Former supermarket worker Cody* is only 23, but his walking ability is more like that of someone four times his age.
Unable to get around without a stabiliser, the Aucklander - who asked Newshub not to use his real name - fears he may never walk unaided again after an agonising back injury put him in hospital earlier this year.
"At first it just felt like bone on bone, or someone kneeing me in the back all the time. But when I had to go to hospital, it was like a knife stabbing - and it just got worse," he explained.
"Whenever I stand up, my leg just pretty much crumples… Now I can't walk at all without a cane at 23."
It's been six months since Cody worked his last shift at a supermarket in east Auckland, where he was a produce assistant for more than three-and-a-half years.
His tenure at the supermarket was plagued by injury. In a 22-month period from January 2020 to October 2021, he had five work accidents that took him away from work - sometimes for weeks at a time.
"I'd start feeling tightness, and it would just get really painful either later that day or in the morning the next day," Cody told Newshub. "Out of nowhere my back would just [go] boom."
But it was an incident on October 24 last year that really tipped Cody's life upside-down. While lifting heavy crates of produce, he felt a surge of pain ripple through his lower back and instantly knew it was bad.
He took the next day off, then the next - and suddenly it was weeks later and he still hadn't improved. Cody tried a few days of light duties here and there, but by November the pain was so bad a doctor declared him unfit for work, and he had no choice but to stop shifts altogether.
His condition only worsened from there. Months of rest seemingly had no effect, and by March Cody's injury would become so excruciating he'd be rushed to hospital in an ambulance amid fears he had a rare condition that could leave him paralysed without urgent surgery.
Cody thankfully got the all-clear on that condition but months on, the pain remains and it's now so bad he's unable to walk without an aid.
With each step his right leg drags along the ground, and his orthotic specialist tells him he's in danger of permanent nerve damage. He takes 13 pills a day, including one to get to sleep at night, though even that doesn't help him most evenings.
But the injury itself is just one part of Cody's struggle. He's also contending with serious depression and anxiety as he goes through the rigmarole of convincing his insurer he should get cover for his injuries.
Until now, and despite his best efforts, Cody has yet to receive any entitlements other than an offer to cover six physiotherapy sessions.
Rather than being handled by ACC like most Kiwis' workplace injury claims, Cody's claims are being managed by insurer WorkAon, a third-party administrator sub-contracted by the supermarket chain he worked for.
The supermarket is able to handle injury claims in-house because its parent company is one of 140 large businesses enrolled in ACC's Accredited Employer's Programme (AEP).
By being part of the AEP, the supermarket gets a massive discount on its ACC levies - but it's not without risk. It must also assume responsibility for every injury suffered by its workers, including the costs of rehabilitation, weekly compensation and other entitlements ACC would normally take on.
Cody hasn't got any of that, and is still awaiting the outcomes of a number of claims relating to his accidents.
At the start of the year, his claim for a lumbar sprain related to his October work accident was rejected because there was "no medical evidence to confirm a physical injury".
WorkAon had expressed doubts over the origin of his injury, believing it may be related to soreness he felt after a skiing trip in 2017 that led to him visiting a chiropractor. Cody denies this, saying he'd been fully recovered from that for years before his accidents at the supermarket.
"Any costs you incur from the date of this letter will be at your own expense," correspondence from WorkAon on January 18 read.
The bad news plunged Cody into a deep depression.
"I struggled a lot after the decline letter," he told Newshub. "I already had mild depression, but after that it was very bad. At that point my mum took up all the admin stuff, dealing with them [WorkAon] instead."
After an appeal led by Cody's mother, who has herself worked in the insurance industry for years, the decision to decline his claim was reversed in April and WorkAon accepted he had indeed suffered a lumbar sprain.
"At the time the original decision was made, the weight of evidence supported WorkAon’s position. However, subsequent information has been obtained which now puts the matter back in your favour," a letter confirming the reversed decision read.
But Cody's mother says they have still refused to pay him any entitlements or rehabilitation costs - which she doesn't understand, given the injury has a six to eight week healing time.
WorkAon are investigating whether the additional diagnoses of lumbar disc prolapse with radiculopathy and anxiety with depression will be covered under this claim.
But Cody's mother says WorkAon has unnecessarily complicated and lengthened the process for getting cover by forcing Cody to see specialists of their own choosing to carry out assessments on his condition.
She's disgusted with how he's been treated.
Cody has now moved into the basement of his father's east Auckland home while he continues his recovery and awaits the decisions on his claims - but it could still be months until he has any certainty.
In the meantime it's been difficult, especially when it comes to his finances. Since leaving the supermarket, Cody has been forced to apply for the benefit because he's unable to work and has no source of income.
"I've had to use all my savings because they weren't paying compensation," he told Newshub. "My board is cheap but I still don't have much for food or going out or pleasure."
While Cody's prospects are grim at the moment, he sees a specialist regularly for pool therapy and is hopeful he'll eventually regain his ability to walk without a cane or leg brace.
"I've had some minor improvement," he said. "I'm trying really hard on my physio and I've got a great doctor."
Newshub contacted WorkAon for a response to Cody's complaint but they refused to comment, citing the "open and ongoing" nature of the matter and its role as a third-party administrator acting on behalf of another party.
ACC chief operating officer Gabrielle O'Connor told Newshub Cody's case was a "complex" one that involved multiple claims.
She said they appreciated how difficult the situation was for Cody and his family, but "on the information available, there is no evidence that suggests WorkAon has acted contrary to [the supermarket's] responsibilities as a member of the AEP".
O'Connor said ACC would "become directly involved" if an accredited employer or third-party administrator was shown to be in breach of requirements under the AEP and Accident Compensation Act.
But Cody's mother says their response is rubbish.
"It goes back to: what is ACC there for? There's no social responsibility any more. It's supposed to be a generous insurance scheme.
"If [Cody] had children, how would they survive, how would he pay a mortgage? The benefit isn't enough. It's lucky he's only young and hasn't got any responsibility. They've cut him off at the knees."
She said it shows the AEP doesn't work.
"There are obvious conflicts of interest here. This case is a perfect example of that."
Cody's mother is far from the first person to criticise the AEP.
Even ACC Minister Carmel Sepuloni has admitted the scheme is flawed, speaking after concerns were raised about how claims were being handled by food manufacturer Talley's Group, another AEP member.
If an AEP member has a bad claims history, their ACC levies for the next year increase, raising obvious questions about whether there are conflicts of interest involved when a company is able to handle its own insurance claims, and whether it's fair for their employees.
These are mitigated to some extent by the expectations set out in the AEP guidelines and the Accident Compensation Act, as well as the threat of ACC intervention - but it's clear the AEP is not working as well as intended.
An ACC analysis released in 2020 revealed the AEP hadn't been delivering consistent and positive outcomes for those injured at work, and that employees of AEP members were notably less satisfied with their work claims than those whose claims were managed by ACC directly.
After COVID-19 delays, an in-principle agreement has been reached for the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment - which advises the ACC Minister on the AEP's legislative framework and broader direction - to undertake public consultation on the scheme.
