• The blithe disregard of it’s legal and ethical obligation to provide medical care to a seriously injured worker is unconscionable and demonstrates a callous indifference to the catastrophic consequences of its delays, inaction and outright neglect of those obligations.

• The attorneys and adjusters and doctors handling some of the Wyndham Worldwide Workers Compensation claims evidently ‘WANNA BE FAMOUS’.   Let’s accommodate them.
• Bad Reputation
  Isn’t it a shame how 99% of the lawyers give the whole profession a bad name.
• The annual report indicates that the top leadership at Wyndham ‘earn’ millions in annual income.   They are apparently willing to pay insurance company doctors, biased, incompetent in specific clinical issues, thousands and thousands of dollars to fabricate erroneous reports, based on omitted, selective medical records and denied evaluations by doctors with expertise in specific injuries, and use same as weapons of denial of reasonable and appropriate medical evaluations and treatment.
• Wyndham top leadership is apparently of those willing to LOOK AWAY as injured workers are denied medical care and their lives are destroyed.  Does Wyndham give it’s employees “the TIME SHARE SALUTE”?? with a silent, ‘NEXT!’ ??   So it seems.
• $4,000 paid to a doctor for a fraudulent report guarantees ‘repeat business’ for the doctor and provides the insurance company with ammunition to deny medical care, and keep the ‘repeat business cycle’ returning for more and more evaluations in the “small circle” of workers comp providers, where ‘everybody knows everybody’.  (That surely sounds like a RICO violation, doesn’t it?)
• 

• Pleas for help from the Wyndham Worldwide Management staff fall on deaf ears, perhaps to cover up the early faux pax of failures to properly notice regarding alleged MPNs and interference with medical care, causing severe further injuries to workers.
• Perhaps the silence is due to the failure to have even called for an ambulance on the date of injury and the demand that the worker continue the shift, for the sake of the ‘company bottom line’ and ‘stats’ and then allow the injured worker with a head trauma drive down a snowy mountain road to self-procure medical help from “any doctor who will accept workers comp insurance.”
• What was YOUR experience in obtaining immediate and continuous medical evaluations and treatment?  How would you rate the doctors you have seen?  Have you filed complaints with the appropriate agencies??

• Does the District Attorney need to address YOUR WORKERS COMP CLAIM AND DENIALS OF REASONABLE AND APPROPRIATE MEDICAL CARE??  How long did you wait or have you been waiting for medical care?

• Never give up, Never Give in.  If you have a friends being maimed and killed by the practices of any providers within the Workers Compensation ‘system’ …. DON’T LET THEM STAND ALONE.
• 

• EXTEND YOUR HAND.  TAKE CARE OF ONE ANOTHER. 21st Century ‘Sonderkommandos’ are lurking everywhere.

• HOW ONE WYNDHAM WORKERS COMP CASE IS HANDLED:  

• DIAGNOSES:  854 Closed head injury, 784 Headaches, 310.2 Post concussive syndrome, 850.1 Concussion with brief loss of consciousness, 850.9 Head Concussion, 309.81 PTSD, 310.2 Post concussive syndrome, 780.93 Closed Head Injury with amnesia, 921.00 Contusion (left orbit), 750.90 Concussion, 959.01 Head Trauma, 959.01 Cognitive Changes following head trauma, 850.0 Concussion, 959.00 Head Trauma (Contusion x 2) with Impaired Memory, Speech, Balance and Vision, 850-854, 959.01 Somatic/cognitive dysfunction and emotional dysfunction, 310, 310.8, 438 Mild cognitive dysfunction, memory processing,, 850 Mild TBI positive lapse of consciousness, 310.20 Post Concussive Sydrome, 309.28 Mood Disorder secondary to Post Concussive Syndrome, 959.01 Head injury,  Lobe Disorders: frontal, parietal, cerebellar dysfunction, motor dysfunction, segmental dysfunctions, Closed Head Injury with Ongoing Sequelae, Psychological sequelae, possibly secondary to industrial injury, 959.01 Closed head injury with cognitive dysfunction and speech dysfunction, 784.00 post traumatic headaches, brain based vision impairements, brain-based vestibular and balance disorders + secondary to head trauma, NECK, BACK, Shoulder PAIN and related ICD-9 codes Reluctantly and hard fought for AUTHORIZED MEDICAL TREATMENT OVER THE COURSE OF approximately 18 months for traumatic brain injury with secondary neck/back/shoulder injuries have included:    14 chiropractic treatments, 17 psychological support sessions, 8 physical therapy treatments.

