This case shows just how, and what The ACC will do to deny a legit claim... Even to the point of breaching the CRIMES ACT...
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ACCESS to any listed attachments are here
http://accforum.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=2393
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The Ongoing Battle.
It is not easy, after 28 years to know exactly where to start...
Although I have files that go back to 1977…
Most who have been with the MSN and The forum know most of my case…
When you are young, you have hopes and dreams, and plans for the future.
Had a good secure job... and the beginnings of a part time / "hobby-business"...
planned to be full time, and possibly employing several others...within 1 year...
Own home, and a rented property... with more to be acquired…
Things were looking pretty good...
THEN... WHAMO... A work accident... 10th June 1977.
Friday was workshop clean up day... A.R.A. bus depot. Greasey pit floors,
and slipped while lifting very heavy pit steps, which caught me in the mid back,
Pain set in real bad, within 30 minutes... so left and went to the Dr.
who sent me off for Physio... Which did not help... later,
Dr sent me off to a Specialist, also an ACC assessor, who diagnosed a prolapsed disk... and recommended a surgical Brace...
This was not of much help either...
Specialist couldn’t determine why pain persisted… so I was sent to Middlemore Hospital… (mid 1978) for Xrays… A “radiculargram”… using the contrast dye “myodil”…
The only thing I was told of this procedure was that I must drink lots of water for several days after. Nothing else…
Real bad Migraine Headache… and feeling like death and not knowing why.
Had to lie flat, any measure of elevation, was like 10 hammers inside my head.
Rang hospital… DR. said “sorry about that, it happens sometimes”… GRRRRR !
Check the Aracknoiditis thread…
http://www.accforum.org/forums/index.php?showforum=15
While at the hospital… 3 Drs. Discussed the results of xray… They could not decide what was what… But stated that a Blood test showed up the HLA B27 antigen… which is supposed to indicate a predisposition for Ankyolosing Spondylitis… A heriditory form of arthritis… also termed “bamboo Spine”. Natural fusion of the vertabra….No family history at all… So they said it must be early A.S…. ACC sent me of to another of their Toadies… Yes they had them way back then… Nasty bugger this one…His exact words…” youre F…… lad”… this is going to cause you heaps of grief…Its not Injury…
Received an exit letter… Did a major bleat at the ACC (Auckland City)office…
ACC has, up until the appeal Authority Decision in April 2003… Promoted the injury as arthritis and being in the hip area… ignoring the fact the it was and always has mid back, and higher… ignoring their own assessors reports that
it is injury, and at the same time covering for ongoing treatment for this INJURY...
Went to a lawyer who organized another specialist report…
What we did not know was this one, was the ACC assessor’s mate, and also one who did assessments for ACC.
Lawyer’s letter advised to give up, and that I would be up for costs if I went ahead and lost…
So, no choice but to get on with it…
In those days very little was known, of the system/ legislation by claimants and most lawyers…
Family to feed and bills to pay… savings slowly dwindling…
I had given up on my Hobby/ part time business, but still had all gear and machines.
So I started on this… 20 hours weekly netted more than my job had paid…
But unfortunately the injury had not repaired, so it didn’t last… 2 months.
Tried several other types of employment… same result. 1 to 2 weeks…
Took on a job as a School Caretaker… This lasted a while, even tho very difficult
With pain levels… eventually had to give this up as well.
So it was decided to sell up all property assets before I got in the Poo money- wise… and move north… House and land purchased, needed much TLC… This was my Rehab… 2-3 hours a day max…
I had been property Speculating up to time of accident… Buy, move in, tidy up, resell, move on to next one… Injury problems prevented speedy turn over… What I could do in 1 day previously, now, took days, sometimes weeks…
This time, any thought of turning this property over in 6 to 12 months, was not possible... I still live here now.
Welfare of the day said “take this job, or loose the benefit”… mid 1983…
What I was not told was I had the right to refuse, without penalty,
Due to the use of 245T and diesel in this weed eradication program…
No safety / protection gear, worth mentioning…
Had a bad reaction to this mix… and slipped and went down a slope some 20 m
On my back… done in neck + shoulder, and aggro’d original injury… Oct. 1983…
5 days later employer says contact ACC, County, was still paying the first week.
