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#1
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The little guy can win.
Hi Folks,
I know this has nothing to do with engraving, but I am so happy, I have to tell someone. I’ll try to keep this short. I have been in a law suit for 6 years against Health South and Cybex. These are two big companies, with a lot of lawyers, and money. Back in 2001, I was in an auto accident that broke my neck in 3 places. I was lucky to still be alive. After 2 surgeries I was fixed, I had a 3 level fusion of C4, C5, C6 & C7, that means that 4 out of the 7 vertebra in my neck were now one piece of bone. I went to therapy in 2002 at Health South, after a month of working very hard to get feeling back into my hands, mostly the right hand and arm. I was on a piece of Cybex equipment that broke and dropped me on my butt. When my employer called to verify the accident to pay for treatment of my low back, Health South denied knowing anything about it. They insisted that it never happened. What H. S. did was tell my employer that I was faking the injury. My employer treated me like I was dirt from then on, but I had something that no one expected. Since I was working in Government, I learned years ago to cover my butt. I had called in the injury to the Insurance/Safety section, and also went to the E.R to have myself checked out. Since I was just out of surgery, I couldn't drive, so I had a transportation service take me to the E.R.. And now I had all the receipts from these places as proof that the accident happened. The Emergency Room report said that "I was at HS and had the bike break and drop me." I eventually had additional surgeries on my low back but because of H.S. hiding the injury it took 18 months to get the surgeries approved. By that time the nerves in my leg had started to die from the pressure of being crushed between to two vertebra, they will never grow back. It took 6 years to get them into court, they did everything that they could, I had P.I.’s following me off and on all those years, even one tried to run over my wife when she went to get his tag number. We lost 3 batteries out of 2 cars in one week, coincidence, I doubt. I mean they did everything they could, right or wrong, legal or illegal, they tried it. We just went through a 2 weeklong trial against a room full of lawyers. The Jury took just 2 hours to come back with the verdict. We Won !!!!! Boy, do I feel good about this. Even now they have a P.I.'s outside my front door, hoping to catch me doing backflips down the street celebrating the win. They are not giving up, but neither will I. I had to tell someone. Tim C |
#2
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Re: The little guy can win.
Congrats Tim. :whoo:
Perseverence has its own rewards. Best of luck to you. Roger |
#3
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Re: The little guy can win.
Congratulations Tim
Hope the settlement was enough to offset some of your pain and suffering! Whatever it was, I am sure it isn't enough to cover it all. |
#4
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Re: The little guy can win.
Hi Tim,
Great News. That is the way to go after the big insurance companies and there twisted lawyers and bean counters. No matter what the issues were, it would have been much better if all of it never happened. airamp |
#5
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Re: The little guy can win.
Good news Tim, now you will be fighting another round to get them to pay the judgement.
Good luck, Roger Bleile (the other Roger B) |
#6
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Re: The little guy can win.
Thanks everyone, it's been a long battle.
Roger, you are so right. They are fighting the verdict, they are asking for an Appeal or reduction of the amount. It may never end. They have a new P.I. sitting outside my house everyday, I have no choice then to go "Gopher" on them. It's August/Sept. in Miami, see how long they can sit outside in the heat with gas at $4.00/gal. One day next week, I will take them for a ride down to the Keys for lunch, see how much gas they have in the car that morning, they better be full, or they will be walking back. See if they can get anything that way? I might as well have some fun with them. Tim C |
#7
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Re: The little guy can win.
Tim,
You can bet that they have Googled you and are reading everything you enter on this site. CRB |
#8
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Re: The little guy can win.
Living here in Ontario. I find your story amazing. I know this is sort of a sore
spot with my fellow American's but ya know after all the miss information. The system does work in Canada, and it works well. Of course it would put a lot of people out of work like P.I., Lawyers, and insurance executives, and doctors that inspect your claims. There's a real loss. Of course you'd have to find something else to do other than suing insurance company. Maybe engraving. I hope you get all you need from the broken system. To those that like to read this sort of thing from the insurance company. You day's are number. 11/02/2008 VOTE. Jim
__________________
Jim Zimmermn ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~Alpine Custom Jewellers & Repair Hand Engraving Canada ~-~-~-www.handengravingcanada.com |
#9
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Re: The little guy can win.
Hi Jim,
The health care system here is the best in the world so I do not agree as far as the quality of care that you he. The Legal System, Insurance litigation, Politicians and Lawyers are the biggest big problem. They use Twisted logic, Selective hearing, Read Nothing and Buy Professionals (Expert witnesses) to do there bidding. It has nothing to do with quality of care. It has to do with a seriously broken legal, political, and judicial system here. Even with it's flaws it is still the best in the world. But we also have independence, freedom of choice, and a few people that will go the extra mile and bring to light to broken system they will not stand for injustice. That is what makes our system work!! I am a practicing physician for over 28 years and I have visited "socialized medicine" countries and they are all failure as far a quality of care compared to the USA. The people have no choice and everything is about the same quality. There is little motivation or reward, so why do it?? The Seriously Ill from Canada has been coming here for years for cardiac surgery, orthopedic surgery, burns, and may other serious illnesses. Since they may be too old, there is many before them so they will have to wait, or any number of excuses in the CHANGED heath care delivery system. Not here not ever. Doctors have enormous bills so do hospitals and most all care givers, due to the broken system. I will not work for $9.00 a patient and this is what people must understand. Healthcare is a business like it or not. The care we provide is up to us and no one else. We many times provide care for little or no money without the patient knowing it, many volunteer services to clinics. We have compassion and go out of our way to provide the best care when it is need now. You are right though the system in Canada works as it does in many countries as long as you do not get seriously Ill. Then it is cheaper to the system to wait and see approach, especially if you are older or disabled you may have to wait in line. (a very long line and you usually do not make it to the front of the line since the system says so). Kind of like engraving in that you can get cheap laser engraving on almost anything. I guess engravers should CHANGE to lasers and they will be able to provide everyone with engraved items and make the world a greater place??? Sorry for the rant on this but the last guy that wanted CHANGE and based his run for the dictatorship ran on CHANGE and when elected that is exactly what he did. Now and for the last 40 or 50 years the people have been trying to escape the country. Yes it was Castro and the people got exactly what he promised them. Sorry NOT ON MY WATCH we have a future generations to consider. AirAmp God Bless America |
#10
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Re: The little guy can win.
