joel ramirez was paralyzed in a warehouse accident after a 900 pound crate fell on him in 2009.june, his home health aide was taken away after the state of california passed a new law. his wife, lupita, gave up her job to help him, including with his personal hygiene. >> when he was walking before, he's very, very a strong man. ( crying ) even i said i couldn't imagine when i saw him like this. it destroyed my soul, you know. >> there was my mom here, but she's 75 years old. oh, my god, i was trying to clean up, and i couldn't finish cleaning, and i said i can't even do it right now. how am i going to do it when i get older. m >> woodruff: let's look more closely at the impact of all this. michael grabell was the lead reporter on this for pro- publica. and reporter howard burkess of npr collaborated with him. welcome to you both. howard burkess, you listen to the story of joel ramirez, and you just wonder how could he get by? >> well, he had a very difficult time getting by. he didn't get enough in workers compensation benefits to replace the home health aide himself. it would h