ST. LOUIS — In the early days of the coronavirus pandemic, St. Louis emergency medical technician Liz Smith says it was impossible for first responders to avoid the virus.
"Basically, [EMTs] are the canaries. COVID's happening and we're the canary bird that they're sending in to see 'is it or isn't it?'" said Smith.
A tenured EMT with the city for more than a decade, Smith was used to risking her safety and health to help others.
"We all understand what we're risking, especially when we go into it. But at the same time we have this family relationship with each other," said Smith. "And so we thought our employer was kind of taking care of this, that and the next thing."
In late February 2020, Smith was hospitalized with a severe case of covid.
"I coded three times, they got me back three times and they told them there's nothing more they can do for me, call the family so they can say goodbye," said Smith.
Smith says she spent a month in a coma, and three months in the hospital on and off a ventilator. Her health was so ravaged, she can't return to her job as an EMT. Smith says she's has been working with the Mayo clinic and BJC to obtain a lung transplant.
"[COVID] has done so much damage to my lungs. They said it caused necrotizing pneumonia. So it just ate cavities into my lungs," said Smith, who has battled bacterial infections consistently since being discharged from the hospital last May.
No help for the EMT
It will not be easy for Smith to get a lung transplant in addition to the various, pricey medications and ER visits her needs on a consistent basis.
Earlier this year, the I-Team learned Smith's workers' compensation claim had been denied by the city of St. Louis. Former Mayor Lyda Krewson's communications director told us at the time, "There are no records to substantiate this claim at this time."
Smith said the claim "should have been really easy, but they turned around and said, 'No, she just had the flu.'"
Smith said she provided paperwork from the Mayo Clinic and the doctors who fought to save her life while she battled COVID in the hospital last Spring.
"Granted, I don't have a positive test, but no one has a test from back then, we didn't have them. It's not like, you know, COVID hit the United States and then came with all these tests. We didn't even know what it was," said Smith.
"All we wanted was my health care"
What makes Smith's workers' comp denial even more unexpected is the fact that it came after an Emergency Rule was put into place by Missouri Governor Mike Parson near the start of the pandemic.
The rule expanded Missouri's workers' compensation law by assuming that any first responder who had COVID was exposed to the virus while on the job.
Early data shows the emergency rule had an impact.
In 2020, Missouri's division of workers' comp approved $316 million in workers' comp benefit settlements for COVID-19 injuries and fatalities for all workers, including EMTs. But it hasn't helped Smith.
In response to our inquiries about Smith's case, Governor Parson's office issued this statement: "The filing of a claim by a claimant initiates a contested case proceeding where an Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) has the authority to determine the disputed issues."
Governor Parson's office did not respond to our direct questions about Smith's case, or what resources they could offer to first responders in Smith's circumstances.
"The politicians are always saying nice things about first responders until something happens. And then it's, 'well, we want to wash our hands of it. We don't want anything to do with it'," said Tim Kirchoff, a former firefighter of 14 years for St. Louis City and St. Charles county.
Kirchoff worked with Smith in 2013, and he reached back out when he heard about the severity of her condition, and her struggle to get help. He spent years in a similar battle.
"I got injured in 2014 when I got trapped in the house fire, had to jump out of a window, had eight surgeries. But [my employer] refused to pay my workers' compensation claim," said Kirchoff. "I lost all my benefits. I lost my health care. I lost my life insurance. I lost everything."
Kirchoff says after four years of legal action, and thousands of dollars in fees, he finally got his workers' compensation case approved.
"I think there needs to be some kind of state law that covers first responders, front line workers, you know, with mental illness, with medical conditions that obviously happened on the job," said Kirchoff, who also volunteers with Project Hurt- which helps first responders deal with PTSD. " [Smith] did her job. She did it well for years, and now she's in a bad position. And they don't want to help."
Support for Smith grows
At least two St. Louis city leaders have rallied behind Smith.
Newly-elected Ward 12 Aldermen Bill Stephens has met with Smith several times and plans to advocate on her behalf.
"I believe that it is our duty not only as elected officials and as government officials, but as citizens to continuously seek out ways that we can improve the systems that we have and that we can improve the livelihoods of our constituents, of our neighbors, and that we can work to create a better system that benefits all of us," said Stephens.
"We all understand what we're risking, especially when we go into it. But at the same time, a lot of people are falling through to fall through the cracks. I know I'm not the only one," said Smith.
A promising update; a second look
Monday afternoon, a communications director for Mayor Tishaura Jones's office told the I-Team the city will be reconsidering Smith's workers' comp claim. The process will take time and likely involve mediation.
Smith has retained an attorney.