Contacted ACC, old records accessed… “you were diagnosed with arthritis 6 years ago, I will have to look into this”… some 2+1/2 hours later I was told,
“as you were diagnosed with arthritis 6 years ago, your are not entitled to ERC, or treatment costs.”… How legal is that?
Not knowing anything at that time, went on a sickness benefit, and had started my INJURY treatment with the Hokianga free health service. from day of accident… and this had been accepted by ACC. ???
Many documents in my files state clearly I was given cover for this injury…
Even Jenny Shipley, Ruth Dyson say so, as well…
This poses the question… Who got the money then??? I didn’t !
1983 file, which I don’t have, “as no claim was accepted” , while still “alive” was destroyed… by ACC at the time these matters were heading for the courts… Wonder why???
As time went on, had much ongoing treatment for these injuries…
Changed from the Hokianga health service in 1988… to my currant GP…
January 1991, fell of a ladder, 5 rungs up, and whacked my mid back on the
edge of the kitchen table, aggro’d original injury… Doc says it was injury, not arthritis, Specialist agreed…
ACC’s assessor stated in his report… “There is no clinical or radiological sign of progressive disease, this man has hurt his back on several occasions and his neck on at least once”. And recommended the max lump sum compo, at 19% permanent disability… sec. 78+79…1982 act.
ACC took their time on this, starting “We don’t have any documentation on this now”…My reply…”I have it all, and can supply”… and did so… CM was not impressed… CM would not process ERC… saying “ no we do the lump sum first, then we look at ERC”… b… s… ERC comes first the then Lump sum…
ACC delayed payment until till the last week of March 1993, and that week I made a 3rd application for ERC… Their ploy was to delay, until April 1993, for the 1992 act, to come into force with that new clause of “NO MORE BACK PAY”…
Some 8 weeks later, I received a letter stating application was out of time and as I had an arthritis condition had no entitlement to ERC… GRRRRR !
What.! ACC had just accepted it, as Injury, for, 1977 + 1983.
By now I was wising up… Off to review… Reviewer said it was “prejudicial to the commission to allow the late application”… Off to court… ACC used criminal precedents of criminal appeals that were dropped and applications to revive denied… They won that… Appeals court overturned that decision, saying it was not right or proper to use such tactics.
and ordered a re review, and to deal with my case in the proper way… Which was to send me off to another Toadie, who charged $950, and said its all in the head… didn’t see xrays, claimed he could not see sign of wear in what were obviously brand new shoes, made several B… S… statements in this report.
Lawyer of the day could not see any way around it, or the legal point where ACC was so wrong… I took my case to John Miller… and to the Appeal Authority…
Judge Cartwright allowed the appeal, full re instatement and back pay for 25 years… on the 24th April 2003…
Here…
http://www.accforum.org/forums/index.php?s...amp;#entry38741
WHOOPIE… justice at last… My main issue was to get the record set straight…
Money came 2nd… Now 25 years is a high 6 figure, after WINZ repayment and Tax…
ACC has used the wrong Acts, and wrong figures to sort this out,
and not “by accident”… or genuine mistake…
A 5 figure amount, paid out… and a few months of interest…
ACC claiming interest is from day of WINZ info available...
yet ACC has had all this info since, 1992, if noty earlier... WINZ info Docs. are in my files and dated for 1992...
The review files are clear, that ACC have “INTENTIONALLY” denied me my true and full entitlements…
Well, I aint going away… Round 3 coming up. ACC has performed a lot of "Dodgey Manipulations/ interpretations" in this.
In January 2002, I changed my Chiropractor, Had xrays of a type not done before… which showed 4 vertabra misaligned, and that they had been like that
for as much as 20 years… and no sign of the A.S…. The usual type of injury related degeneration is evident… A different line of Adjustments gave considerable pain relief for the first time in 25 years… ACC was told of this new evidence, Again, and asked to extend the treatment…
BUT NO, they cut it off instead.
So got WINZ to help out with this… disability allowance.
Until the hernia incident… which also involved agro of injury again…
Treatment via ACC...
Monies for treatment via disability allowance,
Which I have had to repay to WINZ, when it should have been paid by ACC…
via back pay settlement.
