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COPYRIGHT 2001 The Dallas Morning News
Byline: Charlene Oldham
Mar. 26--Legend Airlines Inc. employee Debbie Cartwright had gone without pay for more than a month by the time an $85 check from her insurance administrator to her eye doctor bounced in February.
Then there was the temporary $272 credit on another doctor's bill -- the result of another bad check from the bankrupt Dallas airline.
"It's one thing to be stuck without a paycheck for all that time," said Ms. Cartwright, who worked as a customer service representative. "But to find out these medical bills haven't been paid has really been a slap in the face."
As an employee of a company that filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, she should have expected the worst, experts say. Financially troubled companies run out of money to pay insurance claims and premiums more often than most employees would ever guess, government officials and bankruptcy experts say.
Indeed, one Dallas attorney estimates unpaid health claims become an issue in almost all Chapter 7 bankruptcy liquidations and more than half of all Chapter 11 reorganizations nationwide.
"If...
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