For those of you who were kind enough to participate in the survey posted here in a previous blog, I thought you might be interested in seeing the results.
Click this link to download a PDF copy of the summarised results: Online survey results for public release
I think they speak for themselves.
8th April 2012
This is life with ACC – How they dont help at all really…I have read the results of your survey Kyle – good on you.
This is how things happened, and how things are – for me.
“I would consider my injuries to be overwhelming.
I worked as a wage earner for over 24 years.
I have worked unsuccessfully at various job trials since my ACC
claim in 1995.
I have many fully qualified doctors, specialist and psychiatric
reports that substantiate my injuries (which includes a 3 day and 4
night captive rape and torture by multiple parties). This event started
the day after my 14th birthday. I was a missing 14 year old girl –
you know, like you hear on the radio from time to time. I was rescued
by the police on the 4th night just moments before I was to be
slaughtered, and my body placed into the acid bath that was directly outside.
The help I recieved was the rescue, and then 4 and a half months later, when I was admitted to Hutt Hospital, after a miscarriage (the pregnancy was a result of the rapes). While I was there, they removed my body lice, and my STDs were recognised and treated.
I also have a few recent dodgy reports that were organised by my ACC
case managers. The reason I call these reports dodgy, is that the ACC
case managers involved, knowingly sent to the medical assessors, former
factually incorrect reports that had not had the corrections of facts
added to the reports. ergo, the medical assessors did not recieve the
correct information with which to make their assessment of me – a stranger to them.
My ACC physical claims case manager told me “if I was going to waste time going through my reports
prior to an examination, then I could be disentitled to my weekly
compensation for non-compliance at the assessment” (I have this voice message saved on my
cellphone). This is how I know it was a deliberate act by the ACC case
managers to set me up, and then disentitle me.
Currently I am diagnosed with Chronic Pain Syndrome, and Pain
Sensitivity Disorder, and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, and
Personality Disorder. All of these conditions are due to both my
physical injuries, and my rapes, combined. I think the Pain Sensitivity
Syndrome is caused by not being treated correctly over a long period
of time (google has a good definition under Wikipedia) According to
all specialists, my physical and mental conditions cannot be
separated.
I do still have my intelligence, although sometimes (under
stress) I do display wrong behaviour patterns. Perhaps even ‘posting’ this article is wrong behaviour, but, whatever, people need to know exactly how ACC treat claimants!
In 1995 I left my job due to sexual harrassment. I left quietly, and
never did anything about it.
I soon started working again after a couple of weeks holiday –
different job – different company.
In this new job, and while I was still a trainee, I had multiple falls
from a bicycle (faulty brakes), injuring my back, upper and lower, my
shoulder, and my right knee.
I dont know why, (maybe I thought I could trust him) but I told my
husband about my rapes event that happened when I was a child. He didnt
seem to like me after this (in that his sexual and personal behaviour
to me changed dramatically), and one day soon after this, he told me I
had to leave the family home – he now had a girlfriend.
In 1996 I fell from a tree trunk and was unconscious, and then
concussion. I further injured my spine, and neck in this accident.
claim /005.
Some time after this (maybe 1998? or 9?) I fell down a flight of
stairs. I fell from the top,and was knocked unconscious for up to 8
hours. I sustained further injury to my back, damaged my ear, and
again my neck, and elbows and knees, and concussion. Lucky it didnt
kill me really.
In 1998?/9, while having to see an ACC specialist in Christchurch (under the threat of disentitlement to my weekly compensation by my case manager), and needing to stay overnight in the budget accommodation that ACC allow
payment for, I was raped in my hotel. I went to the doctor, it was
recorded. I rang C L, my then SCU case manger to have the rape
recorded, and was told “there was no need, as I already had cover for a
rape”. Why wouldnt I believe her?
I dont know what made my original captive rape event start to bother
me more and more, it just did. I had recieved no help from anyone after this ordeal.
I have tried to commit suicide on several occaisions. I think maybe it was because after a series of
unfortunate events (including finding out that my 13 year old daughter
had been raped), and I found myself being trapped, as I was living
rather remotely, and my car had been stolen. I was trapped somewhere I
didnt want to be – like the rapes I suppose.
A local crazy man came into a friends house one night. Kicked his way
in, extremely threatening behaviour to me and the 2 other women. Big
man, shouting, screaming, threatening to kill us all. He went out to
his car to get his baseball bat – I escaped out the back door, climbed
a fence to a neighbouring house and rang 111. I waited outside
crouched behind a bush out of sight for the 40 minutes it took the
police to arrive, worrying about my friends – if they were alive or in pain, and should I be doing more to help – but actually I was too scared.
