Workers Comp Help
Job-Related RSD, Disputed By Workers Comp
I have been injured for 12 years now. Receiving compensation and finding honest representatives of my case has been a trial in itself. I have yet to receive all of what I am owed; a sum of which is Workmans Compensation, Social Security Disability, and medical bill payments.
The doctors that I had seen initially stated that my injury was job related and named it RSD. But, after a long fight to receive compensation for my injury with the first lawyer, diagnostic papers were concealed. With the second lawyer, the same doctors had given a different diagnosis and one in particular had begun to work for the company that I had been injured at.
I have seen numerous doctors and therapists and they told me that my injury would “get worse before it got better”. Well, consequently, my injury has not gotten any better and I am still fighting to this day for correct compensation and with the injury that impedes my life.
My first lawyer, whom I trusted, settled my case without including all diagnostics made by the doctors I had initially seen for my injury. I had given the lawyer all the examination papers from the doctors explaining my injury. I had never received a copy of my file from my lawyer after the case was settled. In fact, the lawyer had requested that I pay for the return of my file. Later, I found that my lawyer had settled my case and denied the pursuit of my SSD while stating that I was lying about my illness to the judges. The lawyer had fled from my sight; I didn’t even receive my settlement check from the lawyer’s hands. I had not been able to reach the lawyer by any means, whether it was letter or phone.
Consequently, I had to find another lawyer to attempt my SSD afterwards. With this lawyer, I filed for SSD again and we reopened my Work-mans Comp for the correct disability payments. I had only received half of what the employers owed me for my injury. But, it was very difficult to overcome the damage the previous lawyer had produced.
Without the previous file that my first lawyer with-held, I had an incomplete file to use in my case; Along with me having to prove to the judges that my first lawyer was dishonest when telling them that I had lied about my injury. After an extremely long fight for my case the lawyer had me sign a form that implied a release of medical documents but really it had indirectly released my lawyer of any further representation.
Without any knowledge of the lawyer relieving himself of any future appeals with me, I waited to hear from the lawyer of those appeals. Yet, I had heard nothing from the lawyer over a time spa n of a year and the deadline for the appeal was nearing; Therefore, I appealed the case myself, unable to find any lawyer with the courage to take it on. Without the representation, I lost my case and the judge told me to move on without even looking directly at me during the whole hearing.
The depositions said that my illness was merely psychosomatic but I am not the only injured employee of this company. Other employees were injured but didn’t fight as I did and still do. Another has also accompanied me in my fight while enduring the same agonizing pain of this illness known as Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy or RSD. This other employee’s injury had been confused with my information during my case because the file’s documents had been some how switched. I did not know this information until after the first case was settled and I went to my employer to get a copy of my file.
I have been living with this illness for 12 years now and I have yet to see any justice for it. I don’t know who to trust because of all the predicaments I have been put through for all these years. My injury has affected my work and my family not to mention the friends that I have. I have met many others with the same problem as I. No one has received any justice or found any lawyers or doctors with loyalty and courage in helping to fight for those with RSD.