A Glenpool family's financial fight

Monday, April 18th 2005, 9:56 am

By: News On 6

A Glenpool man says the business he worked for deducted medical premiums from his paychecks for the nearly two years he worked there, but when his wife gave birth to premature twin boys, he says they learned, the company had been keeping the money and not paying the insurance company.

News on 6 crime reporter Lori Fullbright says the couple now faces a mountain of bills and collection agencies breathing down their necks. Evan and Mason Quinton are fragile and they are identical twins . They weighed just 2.9-pounds and 3.1-pounds. They had to stay in neo-natal intensive care unit for nine weeks.

When they finally came home, it should've been a time filled with joy, but was instead marred by stacks of medical bills, nearly a quarter of a million dollars worth. The Quintonâ€™s soon learned the insurance coverage they'd paid for through Shawn's job, wasn't there when they need it.

Brenda Quinton: "I would say the first was anger, because you pay for it, so you expect it to be there." The twins are now 19 months old, healthy and happy and yet, even this time of joy is overshadowed because the insurance situation has still not been resolved. Shawn's pay stubs clearly show the money deducted from his checks for medical coverage.

And, emails from the insurance company indicate his employer didn't pay the insurance company Cigna. Shawn's employer was the Sterling Engineering Design Group.

The News on 6 visited the company's address and all we found was an empty office and records show the company filed for bankruptcy in 2002. The Quinton's pay as much each month to the hospital, doctors and labs as they can in hopes of keeping their credit out of ruin, but they still have no solution and feel all alone. "I really just want the bills paid. I don't want to have to worry about it anymore.â€

Lori Fullbright talked to two other employees who say they are in the same situation, although their bills aren't as big. The Quintonâ€™s recently filed a lawsuit. They also filed a police report since they believe what happened was criminal.

Lori Fullbright called the state Insurance Commissioner's office who said this case falls under the state Department of Labor. The state Department of Labor told the News on 6 it doesn't have jurisdiction because the company has since filed bankruptcy.

Records show Sterling Planet, an Atlanta based company, owned the Tulsa company which was called Sterling EDG or Engineering Design Group. Records show EDG then changed its name to Encompass Design Group and filed bankruptcy.