Dr. airamp: AMEN!
With socialized medicine the government decides on who gets the care. If you are old some govt. bureaucrat may considers your tax paying days are over and rations expensive care to younger people who have more tax paying days ahead of them. Another thing many people don't consider when the socialists sell their plans is that if you have a good company paid plan, as soon as universal health care goes into effect your company will drop your health insurance immediately. Then you can stand in line behind Willie the wineo (who has never contributed anything to society) for your care because to a socialist he is just as valuable as the working man because they can put him on a bus to the polls and buy his vote with a meal or bottle of wine. I prefer freedom over socialism. Socialist countries do not like their subjects to own guns because in those places the government decides who gets protected and who doesn't and they don't like the idea of people owning a means of resistance in case their laws become too Draconian. This thread is starting to get political so I'd better end here. Roger Bleile |
#11
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Re: The little guy can win.
Sorry about that guys, I should have known. But every time I go state side
someone tells me a story like Tim's and I go over once a week. I know I like not getting a bill every time I walk into a my family doctors office, like I used to when I lived in the USA, is nice. Not getting a bill for my wifes knee replacement or my son's cranial facial surgery was great. Also not having to go bankrupt was good. We had major illness in the family. No lines, maybe your talking about another country. Your used to the system as it is and will stick with it. I leave it there. I sure you'll manage. So back to engraving. Jim
__________________
Jim Zimmermn ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~Alpine Custom Jewellers & Repair Hand Engraving Canada ~-~-~-www.handengravingcanada.com |
#12
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Re: The little guy can win.
Hi Roger,
Thanks for the support but it is really true what you say. Jim I would like to come and get some jewlery and some engraving and not have to pay for that but... enough said Enjoy Canada and good luck. airamp |
#13
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Re: The little guy can win.
Hi Tim,
Sorry for the stuff you had to go through. The insurance companys appeal will take some time. The good news is now it is part your lawyers money and he want it more than you, so he will not let this one go, and at no cost to you. More good news the interest (usually compounded monthly) on the day the award was decided. From that day of the decision to the appeal (which you will also win). And all of it is must be payed immediatly after the appeal is decided. No more legal stuff. So they are so stupid that they will continue to fight, pay lawyers on there side and interest in the hopes of maybe winning something?? Egotistical jerks. I have seen this many times and they lose you win but they want the control for longer and maybe they can outlive you. Real crap but the option would have been worse. Keep up the fight. airamp |
#14
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Re: The little guy can win.
Hi folks,
I didn't want to start anything with this, it is just what I went through over the last 6 years. During that time, I have seen the best and worst of the medical system. Some things that are insurance driven can be pretty screwed up, and I cleaned that language up quite a bit. I had one doctor that went out of his way to treat me the best way he knew how, and see that I stayed safe while waiting for surgery. I had another doctor, that said I didn't need surgery, and to go back to work, even though I had a broken neck. After my arm couldn't lift a can of beer, ( a very serious problem) or cup of coffee, I knew which doctor was correct, I needed surgery. On the sad side of this, after the neck surgery, my surgeon ran into the other doctor in the hospital and told him that he just did a 3 level fusion on my neck. As I came out of the anesthetic, my arm was working like new again. The other surgeon said, "Well, that's the way the game is played". One surgeon was working for me, the other was working for the insurance company. This kind of thing will happen anywhere that has payment coming from anyone other than the patient, in any country. But that was all with the original auto accident, then after the neck surgery, I went to therapy at Health South. The real issue in all of this is, Health South pulled out a "gas spring" because the seat of the handbike I fell on, was too complicated for the staff to adjust. The spring pushed up on the seat all the time, so the HS staff had to push DOWN on the seat to unlock it. This was too hard for them, they said so in court. So they took out the safety device that would have prevented the seat from dropping me and injuring my low back. Then they hid the fact that the accident happened from everyone, which after a year and a half, basiclly killed the nerves in my legs. The real bummer is that Health South had a law past years ago in Florida that limits their liability under the law to $500,000 on any claim. My medical bills add up to over $470,000, and then there is the attorney to pay. Now we have to go a fight an unconstitutional law to get what the jury gave us, so I can pay off my bills. This was done by insurance companies that can twist words to make any item on a ballot seem so confusing that it is hard to tell what you are voting on. All I can say is that the medical treatment I did get, was first class, I had less than a 50% chance of living through the 7 hours in surgery, and a 25% chance my arm would ever be right again. All that is over now. The low back, I wasn't so lucky with. Thanks for the kind words and encouragement, I will not give up. Tim C Oh, if you ARE Health South and reading this, all I have to say is: $&** =- (** `~^ $%^!@ $# *^&%. Excuse my spelling. |
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