denied Workers Comp. For Trying To Saving Lives In Tornado

When a horrifying tornado ripped through Joplin, Missouri earlier this year, Mark Lindquist didn’t think twice before springing into action to saved the lives of those around him. The brave social worker used a mattress to cover three developmentally challenged adults who lived at a group home where Lindquist worked, and he used his body weight to make sure the mattress didn’t move. The monster tornado “tossed Lindquist nearly a block, broke every rib, obliterated his shoulder, knocked out most of his teeth and put him in a coma for about two months.” The three men he tried to save died in the storm. Lindquist was widely regarded as a hero and even honored by the state legislature.

Yet Lindquist has no medical insurance, so when he was given nearly $2.5 million in medical bills, he thought he could rely on workers compensation to help him out. But his company, Accident Fund Insurance Company of America, refused to pay his claim, saying that he was in “no greater risk than the general public at the time you were involved in the Joplin tornado.” Watch a local news report about Lindquist’s predicament:

Lindquist’s story is one of a rich country that stands alone among the developed world in not guaranteeing health coverage for all of its citizens and one where greedy companies like Accident Fund Insurance Company of America will do just about anything to pad their profits, including denying workers compensation to a hero. He is a perfect example of the 99 percent.