A Black veteran who suffered an electric shock while working in a Frito-Lay warehouse in 2016 says he has been harassed by the company, which allegedly hired private investigators to follow him after the incident.
After returning home from the Navy, 36-year-old Brandon Ingram of Florissant, Missouri, began working at a Frito-Lay in St. Louis warehouse in 2011. At that time, Ingram was making enough money to care for his family and worked as many as 70 or 80 hours a week in hopes of moving up the ranks within the company, which has made headlines recently as workers at another plant in Topeka, Kansas, went on strike this month to protest working conditions that they say included working 12 hours a day, seven days a week.
“I worked hard. I bust my butt every day, in and out,” Ingram told More Perfect Union, an organization that advocates for workers’ rights.
But since the 2016 on-the-job injury, which Frito-Lay has confirmed took place, Ingram suffers from chronic pain and claims the company turned its back on him.
On Oct. 2, 2016, Ingram was pressing a button at the loading dock when he suffered an electric shock. Ingram was taken to a hospital but says it took 45 minutes to get there because “we passed four hospitals on the way to the hospital they wanted to take me to.” Hospital staff reportedly told Ingram he was OK to return home.
According to Ingram, the company had a contact with a certain hospital and network. Ingram’s wife Melissa said her husband was “never the same” after the incident and struggles just to get out of bed. Ingram said he wasn’t given time off after the accident but called in the next day as a sick day. When he asked if he could have a chair that he could sit in while working, the company denied the request, saying he either had to work at 100 percent or not work at all.
“It just felt like they were just trying to push me out,” Ingram said.
An MRI conducted by Ingram’s primary care doctors showed he had two herniated disks, though he continued working. He has also been diagnosed with liver disease, which can result from a serious electric shock, and the herniated disks resulted in a pinched nerve.
Ingram underwent back surgery and still requires an additional operation on his lower spine. Months passed before the Ingram was approved for long-term disability, and he says the company took away his insurance which caused Ingram to have to pay for numerous visits to the doctor out-of-pocket.
“I even took money out of my kids’ piggy bank,” he said tearfully.
Frito-Lay said in a statement that the electrocution did occur, but that it can’t be confirmed that Ingram’s injuries are a result of the shock.
“Medical experts disagree over whether Mr. Ingram’s back and neck injuries are work-related,” the statement said.
Ingram has filed a suit against the company, and in response, Frito-Lay hired private investigators to secretly film the man and his family in an attempt to undermine his court case, the family claims.
“They are stalking is,” Melissa said. More Perfect Union obtained footage Frito-Lay obtained of the family driving, doing yard work, and of the couple’s children playing. Melissa started homeschooling their daughter out of concern for her safety. “I don’t know how many people they’ve given our address and names to,” she said.
The couple believes the company hopes to find footage proving Ingram isn’t actually disabled, and says the filming has been going on for years.
“Why are you fighting so hard to say that I’m not hurt instead of just, look at the paperwork, look at the medical stuff, look at everything I’ve been through,” Ingram said.
The Frito-Lay statement did not address the allegations that the company hired investigators to follow and film the family, but states, “Mr. Ingram remains eligible for, and is currently receiving, benefits under the company’s long-term disability program for so long as he is unable to work.”
The statement goes on to say, “We understand that navigating the process of applying for workers’ compensation and disability benefits can be frustrating, and we are continuously looking for ways to improve the experience. Moreover, we care very much about our associates, and when concerns are raised, we take them seriously as a company and address them.”
A GoFundMe page for the family has raised $125,000.
