Re: Edited repost of the Value of Testing (was Shoemakers Testimony to the NTP)

[Guest guest]

Thanks Barb for your input. I'm in year three of my worker's comp.

case and you are right about one's case is only as good as the

discovery conducted by the attorney. My attorney told me " You don't

have enough moeny to get the building independently tested correctly. "

I'm at the " I didn't do anything and you can't prove it " stage with my

school district. Guess who is helping to protect the district with

this? OSHA. Can you describe how one can file a bar complaint against

an attorney if the case is being stalled? My COBRA benefits are over

and I am without health care. After 25 years of being a public servant

this is what we get?

[Guest guest]

the process for filing a complaint against an attorney is usually on

your state bar's website.

>

> Thanks Barb for your input. I'm in year three of my worker's comp.

> case and you are right about one's case is only as good as the

> discovery conducted by the attorney. My attorney told me " You don't

> have enough moeny to get the building independently tested correctly. "

> I'm at the " I didn't do anything and you can't prove it " stage with my

> school district. Guess who is helping to protect the district with

> this? OSHA. Can you describe how one can file a bar complaint against

> an attorney if the case is being stalled? My COBRA benefits are over

> and I am without health care. After 25 years of being a public servant

> this is what we get?

>

[Guest guest]

>

Guess who is helping to protect the district with

> this? OSHA. Can you describe how one can file a bar complaint

against

> an attorney if the case is being stalled? My COBRA benefits are

over

> and I am without health care. After 25 years of being a public

servant this is what we get?

=======================================================

Hi,

Servant being the operative word here. Of course, once we

become 'bad' consumers i.e. too discriminating to purchase poisons,

there aren't a lot of advocates left around for our particular

disabilities.

1. File for SSDI if you paid into that system and SSI if not. That

is proof of legal qualification for disability if nothing else.

Then, if you get WC later on, WC and SSA can duke it out for who

pays the medical bills and you will need medicare anyway. Even with

a WC win, once they agree to cover you, they nearly always cut

benefits again shortly thereafter and you have to sue to reinstate

them. There is no continuous coverage with WC to be counted upon and

physician payments are notoriously inconsistent. In the meantime,

SSDI will offer you medicare if it agrees you were disabled at least

two years ago and then you can get some medical care. Otherwise,

contact a medicaid worker to find out if there are special programs

for people like yourself in between categories of insurance

candidates. Some part of your disability might have been exacerbated

by residential exposures as well as office ones so dual

responsibilty for your inability to work, may be okay here. Besides,

most WC findings are for partial rather than full disability in

which case benefits may need to come from multiple sources. Call

your SSA office for info. I have had good luck with SSA being

helpful but know that is rare among our group.

2. Every state has a committee offering oversight of the WC system.

Find out who is on that committee and also contact your personal

state representative to explain the nature of your delays and

representative frustrations. They can lodge a personal inquiry that

will at least require some summary of the current state of affairs.

3. WC has strict rules about attorney requirements for behavior and

fees, but check with the local Bar Association for the best way to

file complaints about that.

4. In the meantime, conduct your own discovery. Were you mold

injured? Pesticide injured? You can file FOIA requests for some

records independent of the efforts of your counsel regarding OSHA

activity at the locale in question. Of course your lawyer needs to

subpeona school and union records of disability/illness during your

time there - likely there were other injuries happening at the same

time.

OSHA measures CO2 and then often bows out unless some VERY visible

anomaly is hanging out but that is rare. I worked with some

teachers and PTA members in schools local to ground zero post 9/11

and OSHA was useless there just as the EPA lied about the air

quality. But pesticide companies are required to keep records of

what they do for three years and file it with the state. That is

open to review.

Barb

[Guest guest]

Salz,

We know the feeling and how difficult it is at times. Many don't

understand this so called " snowball " effect. Our cobra was also

cancelled after a period of time and what most don't understand it's

not free, so there is more money going out on top of everything else.

I believe it was close to $400. a month. People in this perdicament

often pay dearly in many ways.

Talk about adding insult to injury.

KC

>

> Thanks Barb for your input. I'm in year three of my worker's comp.

> case and you are right about one's case is only as good as the

> discovery conducted by the attorney. My attorney told me " You don't

> have enough moeny to get the building independently tested

correctly. "

> I'm at the " I didn't do anything and you can't prove it " stage with

my

> school district. Guess who is helping to protect the district with

> this? OSHA. Can you describe how one can file a bar complaint against

> an attorney if the case is being stalled? My COBRA benefits are over

> and I am without health care. After 25 years of being a public

servant

> this is what we get?

>

[Guest guest]

> Salz,

>

> We know the feeling and how difficult it is at times. Many don't

> understand this so called " snowball " effect. Our cobra was also

> cancelled after a period of time and what most don't understand it's

> not free, so there is more money going out on top of everything else.

> I believe it was close to $400. a month. People in this perdicament

> often pay dearly in many ways.

>

> Talk about adding insult to injury.

You can say that again! Mine was 1000 a month! MediCAL denied me and

told me they would cover my son for 2300 a month!Healthy Families said

my disability from teacher's state was 30 dollars over their criteria

so they denied us. How do these people sleep at night??