3 replies to this topic

[Survivor35]

Okay, here we go again. I became a para due to an MVA, single vehicle, and I was not driving. A very good friend of mine was, we were both thrown from the vehicle. I had finally reached a settlement with one of the insurance companies, and then TaDa! the government shows up demanding their share...

Now, to explain why, and I do understand why. I had no medical insurance at the time of the injury, so once they deemed me eligible for assistance, the state took over the med bills. While this is fantastic, after all that is why we pay the taxes we pay, to be able to depend on help when we need it. Now, they are attempting to enforce "subrogation rights", and take at least 20% of what isn't exactly a major amount of money. However, they have told me that if I can prove the need for this money, and demonstrate exactly how my life has been financially affected, outside of my hospital charges, they may leave it alone. I sent them my discharge paperwork, which outlines all of my mulitple issues, nuerogenic bladder and bowels, T6 complete paraplegia, TBI, so on and so forth.... I explained to them the adaptations that had to be made to my home, the vehicle mods that will have to take place, the adaptive technology that would be beneficial if and when I manage to recieve this money that I am entitled to and can actually purchase it... the loss of wages, on and on and on and on...
Yet, they still aren't convinced.

so, my father, god love him, and myself are on a mission to draw up a presentation for the state. Outline statistics, average costs, the typical medical complications that are bound to come eventually, etc etc etc. I'm on a search trying to find different information on the net as well as my therapists and what have you. So, if anyone knows of any decent sources and sites on here (other than our own wonderful Apparelyzed), please please please point me in the right direction!!!

Edited by Survivor35, 24 January 2007 - 03:52 AM.

[percepied]

Information & Statistics about SCI from the National Spinal Cord Injury Statistical Center,http://www.spinalcord.uab.edu/

Edited by percepied, 24 January 2007 - 04:36 PM.

[susiejt]

Survivor35, on Jan 24 2007, 01:51 PM, said:

Okay, here we go again. I became a para due to an MVA, single vehicle, and I was not driving. A very good friend of mine was, we were both thrown from the vehicle. I had finally reached a settlement with one of the insurance companies, and then TaDa! the government shows up demanding their share...

Now, to explain why, and I do understand why. I had no medical insurance at the time of the injury, so once they deemed me eligible for assistance, the state took over the med bills. While this is fantastic, after all that is why we pay the taxes we pay, to be able to depend on help when we need it. Now, they are attempting to enforce "subrogation rights", and take at least 20% of what isn't exactly a major amount of money. However, they have told me that if I can prove the need for this money, and demonstrate exactly how my life has been financially affected, outside of my hospital charges, they may leave it alone. I sent them my discharge paperwork, which outlines all of my mulitple issues, nuerogenic bladder and bowels, T6 complete paraplegia, TBI, so on and so forth.... I explained to them the adaptations that had to be made to my home, the vehicle mods that will have to take place, the adaptive technology that would be beneficial if and when I manage to recieve this money that I am entitled to and can actually purchase it... the loss of wages, on and on and on and on...
Yet, they still aren't convinced.

so, my father, god love him, and myself are on a mission to draw up a presentation for the state. Outline statistics, average costs, the typical medical complications that are bound to come eventually, etc etc etc. I'm on a search trying to find different information on the net as well as my therapists and what have you. So, if anyone knows of any decent sources and sites on here (other than our own wonderful Apparelyzed), please please please point me in the right direction!!!

Hi Survivor35,

Having been a management level bureaucrat / civil servant (not sure the USA term) myself for 20 yrs until my injury, i am wondering whether you should also have a think about the format in which you gave it to them; some bureaucrats / civil servants have no imagination at all & need to be spoon fed on every detail so they don't have to think for themselves - far too scary. So if you can do Excel Spreadsheets on the computer etc & can break all your actual out of pocket expenses, past losses and future out of pocket expenses & future losses into detailed categories with their amounts then tally them all up very neatly then that might help also. I imagine you could do a very impressive list just on actual losses & expenses to date; but make it speak to them in how you break it all down into categories and then add it all up for them. If you would like me to do anything like give you a bit of an outline of categories or format then PM me & i am happy to send something. They might not need you to go searching wide & far but just to make it SO obvious that they can't help but understand & say yes. You may have already done this in the kind of way i am suggesting & therefore need to give them the more 'far & wide' estimates or statistics on needs. My gut feeling is that the less imagination they need to understand your specific needs & the actual costs of them to date & future, the better. Best of luck, don't give up, keep going with you & your great dad beating them down.
Susie

[Survivor35]

Thanks so much, I've sent you a PM, susie!!