In my eyes, the California Workers Compensation system, of Doctors, Lawyers, and Accountant trained Insurance Adjusters, has failed me, and they do not wish to listen or hear what I have to say, or what I have been through. I have been both physically and mentally disabled for coming on 3 years now. This accident has left me with Degenerative Disc Disease of the Lumbar Spine, my Neck, a shoulder that now makes funny noises, and a serious case of depression enhanced by stress. From what I’ve learned on my own, about how I am injured, I can understand why my body feels things it shouldn’t. Numbness, sharp burning pain, tingling, weakness. I know it will only get worse as I grow older. I have accepted that.
Up until last August, I had no idea why the pain I felt never goes away, it only gets dull at times. I also had no real idea that the purposefully given stress from my job could and would destroy my body. I’ve had numerous tests, and MRI’s done, weight bearing, standard, injected with dyes, Disc Neucleoplasty, epidurals, and more that I cannot seem to remember. Some of the procedurs I have gone through I have found to be quite traumatizing, during, and after.
I’ve been through Land Therapy several times. Only to have it taken away for a month or more, from me for unknown reasons after treating for several weeks at a time. Each time the Insurance Company removed my therapy, my physical condition deteriorated more. The Orthopedic Doctor I was seeing at the time, who wanted to do nothing but get me on addictive pain killers, give me injections and fusions, decided to give up on me, and I didn’t stand for that.
I found a friendly Chiropractor, who seemed interested in helping me with my case, to find out what is wrong with me. For the next year, he referred me to other specialists, and had tests performed on my nervous system, and other important areas. None of which my previous Doctor had done. I had been interested in trying Aquatic therapy, hoping that would do the trick, of letting me exercise my body, with a minimum amount of increased pain. Still the same results. But I stuck with it, for as long as I could cope with.
Around August 2003, my Primary Treating Doctor, referred me to a Pain Management Doctor, who had an interesting idea as to why I was always in pain, even with the easiest of therapies.
He had diagnosed me with having Fibromyalgia. So I started doing research about what care I would need, what medications would be needed to help clear up this condition. After a while of researching I came to the conclusion that, Apparently in this world Fibromyalgia doesn’t exist in the eyes of most Doctors, and the Insurance Company. I knew this was going to be a battle. Since then, several of the Doctors, I’ve seen have requested in their reports, that I recieve treatment for my Fibromyalgia, and Severe Depression.
Has the insurance company done anything positive to help me through this most difficult time in my life? No.
Workers Compensation doesn’t pay very well and I was getting the maximum benefit. Only $980/bi-weekly back when this started, September 2001. I lost my condo, which I earned by working my ass off. Thanks to the modern miracle of inflation or some other tool, well over a year after I sold my condo. My payments went up to roughly $1200/bi-weekly. And now as of the new year 2004, they are now $1456/bi-weekly. Still not enough to get out from underneath the debt I have had to aquire to stay alive, while trying to save my condo. I am basically bankrupt, without the filing, my debt is well over my cash. Having to move 3 times in the last 3 years hasn’t made things better. Movers cost a lot, and my friends are few and far between.
When I had to move out of my apartment, I gave my previous lawyer plenty of time to find me a new Doctors to continue my treatment. Did he help? No. He wasn’t all bad, considering the only help he really gave me was a bi-weekly appointment with a Psychologist who would listen to my problems, and help me cope with life.
When the insurance company decided it was time for me to see their Defense Doctor, I went, knowing that my case was already prejudged, which was blatently clear after reading his Medical Report about me. Doctors need to help people, not frustrate them, and take away what life they have left.
When I had to find a new lawyer to represent me, did she take the time to understand my case, and what I have already been through. No. What has she done you ask? Well, she’s given up on my case, and now refuses to help me. Apparently she doesn’t care enough helping people. She just wants the easy cut and dry workers compensation cases. So she can get her check and run. Of course when I first met her, she seemed positive enough about things.
There is a problem in the system. I the injured worker, who did nothing wrong but do his job, have since the begining have been treated unfairly, unjustly, and have been withheld the treatment, and therapies that I need to try and live my life. I am not able to do a lot of the things in life that I once enjoyed. I’m tired of watchin my life go down the drain. I used to be someone, who had direction, an awesome job, a home to call my own. Thanks in part to the WC system, and others who care for nothing more than a piece of my settlement check, which I don’t even want. My life is in shambles, all I want is to get well.
I’m 23 years old, and the life I know is full of pain, dispair, and the evil capitalization of injured workers. The past 4 months have made me want to give up on this life, but something stronger inside me wants no one to have to go through what I have. I will make my voice be heard.