  ~~

  IS THERE A DOCTOR IN THE HOUSE??  Does this meet ACOEM GUIDELINES OR COMMON SENSE PRACTICES?!!  WOULD YOU BE TRIED AND CONVICTED FOR MALPRACTICE IF THIS WAS YOUR COURSE OF ACTION TO TREAT A BRAIN INJURED PATIENT??  IS THERE A DISTRICT ATTORNEY AVAILABLE TO INVESTIGATE WORKERS COMP FRAUD ALLEGATIONS?? Without fear or caution??

  ~~~

  MEDICAL EVALUATIONS BY:  Orthopedic evaluations were authorized and demanded with 4 different QME Orthopedic Surgeons [FOR A HEAD TRAUMA/BRAIN INJURED WORKER!!].  The injured worker repeated requested a primary treating physician with a brain injury expertise, which was denied, and said denial was supported by the local Workers’ Compensation Information Office.   The insurance company repeatedly refused to authorize MEDICALLY APPROPRIATE, ACCORDING TO ACOEM GUIDELINES, EVALUATIONS AND TREATMENTS for head trauma/brain injury/neck/back/shoulder TREATMENTS ALTHOUGH REPEATEDLY REQUESTED BY TREATING DOCTORS.

  ~

  The insurance company continues to deny medically appropriate treatments, and disputes self-procured medical evaluations from brain experts.

  ~

  The WORK COMP Gravy Train of doctors/providers the injured worker has been SENT to by various ‘authorities’ , (or  was SELF-PROCURED because ‘authorities’ refused to provide reasonable and appropriate medical care) includes evaluations ONLY, no treatment  (other than the stated exceptions below over nearly a year and a half from date of injury)…: 1 chiropractor, 1 neuropsychologist, 3 clinical psychologists, 9 MDS (3 family practice, 5 orthopedic surgeons [for brain injury, d’oh!] 2 neurologists, and others: 1 DC with specialty in functional neurology, 1 accupuncturist, 1 EEG neuro-feedback phD (who provided the only EEG, self-procured, unreimbursed), 1 physiatrist, 1 speech therapist (MA, CCC-LS LSP), 1 physical therapist, 1 optometrist, 1 neuro-optometrist, 1 vocational rehabilitation vision specialist, 1 doctor of unknown credentials who repeated tests taken within 30 days, causing ‘practice effect’ in results, and 1 forensic psychiatrist.

  

  All of the doctors provided timely and relatively accurate reports, with some extreme exceptions, requesting a variety of medically necessary treatments, EXCEPT FOR  SEVERAL DOCTORS with the STATE QME DESIGNATION.  The Neurologist, Forensic Psychiatrist, and Clinical Psychologist WHO DETERMINED THERE WAS EITHER NO INDUSTRIAL INJURY, OR A MIRACULOUS SPONTANEOUS HEALING after receiving a threatening letter from the defense counsel, or a MIRACULOUS SPONTANEOUS HEALING AS A RESULT OF SELF-PROCURED APPROPRIATE MEDICAL CARE WHICH COST THE INJURED WORKER APPROXIMATELY $10,000.00.  The three most dangerous “QME” designated evaluating  providers opined, without scientific evidence and with slight physical evaluation, that there was or had been NO SIGNIFICANT HEAD TRAUMA, NO CONSEQUENCES OF TBI, CONCUSSION, OR ANY OF THEIR COLLEAGUES’ STATED DIAGNOSIS.

  SOMEBODY IS COMMITING FRAUD!!!  IS IT THE QME CROWD, OR THE DOCTORS WHO ATTEMPTED TO PROVIDED LEGITIMATE, REASONABLE, APPROPRIATE AND MEDICALLY NECESSARY MEDICAL TREATMENTS AND FURTHER EVALUATIONS???

  Exasperated with the sheer evil of the denials of medical care, the injured worker advised defense counsel and insurance company adjuster, in writing, that TBI is known to shorten life-span by 7-8 years, WHEN TREATED, as the brain regulated all body systems.  WITHOUT CARE, THE INJURED WORKER’S LIFE SPAN CONTINUES TO BE DIMINISHED.  The injured worker further advised that the defense counsel and insurance company adjuster and their firms would most assuredly be named for the CAUSE OF DEATH on the INJURED WORKER’S DEATH CERTIFICATE, sooner rather than later.   The injured worker also cited case law indicating, from the Ralph’s case, that insurance company and corporate liability does not end with death of the worker, so be prepared.

  DENIED EVALUATIONS AND TREATMENTS INCLUDE BUT ARE NOT LIMITED TO and are convoluted further due to defense counsel’s apparently willful, malicious omission of medical records to skew, confuse and defraud in order to deny, delay, postpone medical treatments (or just real bad record keeping and tracking):

  ~   DENIED:

  EEG, EEG Neurofeedback, Speech Therapy with Cognitive Remediation, MRI-BRAIN, NECK, BACK (neck authorized approximately 15 months after injury, IW self-procured Brain MRI, Back MRI still pending, Shoulder MRI reluctantly authorized approximately 17 months after injuries), Functional Neurology Assessment and Treatment, Physiatrist Assessment and Treatment, Neuro-Vision Optometry Evaluation and Treatment, Neurologist Consult competent to evaluate the specific clinical issues involved, and where these services are within the scope of the physician’s practice), Occupational Vision Therapy, Physiotherapy/PT (reluctantly authorized approximately 15 months after injury)

• One of Wyndham’s ‘approved’ neurologists insists that proper treatment of TBI, traumatic brain injury, is best handled with ‘over the counter analgesics’.  The football crowd would probably cringe at that treatment plan, don’t you think?  Even the ‘school nurse’ would have to cringe.  Said doctor is not trained in the USA, which could account for the bizarre recommendation and lack of professional expertise.
• 
• The same neurologist finds it hard to grasp that vision is a function of the brain, not the eyes, and has the same challenge with other functions, including speech and memory.
• 
• Another of their revered neurologists believes that concussions are best treated immediately with liver-killing epilepsy medications, prior to any diagnostic testing whatsoever.