I promised ACC that I would go public with my story, on the internet, if they did not get real and sort it out properly… Got laughed at… SO…
“ACC ARE THEY THERE TO HELP”… on the xtrahealth message board… 25th February 2002..
And here we are today… almost 6+1/2 years later…
Many thanks to all who have contributed to the 3 sites, over these years…
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"If you tremble of indignation at every injustice then you are a comrade of mine."
Che Guevara
""" IT IS NOT WISE TO STOMP UPON THE SLEEPING TIGER'S TAIL,
THAT IS THE WAKE UP CALL FOR DINNER """
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Greetings All,
Just got home from trip to Rotorua, for an assessment...
The last of 5... With Dr. Gil Newburn... Neuro-Psych. Most enlightening...
Had what I have known all these years(29), confirmed... All the facts, that ACC have continually denied, and promoted their Bullshit instead. (up to court decision april 2003.)
The process I have followed in these 5 assessments, has given me truthful and honest results, which what I wanted... I needed to know exactly was/ is wrong... without any of the ACC "interference"... and now I have that, I can deal with it in a better frame of mind...
As I have posted elsewhere, You have the right to choose who you go to for an assessment. I have... so follow my lead... I will help where I can.
At this point I would like to thank my case manager, for all her help in this...
Thank you.
And a huge THANK YOU, to all those I met(from the Rotorua group) on this trip, for your generous hospitality. biggrin.gif
ps... When I have it all sorted, I will post up the details of the process that ACC went to great lengths with over the years... the big word here is "INTENT", not mistake or misinfo or whatever excuse they may use.
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"If you tremble of indignation at every injustice then you are a comrade of mine."
Che Guevara
""" IT IS NOT WISE TO STOMP UPON THE SLEEPING TIGER'S TAIL,
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Greetings,
MRI Scan report...
This is the result of ACC promoting a "Misdiagnosis", and denial of treatment asked for, until 1991... When Chiro treatment started...
Even then they still promoted the "Misdiagnosis, knowing full well they were wrong... = for 26 years they did this... 1992/3 ACC's own asseessor stated clearly, no Arthritis, it is injury...
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Extract from Dr. R's report... re mri scan
"I should also add that for completeness that I cannot find any evidence on MRI scan to supportive of a diagnosis of Ankyolosing Spondylitis, which been well laid to rest in Kenneth's case."
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A.S. is more commonly refered to as "Bamboo Spine"... A process of the spine Fusing over some time...
The diagnosis was made on the strength of a "blood test", which indicated the
HLA B27 antigen... as a predisposition for this complaint.
In 1978 Xrays did not show any sign of it... ???
Dr's at Middlemore could not explain ongoing pain, but due to the blood test stated "it could be early A.S.".... ACC took that up and effected an exit... = Sept 1978...
Attached File(s)
Attached File mri_report..pdf ( 16.06K ) Number of downloads: 53
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"If you tremble of indignation at every injustice then you are a comrade of mine."
Che Guevara
""" IT IS NOT WISE TO STOMP UPON THE SLEEPING TIGER'S TAIL,
THAT IS THE WAKE UP CALL FOR DINNER """
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Greetings,
For some it is very hard to accept, the issue of Depression...
I have denied it, and done my best to suppress it, and get on with it...
Early days I had a young family to look after... could not allow myself to go down into the "depths"
Today I have my Grandson to look after... This has been, Is, what helps me "Stay COOL"...
BUT... over time, no matter how "strong one maybe mentally"... it will "get to you"...
The body and mind can only cope with so much for so long... and will usually manifest in physical terms...
Warnings... = accept and do something about it...
Chronic Pain due to your injury, The restrictions, that prevent you doing things you could
before injury, The Anger/ Stress/ Anxiety, Losses, Deminishing self esteem, is Soul destroying...
All That Is bad enough... But ACC, and their "dirty tactics", amplify all this...
And this is clearly evident from what we read on here of what many have posted...
I had my I. A. assesssment on Thursday... for Physical injuries and "Mental Caused By Physical"...(which ACC has given me cover for)
When I have the report I will have more to say on this issue...
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"If you tremble of indignation at every injustice then you are a comrade of mine."
Che Guevara
""" IT IS NOT WISE TO STOMP UPON THE SLEEPING TIGER'S TAIL,
THAT IS THE WAKE UP CALL FOR DINNER """
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