OMG...I just want to scream...I finally hire an attorney who seems educated, busy with cases, works in a big office in Oakland with other highly reputable attorneys....and guess what? first she barley calls me back in the required time by the insurance company..( surgery was denied/1st rib removal ) finally she calls me back with 1 day left and suggest that I write a letter of objection and fax it.....so I did and sent one certified...thankfully the insurance used the two letters my surgeons wrote as objections...but now they want me to go through the QME process....and I need a DOC to Dx TOS or I'm screwd...when I spoke to my attorney said I should go to a "Dr. Pamela Gupta".. she said she's a great doc who understands TOS...but I can't find her and my attorney isn't calling me back....I'm running out of time here....and my arm feels like it's going to fall off any second!!!!

Does anyone have advice for me?

Thanks
Ann

Unfortunately that sounds about like most attorneys. Maybe you can ask a paralegal in his office, this may be a doctor they've used before and if so, he or she would probably be able to give you that information. If not, they would be more likely to be able to get an answer and call you back. Good luck with this!

hmm that name doesn't come up on the CA state drs listings either-
http://www2.dca.ca.gov/pls/wllpub/wllqryna$lcev2.startup?p_qte_code=MDX&p_qte_pgm_co de=6301

unless the spelling is wrong or if she got married or something...

I have said this many, many times when dealing with attorneys or doctors.

FAX FAX FAX FAX

then follow with a cert. mail.

Nothing scares them more because you have two confirmed sources to prove they had "notice."

Put in your fax that you are confused as to your role in this situation - that you cannot locat the doctor and besides what are you supposed to do with that name anyways? State that it is your belief that it was improper for your letter to her to stand as a legal "objection" to a motion filed in court, and that it is your belief that she is retained as your counsel as to all matters pertaining to your work injury.

Tell you your are frantic with worry and do not understand the process and ask that she contact you upon receipt of this Fax and/or the cert. mail. to follow.

Tell her that your condition is a rare, progressive syndrome that if surgery is not given upon the advice of known surgeons, irretrievable damage, irreversible damage, to the nerves can occur that affect your neurological, vascular and muscular abilities. Tell her it is of the utmost importance and that TIME IS OF THE ESSENCE.

Then see what she does.

To all - USE this system whenever necessary. Do NOT FIRE an attorney - use this system to FORCE them to do their work, and SAVE ALL documentation and proof of your efforts. MAKE the attorneys do their job. Don't let them off the hook by firing them, slinking off into a corner or being Mr. or Ms. niceguy. You can politely REQUIRE them to act.

God bless us all.

As to any and all phone calls, keep a log, never throw it away, and note the time, who you talked to, and exactly what was said. BUT, do not use it in lieu of the FAX / cert. mail system.

OK? OK!!!

Go for it girl!

Hi Guys,

It's no different in Australia. It took my Lawyers personnal assistant 3 weeks to call me back after leaving 5 messages. The last message I told the receptionist this is the 5th message iv left ensure she rings me by the end of the day. She did ring but couldnt answer my questions anyway, had to talk to the lawyer and get back to me. Ha that was a week ago. I guess my case just isnt big enough for them to worry about. I went to a huge law firm that specialises in compensation. My mother inlaw went to a small local guy who had her a heafty payment (sore knee!) in under 12 months. My lawyer took 3 years to get me a meazley payment. I must admit I didnt have my TOS results or my disc protrusion / nerve entraptment results as all the workers comp dr's i seen, told me I had muscular problems. So now Im off to court again to claim for the TOS and disc stuff. Hopefully it wont take him 3 years to get me there!

Ozzy

Tam makes a good point....I've taken to faxing docs etc, because that way there is proof. No more misplaced messages or incorrectly relayed messages or anything like that. just my 2 cents.

I only got replies from my wc atty when I sent him a fax.
but he didn't really answer my questions when he called me to reply

But it was handy to have a fax at home for other things that came up - bills, drs notes/updates, restrictions notes- saved a lot of driving and running around.
You can get by with just one phone # if you mainly use the fax to send and not receive.
If you know when one is being sent to you -you can plug it in and just use the phone on the fax machine until the fax arrives.

I just picked a nice looking one up at Goodwill and it had the manual with it- worked fine - but the prices have come down a lot for the new ones- they are smaller too.
The all in one things are handy too - scan papers, print, copy, fax etc.

Thanks......that's perfect advice. I did finally get a call and the exact name of the doctor..." Dr. Pramila Gupta".

I don't mean judge on first imperssions, but I just don't feel in my gut that she's the doctor I need right now.

Can I fax my attorney and tell her I want to use whoever Dr. Avery suggest as 2nd oppinion...and then followup with certified mail?

Does she need an approval from the insurance co. on the DOC I choose? Does it matter if she's gotton approval the Dr. Gupta already?

Thank you, thank you.....for everyone taking the time to reply

Ann