• One of their forensic psychiatrists opines that anger over no reasonable or appropriate medical treatment over 17 months is due to “maladjustment” personality issues and further opines that because injured worker is unable to remember if/for how long there was a loss of consciousness at the initial fall there was no loss of consciousness at the first or ‘second impact’ trauma.
• 
• This same doctor alleges injured worker ‘burns pets and peeves’ rather than’ pots and pans’due to memory losses, and is therefore maladjusted.  Said doctor alleges in a $4,000 report that he spent 7 hours with injured worker when in fact he spent approximately 1 hour, and delegated the balance of the ‘forensic investigation’ to some other kind of doctor, probably with a lower billing fee.  If the said report was not so life-threatening, it is ridiculous enough to be almost funny.
• 
• One of their orthopedic surgeons,  of the 5 orthopedic surgeons the injured worker was sent to for brain injury, believes brain injuries are best treated with expensive ‘at home’ ultra sound wands at a billed cost of approximately $1500, without instructions.  Should injured worker apply to frontal and parietal lobes and leave out the occipital lobe or include?
• One of their clinical psychologists believes and recommends that impaired speech and loss of executive functions are best remedied by ‘accommodations’ to encourage no-vocational rehabilitation to enable said head-injured worker to return to work as a greeter, or seek employment at a place like CHINA DIRECT.
• 
• A clinical psychologist with a failed plan of recommended treatment gave up requesting treatment early on, and once the defense counsel sent a threatening letter for an alleged delay in a progress report, the report curve went from TTD, TTD, TTD, TTD (still no authorized treatment other than chat-time with an associate of unknown credentials to learn tricks to mask and cope with brain injuries) TTD TTD (upon receipt of threatening letter from Defense, perhaps putting QME designation at risk,, with no treatment, the report magically transformed to RTW WITH ACCOMMODATIONS AS A GREETER OR CLERK since injured worker can’t follow directions, has memory loss, is easily distractible, and quite angry at failure to receive appropriate and requested medical care authorization.  “Should see a psychologist after work”.    (TTD=temporarily totally disabled)  (RTW = return to work)  0.0
• A drug and/or alcohol test was probably in order for THAT doctor, as it was amongst the more incoherent fabricated reports.
• 
• The Defense attorney has a habitual pattern of omitting medical records, thereby obtaining skewed reports, used to deny legitimate and appropriate medical evaluations, and thereby eventually deem the injured worker a ‘doctor shopper’ and totally healed, if there ever was injury at all.
• (Injured Worker disbelieved that doctors can bought, but evidently, it is a common practice in the WC realms, as identified by the forensic psychiatrist, with apparent first hand-knowledge and experience.)
• The practice ‘smacks of fraud’ but injured worker’s counsel could not read a simple list of ‘missing records’ and determined the injured worker had ‘severe psychological issues’ demanding immediate treatment (which had been denied repeatedly) but the lawyer’s diagnosis was ‘delusion regarding conspiracies to omit records’ and proceeded to throw injured worker ‘under the bus’ in order to expedite a quick settlement without dealing with medical diagnosis or treatment and other details required for recovery.
• Injured worker responded with a picture and a few words to all whom the matters concerned:
• 
• Reimbursements for self-procured medical care and medical miles are mandated to be paid within reasonable periods of time, yet the defense attorney and insurance adjuster claim they have not received requests for  thousands and thousands of dollars, sent more than a half-dozen times, certified, regular, priority mail, with and without proof of service.   They  always close those discussions with ‘the check is in the mail’ (but subject to severe penalties, if injured worker can ever get past the WC Information Officer in front of a Judge).
• 
• The crowd of ‘doctors’ with the WC Gravy Train designation of QME – Qualified Medical Examiner– seem to be the most outrageously compensated and of dubious credentials and competencies (and citizenship).  Perhaps the DA’s offices would find it beneficial to commence rigorous investigations with all QME designated doctors.  The good ones will stand out, the bad ones will stand out even more.
• 
• Wyndham’s ‘people’  apparently frown on any treatment recommendations by licensed self-procured physicians who are competent to evaluate the specific clinical issues involved in the medical treatment services.  While it is a violation of law, the same insurance company adjusters wildly delay and deny reasonable and appropriate medical treatment for months and months and months, in spite of the fact that  the law precludes non-physicians from modifying, delaying or denying such expert competent treatment requests and recommendations.
  • Section 4610(e) provides “NO PERSON OTHER THAN A LICENSED PHYSICIAN WHO IS COMPETENT TO EVALUATE THE SPECIFIC CLINICAL ISSUES INVOLVED IN THE MEDICAL TREATMENT SERVICES, AND WHERE THESE SERVICES ARE WITHIN THE SCOPE OF THE PHYSICIAN’S PRACTICE, REQUESTED BY THE PHYSICIAN MAY MODIFY, DELAY, OR DENY REQUESTS FOR AUTHORIZATION FOR MEDICAL TREATMENT FOR REASONS OF MEDICAL NECESSITY TO CURE OR RELIEVE.”

