Kenny Whitey’s life changed dramatically four years ago today.

Being entrusted with delivering clients’ cargo wasn’t something he took lightly. On that day, while standing on top of the truck to adjust his load, he fell more than 15 feet to the ground.

In an instant, Whitey sustained a catastrophic head injury that rendered him unable to care for himself, walk or talk.

The husband and father of two went from being the bread winner to being a patient requiring 24-hour nurse’s care.

In the midst of coping with that life-changing experience, the Whitey family was dealt another mighty blow. In the fall of 2009, Southeastern U.S. Insurance Inc., the company handling Whitey’s worker’s compensation claim, was declared insolvent.

The company’s declaration left Whitey and about 100 other entities and individuals in limbo. Gone were the funds that helped pay medical bills, lost wages and other benefits associated with workers’s compensation claims.

With a single income and monthly medical bills totaling more than $40,000, Whitey’s family has had to cut back on his medical care.

“We were able to get Medicaid coverage for him, and they provide benefits for about four hours of nursing care each day. But that certainly isn’t enough,” said Marvin Price, the family’s attorney.

“He’s stopped making progress because he isn’t getting as much care as he had before.”

Things may be looking up for the family, but nothing is definite. Earlier this month, Gov. Sonny Perdue signed House Bill 1364 into law.

The bill allows employers whose worker’s compensation insurance carrier was declared insolvent, to buy into the state’s insolvency pool.

The Georgia Insured Insolvency Pool would then handle the company’s outstanding claims. Without the new law, the only recourse for employer’s like Whitey’s would be to file Chapter 11. While filing would protect the employer from liability, it wouldn’t help the injured worker and could leave other employees of the company out of work.

“(Whitey’s) employer is planning to pay into the insolvency pool,” Price said. “But we don’t know what the (benefits) from the pool would be.”

Employers have until Oct. 1 to buy into the pool.

Although Southeastern U.S. Insurance is no longer in operation, their troubles may not be over. According to representatives for Georgia Insurance Commissioner John Oxendine, a criminal investigation into the company is under way.