'Ones For Justice' Comes Through For Disabled Vet After House Flooded By Washing Machine Mishap

FORT WORTH (CBSDFW.COM) - Even as Sears stores close around the country, many customers still rely on the company for a service that comes right to their homes: appliance maintenance and installation.

But Michael Kuchinsky of Fort Worth said Sears' mistake could derail his finances. That's when he called The Ones for Justice.

Kuchinsky said he will never forget this year's Super Bowl Sunday.

Instead of watching the New England Patriots defeat the Los Angeles Rams, Kuchinsky got sacked, so to speak.

"I panicked," Kuchinsky said.

Water started streaming into his kitchen and living room. He said the flooding was nearly two inches deep.

"Even the dog's bowls were floating," Kuchinsky said.

The culprit was the washing machine. Kuchinsky said a maintenance worker from Sears had recently fixed the appliance. Only later did he find the hose disconnected.

"With me being disabled, I have a spinal cord injury, I can't be jumping around and fixing all this," Kuchinsky said.

But Kuchinsky had no other choice. The disabled veteran bought a shop vacuum, cleaned up the mess, purchased new carpet, then hired a company to address the water damage.

In all, he paid $1,834 in costs related to the mess.

"I'm on disability and that $1,800 is going to hurt someone on disability," Kuchinsky said.

Sears told him to work through his homeowners' insurance, then the company would negotiate what to cover, according to Kuchinsky.

But Kuchinsky said he feared how much he could get stuck paying.

"I just don't understand why Sears won't pay for it when it was totally their fault," he said.

But Kuchinsky will soon be seeing relief. It appears confusion may be partly to blame for the situation.

Just days after The Ones for Justice contacted Sears, a spokesperson said their insurance company will cut a check to cover the documented expenses.

Larry Costello, Public Relations Director for Sears, sent CBS 11 the following statement:

"At Sears, our top priority is the satisfaction of our members. Our member services team resolved Mr. Kuchinsky's situation by getting him over to his Claims Examiner with Sedgwick, our third-party claims administrator. Sedgwick was able to clear up his misconceptions regarding his claim and received the necessary documentation from Mr. Kuchinsky so they could increase his settlement offer, which he has since accepted. We hope he remains a loyal Sears customer and Shop Your Way member."