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Member
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Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: Paradise
Posts: 855
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Member
Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: Paradise
Posts: 855
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Quote:
Originally Posted by nancyinLA
iwanta know if there's an advocate group that can help me as i struggle thru RSD while "fighting" w/worker's comp?? i need someone that can tell me: u need 2 say this or u need 2 do this! i'm not getting treatment i need because of w.c. "crazy people" (who don't know RSD!)..... Help!  |
I'll weigh in somewhat on this as I have written reports in the past as a Qualified Medical Evaluator. Injuries that occured or were permanent and stationary on or after 1/1/05, fall under new guidelines where the treatment must be directed in accordance with a book called loosely, the ACOEM Guidelines. This book in turn, falls upon the direction, clinically, of the AMA Guides to Permanent Impairment 5th Ed. (or some silly name) that actually has a section on the rating of RSD/CRPS, pg, 495 I think. My edition of the ACOEM Guides is an online version for which is at my office however, while I am not certain that RSD/CRPS is mentioned in ACOEM, it would be very inconsistent for there to be an impairment rating scale in the AMA Guides and not be in ACOEM. The bad news is, both are very conservative publications that don't fully address RSD/CRPS with the attention they deserve!
For example, the rating scale used in the AMA Guides is not consistent with the bulk of the literature advocated on current diagnosis, relys on a concurrent constellation of 8 or more symptoms and if not all present at the same time, a "no CRPS" diagnosis is warrented and even suggests that factitious disorder and malingering are the root cause.
Soooo.....consequently the WC system will give you little help, Mike is right; the advocate you seek is spelled "A-T-T-O-R-N-E-Y." There is a little wiggle room in that ACOEM does state that if the preponderance of evidence suggest something other than what the AMA Guides recite, you may have a better and more supportive argument going down that road!
If you are unrepresented, you can call the WCAB (worker's compensation appeals board), I believe there is an office in Santa Monica and for sure in Long Beach and ask to speak with the Information and Assistance (I and A) Officer. They are a patient advocate for unrepresented workers
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