~~~

THINK LOCALLY. ACT GLOBALLY. OCCUPY VIRTUALLY.

WE ARE THE MEDIA NOW….. MORE FOLLOWS…. AND REMEMBER, ENERGY FOLLOWS THOUGHT…..  We do not…FORGET. If you have resources to share, be sensible and share sensibly on the walls. Remember, they are a dangerous crowd, interested in profits at any cost, including your lives.

Here are some resources, share your resources; share your stories as a guest blogger!  

WE ARE THE MEDIA NOW and for that WE ARE RESPONSIBLE.

1. ASK ABOUT WORKERS COMP GRAVY TRAINS:  FB  PAGE:  https://www.facebook.com/AskAboutWorkersCompGravyTrains
2. BRAIN INJURIES:  FB PAGE:  https://www.facebook.com/Brain.Injury.Advocate
3. BRAIN INJURY ADVOCATES:   An Activist’s Go-To Handbook…. the book:  http://braininjuryadvocates.com/  by Susan Hultberg  http://braininjuryadvocates.com/book-back-cover
4. CALIFORNIA WORKERS’ COMP – How to Take Charge When You’re Injured on the Job – Christopher A. Ball –  http://www.nolo.com/products/california-workers-comp-work.html
5. Workers’ Compensation in California: A Guidebook for Injured Workers  http://www.dir.ca.gov/InjuredWorkerGuidebook/InjuredWorkerGuidebook.html

WE ARE THE MEDIA NOW, AND FOR THAT, WE ARE RESPONSIBLE.

FRIENDS HELP FRIENDS HOLD CRIMINALS ACCOUNTABLE FOR THEIR ACTIONS….

EVEN IF THEIR SCHOOL’N SAYS DOCTOR, LAWYER, PSYCHOPATH OR UNDERTAKER.

SHARE YOUR STORY!!   http://ASKABOUTWORKERSCOMPGRAVYTRAINS.COM/