[ATallOne]

Just stop for a moment! You process WC on one of your employees because he quote unquote hurt his lower back on the job. You do the right thing. Take down all the necessary information and you immediately call it in to the WC Insurance. Because "That's the right thing to do". You send him off to the local medical center to be looked at immediately and even have another co-worker driver him so he isn't in more discomfort! Because "That's the right thing to do". He gets x-rays, etc and is told to stay out of work for a week. Not a problem. You tell him to take his prescribed muscle relaxers and take it easy and everything will be okay. Because "That's the right thing to do".

Week later doctor's office calls you and tells you he needs to go see a specialist because with all of his complaining he might have a more serious problem. So without hesitation you agree and off he goes. The next thing you hear he will be out of work for six to eight months for lower back disk injury and will require surgery. Oh No! you think how awful. You call him and tell him you are prepared to help him in any way you can.

NOW I STEP INTO THE PICTURE!!

4 months later I am driving home from work one day and low and behold there he is!!!! Way up high on the roof of a local building shingling away!! Hmmmmmm! It's A Miracle!!! No wait It's...It's FRAUD!!! Being that I live only 2 more minutes from my home, I scurry to my house and grab my trusty ole camera. Yuppers!!! Be A Star!! Strike A Pose!!! I took about 40 pictures of this MORON!! Digital camera of course and almost peeed myself as I rushed home to upload the pictures onto my computer so I could send them off to the WC Insurance.

So I did!!! BAM!! Better than Cooking my friends. They set up surveillance and..... BUSTED! Just like Cops but without "Bad Boys Bad Boys Whatcha Gonna Do? Whatcha Gonna Do When They Come For You"? playing in the background. So I hummed it for them. It's ambience, what do you expect? Haaa! Let's see - He has been fired! He has to pay back serious WC payments and than some. And he is still waiting trial. He's going to the "Big House"! FORRRR SURE!!!!

So talk about ugly!! Here are we! True legitimate cases of folks some with WC. Who need WC Benefits and yet have to fight government beauracacy and more damm red tape than the law should allow. This is a prime example of why the system is so screweed up. I talk to the young punk after he got "caught", and asked him what he was hoping to accomplish? It wasn't like he didn't know in advance that he wasn't allowed to do this and of course his reply to me was "F**** you" real nice ha! So now I am a local watchdog for WC. I keep an eye out for folks who claim to be unable to wipe there own buttocks and yet for some unexplainable reason can "walk on water"!

I'm a little slow at it right now because I'm dealing with lot of pain, but I'll be up and Adam again real soon. And hopefully someday we can bring the WC Insurance Program back down to a more reasonable user friendly program inwhich it was originally intended to be. I'm sorry this is so long but I really thought this was a neat little story and I wanted to share!

Chin Up!!!!

Mark

[LisaM]

HAIL TO THE WATCHDOG! If there were more of you out there, maybe those who really DID need and deserve wc couild get it without having to fight for it.

GOOD JOB, MARK!

[jcherry]

Great Job Mark.. You know I too know of people who are drawing WC and act like they have to have a cane to walk in for a dr appointment, but then see them out acting as if nothing is wrong. Those are the folks that keep the people who are truly hurt from having to fight like hell just to be able to draw WC. Keep up the good work, and I think I may just have to get out the ole digital camera and catch a few imposters..

[frogga]

LOL EXACTLY

I know we dont have the w/comp thing here - but disabled badges over here are like gold dust..... and I want to murder people who park stand up and walk totally fine out of a disabled space... or who get DLA (up to $800 a month or so and if you get that then they pay for your vehicle, vehicle insurance, adaptions, maybe housing benefit, incapacity benefit, income support etc etc - so it is the way in to so many benefits) and the amount of people who claim that they can't do a single thing for themselves then stand up and walk fine.

so good on you Mark - definetly did the right thing shopping him.!!!

hope u r ok

Rosie xxx

[Debby]

There is a definite need for people to do the job that you do Mark. I agree with that. In fact my husband would love to do that exact job. And we do know a young man who does do this also.

But Rosie sometimes those people who stand up & walk out of a disabled space really are disabled. They may not appear to be so, but then again they just might be. I know cause I was one of them back from 1991 to 1997. I had a headache from "HELL" every day, hour, minute & second of my life from a severe whiplash injury. The car accident happened on July 6,1991 & the headache stayed until approximately July 1997. Most days I spent in bed with an ice bag. Not one damn pain medicine out there worked on that headache except for Toradol injections, which is an anti-inflammatory med. I could even go to the ER & have a double dose of Neubain, enuf my doctor said to knock an elephant out. Well it didn't do that. I use to give myself Toradol injections at home. It never got rid of that headache but it did dilute the pain to tolerable. During this time I battled Fibromyalgia (I still do). I was able to go to the store with my hubby sometimes. I had to quit driving due to pain etc. When I went to a store or anywhere I could stand up & walk into the store. But we did park in disabled spaces. Walking far was not always easy due to dizziness so the shorter the distance I had to walk the better. The only sign that something was wrong with me was that the left side of my face was swollen & discolored, but you could only see that if you were very close to me. It wasn't grossly swollen. And the fact that my face did show I was in pain. But my head hurt so bad I could barely see. So you just never know. And also, people with Fibromyalgia or Chonic Fatigue hurt all over like a bruise, every muscle hurts even the muscles between your finger joints, & the less far to walk into a store the better, plus you fight exhaustion similar to what we face having RSD. And like me, I have Fibromyalgia, Sjogren's (my joints hurt alot) & RSD in both feet. And sometimes I can walk, sometimes I can't. I can walk into a store sometimes when my hubby lets me off & yes I have to use a cane or crutches, but I head for the store carts & if none are there my hubby brings in my chair or scooter, which ever one is in the car at that time. So don't judge people just because they can walk into a store. And please I am not saying any of this in anger or in anyway meanly (LOL is that a word even?? LOL) to you cause to be honest until I was in that specific circumstance I thought exactly the same way. We sometimes judge without knowing all the facts. I try hard not to do that now, but I don't always succeed either *S*. Oh & yes I did have people make rude comments about where we parked. I knew I deserved a disabled parking plate for my car. For along time I had the placard, & if I felt well enough I didn't use it. Besides I never have had a doctor who would have given me the form to have disabled placards or plate.

