‘He was engulfed in flames’: Worker claims businesses should have had workers’ comp but didn’t

CHARLOTTE — A man says he was hurt at work and suffered burns all over his body. He assumed workers’ compensation insurance would cover the bills but says it didn’t.

Yacoub Mayeghba says he was working on cars last December.

It’s actually two businesses, Royal Auto Body and Royal Cab. They seem closely related besides the names. For example, according to North Carolina Secretary of State records, at least one company official has ties to both businesses.

Mayeghba was working when a fire broke out and flames consumed the building and cars.

“He was very terrified. It scared him. He was engulfed in flames and he was just covered in flames,” a translator for Mayeghba said.

He says he ended up with burns on his arms, legs, and torso. He says he doesn’t remember much after that and that he woke up in the hospital about three months later.

His friend, Cheikh Ebedda, also using a translator, says he worried every day. “Not knowing if his friend’s going to survive, if he’s going to die,” the translator said.

“It’s actually a miracle he’s alive,” said Mayeghba’s lawyer Jill Calvert.

She claims that under the law, the businesses should have carried workers’ compensation insurance, but didn’t. So, she says, taxpayers footed the bill. “All the medical bills, which were almost $2 million, ended up being paid by Medicaid,” she said.

But she says he still has other expenses such as permanent disfigurement, future medical bills, and lost wages. In fact, Mayeghba says without working, he’s hurting for money so much that he’s homeless. “He’s just [living] at a tire shop. So, they have a small little room that was designated to them,” the translator passed along.

They filed a claim with the state and are starting that process.

Action 9′s Jason Stoogenke reached out to both Royal Auto Body and Royal Cab. He even hand-delivered letters to them, but neither responded in time for this report.

Remember workers’ compensation rules:

- In North Carolina, employers with three or more employees need workers’ comp.

- In South Carolina, it’s four or more employees.

- Part-time workers count.

- But sometimes employers try to outsmart the rules by labeling workers “independent contractors” instead of employees. The states warn against that.

If you think an employer is breaking the law:

In North Carolina, tell the N.C. Industrial Commission.

In South Carolina, tell the S.C. Workers’ Compensation Commission.

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