A few days later, a local crazy woman came to my house one night, and smashed up my
house and threatened to kill me – there was no reason for this
behaviour, other than she was an extremely loose unit – she did it to
someone elses house too the same night – I was glad I wasnt home at
the time, but my flatmate was. I realised I had moved into a small
community of nutters. I moved immediately
following this event.
Im pretty sure these kind of life events brought my former rapes into
my everyday waking life. I realised I had a big problem, and sought
help. I began counselling . After this,
I again had a vehicle, and immediately left.
I moved to . The Branch Manager ACC , didnt believe my
rape had ever happened and thought I had made it up. I know this,
because my then sensitive claims case manager, gave
me a piece of paper with the phone conversation transcript of a
conversation she had with Branch Manager ACC . He kicked me
off ACC weekly comp soon after this conversation. I was reinstated,
but not before I had lost everything – including the house I had just
signed a contract to purchase, and, including my dignity.
Due to the personal embarrassment of my sudden homeless state caused by the loss of weekly comp, I went ot live in an abandoned leaky and derilect hut in the mountains. It was winter. I nearly died there..while I was waiting to be reinstated to my weekly comp. It was reinstated
I moved and so did the Branch manager!
So, I had the same unbelieving situation from the branch of
ACC (because of Branch manager disbelief), and was assigned the very nasty case manager.
In late 2001, I was drug raped – I think the drug was GBH. You want to
scream and shout coz theres lots of pain, but no matter how hard you
try to scream the word HELP, nothing comes out your mouth, youre kind
of paralysed, and then you pass out. When I came to the next day, my
entire body was covered in blood. I could smell it before I opened my
eyes. Due to the nature of the drug, and its effects taking several
days to wear off, I was hopeless to do anything about it. I went to
the doctor to get checked out and have blood tests for diseases.
I didnt bother to advise ACC coz I already had a rape claim in with SCU
– acting on former CM advice.
There was an interesting talkback on the
radio soon after this incident, about a series of drug rapes in the
area. My friend heard it and told me to ring in and tell them
what happened to me. So I did.
In early 2002 I needed to have some sort of anal examination due to
the rape, so my GP wrote to the Proctologist, and he then wrote to ACC
for confirmation of payment for the procedure, so it could be
done with urgency. R G sent him back a letter saying “I didnt
realise (my name) had injured her anus while riding a bicycle.”
This is not good case management is it!
2002, R G tells more lies, (the police told her they knew her story was
not entirely true – because she didnt have any bruises!, and they
reccommended Diversion for me but she called on the other case manager
buddy there to back up her story ie, lie), and this
caused me to gain a criminal record – I even had to pay her some money
– the judge said he was making an example of me! I tried to commit
suicide at this time. I had again lost my weekly comp (2002), and was homeless
again, and on no income at the time of this court appearance due to
the WINZ 12 week stand down period.
Review failed because it was pre-determined to fail. The reviewer did
not have a tape recorder, and failed to make any notes at the review.
My CM was in the review room yakking to the reviewer when I arrived –
they were very chummy. I was told by the reviewer, that this was his
first review, and CM was teaching him.
I became destitute (again), my car was repossessed, and I went
bankrupt (2004). In Novemer 2006, I was reinstated to my weekly comp
(after 4 and a half years), because JML sorted it out for me
via legal aid. I paid back my WINZ Invalids Benefit, and my
bankruptsy, and that left me enough money to buy a car, and some
clothes, (coz by now I just had a few rags), and to get a haircut,
and some real food to have a decent meal.
In 2011, I had to have an Endoscopy on my stomach. Result, I have an
Ulcer (not the bacteria caused ulcer) but an ulcer caused by too many
years of taking NSAIDs. So now Im on new medications (Tramadol), and
these ulcer tablets (pantapazole). Of course the ulcer is made worse
by this ACC stress, and the meds make me gain weight. I dont actually
mind the weight gain, as I believe it makes me undesirable, and this
helps me feel a bit personally safer. But the ulcer is literally a
pain in the gut.
This week my GP prescribed me 7.5mlg Zopiclone for sleep.
By now, Im even more psychologically, and physicaly impaired than I was to start
with. I would say this is partly due to ACCs disgusting treatment of
me, and partly due to the additional rapes, and the additional
exaserbation of my injuries – both physical, and psychological.
So, now here I am again, its the 8th April 2012…. In September last
year (2011) I finally came out of my bankruptsy of 2004. Im thinking,
yay, now I can move ahead. Buy this 1 bedroom place that I designed,
and the property developers built for me to buy. I had just got my
mortgage approved.
The plan was to get stuck in and paint lots of pictures, and establish
myself as a credible artist, and work at becoming independent of ACC.