Take care & you hang in there ok?? You certainly have a full plate & should be very proud of yourself. Not many young people would be where you are having RSD as severely as you do. You Go Girl!!! And You Rock Girl!!!

And if this makes no sense at all *LOL* ignore it *LOL* I am pretty tired this evening...........boy am I........

DebbyV

[Jomar]

I didn't win my claim or get any weekly payments {a denied claim} - but I did stuff while I was on medical leave that probably i shouldn't have. By WC standards anyway.

I wasn't able to work full duties but i wasn't laid out on the couch in pain either.
But I was still too injured to work full time and they didn't want to make anymore modified work for me {I could barely drive to get to work anyway much less open the big doors we had to use}

So I did what I could around the house to keep some level exercise & some level of living- plus the PT and home therapy stuff.
it was summer and I wanted/tried to garden, plus I had the horse to take care and the dogs and cats and famiy.

I wasn't on any meds for pain so maybe they thought I wasn't hurt bad enough {yet}

It took me a long time to figure out about delayed pain {from the TOS/RSI injury}

so i would do a little bit of yard work and then the next few days were bad...
glad I learned that lesson finally.- my limits

[frogga]

Hey Debbie

Maybe I explained myself wrongly!!!!! ooops!

;......as I'm sure you have never parked in a disabled space and then hopped/ skipped/ run out of the car with no limp, no fatigue no obvious pain. I know that people can have invisibleish illnesses but still..

....the people I meant to moan about are the ones that use disabled parking spaces because they can't be bothered to walk --> in that category I am going for people my age who park and then run into the store/ use it to run out and go to the cashpoint etc etc..... or people who believe that having a toddler means that they are disabled etc etc... it wasn't meant as a "EVERYONE HAS TO HAVE A WHEELCHAIR IN ORDER TO HAVE A DISABLED SPACE" lol........

unfortunatly I know I can be overly judgemental, I do try and think it through though (I'm blaming it on my age!) - I guess it's just I get so frustrated when I need the wheelchair spaces and so you sit for ages in the car waiting for people who really didn't need the space (eg who are walking fine, looking fine etc)...

ok digging myself into a hole here

maybe just need to realise I am an overly judgemental person!!!

I'm so glad your headache has gone - that sounds dreadful!!!!

sorry if i offended you!

Rosie xxxx

[ATallOne]

Cybill Here! Ladies and Gentlemen this is a hot topic for so many folks. Rosie you are so right with your feelings on handicap parking spaces and abuse. I completely concur, and feel there should be tougher penalties for folks that use them and abuse us. And Jo I'm with you there completely. I too would go nuts sitting around all day. I see nothing wrong with a little work around the home.

The purpose of the orginal post's intent was to bring to light the ongoing and ever so present abuse that is happening everyday all over the world (Canada, USA, Europe, etc.) with WC Insurance Fraud. I have been handeling WC claims for about 7 years now and for the most part I would say about 95 to 98 percent of all claims are legit. However, every so often you run into a doosey!

Case in point is the one I originally mentioned. That ended up costing about $250.000.00 US Dollars. If he had not been caught, can you imagine how much more he would have scammed out of our pockets? Ultimately the only ones getting hurt are the folks who work. Your spouses, your young married children with their new borns, etc. I am passionate about doing my small part in keeping this program on the right track. I feel it is the least I can do. It is a great program.

P.S. By the way for those few whose names will remain annonymous (Josie and Artist) I do NOT look like Grandpa Munster!!!! I think my new look resembles a young Cybill Sheperd!! Don't You!!? Ha?? Welll?? Don't Ya???

Chin Up!!!

Cybill

[Sydney]

Yes - I too appear to look perfectly normal. People do not realize how much I am suffering with chronic pain . I can only walk a very short distance as I have full body FM and RSD as well. I park in my handicapped space and look like nothing is wrong with me. However, when I get into the grocery store . Wal Mart, etc.I ride in a cart to do my shopping. People with true disabilities do not often appear disabled. If I had a huge cast on my leg or something then I'd appear more legimate to use the handicapped place. Because FM sufferers do not appear to suffer any physical disablility people often look at me twice when use these space. How unfortunate. If they only new my pain level and true disability they would not be judging me unfairly.
Sydney

[Diamond Lil]

Hello: Some people with asthma or COPD have good legs etc. but are unable to walk any distance without running out of breath. I used to have severe asthma as a child and never, ever took a gym class in 12 years of school. Regards, Lil