I dont know if I can ever reach a stage where I can be Independent of
ACC now, but I would like to be able to be in a position where I can
at least try.
Its like having a fulltime, and very stressful job being on ACC.
Threats, harrassment, and bullying left right and center – from ACC
staff, and their medical assessors, and the sheer number of assessments!
I want to be able to cast them aside, but I need to be rehabilitated first, if this is at all
possible, given the ‘state’ of me.
They need to work with me outside of the box, coz I dont fit into any
of their boxes. I believe I have this Right. And, most of all, they
need to be ‘kind’. I am a complex case…
So…I check my inbox in November 2011, and theres an email from the very
gross case manager. She (ACC), has decided my claim /004 was no
longer the reason for my incapacity to work, therefore my weekly
compensation would cease at the end of my current medical certificate
(13th Jan 2012). I begged God to please take me now.
I go to see my GP and she does new ARC18 medical certs for each of my injuries on separate ARC18 forms (she used to put them all onto the one cert, but the ACC computers cannot handle this). and her
team manager, turned them all down!
I am devastated again (actually, devastated isnt really the right word – coz the feeling is far beyond devastated). Maybe its more like
overwhelmingly devastated.
There was a considerable stand down before WINZ started to pay me the
Invalids Benefit. (Invalids Benefit means you have no propensity to
work, as verified by a WINZ specialist doctor, and my GP). I sold my cheapo car
to survive over this time. Now Im penniless.
Im going to be homeless and destitute (Im already destitute) again very soon, because I no longer have the money to buy (what I thought) this most precious home/art studio, and that Id never have to move again – and I dont even have a car to sleep in, and my children all live overseas. I am 54 years old.
All of this current state of my affairs, is due to the ACC case
managers, and team managers whim. I am aware it was a government
directive to disentitle claimants. But really there needs to be a
portion of humanity involved. The case managers are eager, as they get
their bonuses (changing the name of the bonus scheme that exists,
doesnt remove the bonus system, it just changes its name). It is still
financial gain from the hardship and callous treatment of others, and
is entirely againt the Woodhouse Report, and its meaning.
I am currently struggling to meet my daily needs, financial
commitments, and the right to live my life the best way I can with my
injuries, and disabilities. My physical and mental health is rapidly
going further down hill.
My case managers are liars, and decievers, and manipulaters of my very
private and personal information, and indeed my life. They cast aside
my rehabilitation, it appears, at their whim. Soon I will be homeless
again, and I dont know what will happen next.
My case manager said to me once “some peolple have heart attacks when
we are rehabilitating them. We cant be blamed for that.” I say they can!!
I live remotely and alone, because that is all I can handle. This is
my existance. The best I can do. Are you really surprised? Im not.
ACC, and its case managers deliberately lie, and knowingly use false information
to attain misleading medical reports – the reports are so misleading
that they could be a report written for a whole different person – but
they have my name written on them.
I would consider the Process of ACC and DRSL a breach of the New
Zealand Bill of Rights, and a gross breach of my Human rights with
many breaches of privacy, and a complete loss of Natural Justice.
The only reason I am needing this latest review is due to the unlawful
and wrongful action of the ACC, and its case managers deliberately
lying and using false information. I have no doubt that I will win my
review, as I have so much documented evidence of the ACC case managers
fraudulent behaviour towards me and my case.
I would like someone to enable me to maintain my lawful entitlements, and
to call to account the perpertrating case managers, team managers, and
branch managers, who have deliberately caused my further psychological
and physical harm.
It all just seems so senseless to put victims of crime and injury
through such an ordeal/s. It makes their figures look good for a while
but eventually I will get reinstated to my weekly comp, and then have to
step off the back foot and try to recover all over again, from a worse
starting point than before disentitlement…”
This document does not include all of my life tragedys/traumas/events or whatever youd like to call them, it merely touches on some of them.
And ACC think they have the right to not treat you with respect?
I wish you well.
”The letter acquainted Mr McDonald with inaccuracies in his article, and invited him either to remove certain specified passages or to amend his article to reflect the true situation,” he said.
All you have to do here Kyle is add the words “it is my opinion and belief” NO ONE can ever be sued for saying ANYTHING about ANYONE else, as long as they state “It is my opinion and belief”. (In fact you could just add the words in brackets beside whatever it was that he took offence to) So this would be all you would need to add to your article to make it accurate and legal, and it would allow you to leave your article exactly like it is – just amend it with these words.
ACC must have employed him because he was of dodgy character! (my opinion and belief) Godbless
I guess it was inevitable they would start upping the anti by picking on Mr MacDonald at some stage…..