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Emerg Services I believed for 1104 days her death was a suicide... now maybe not???

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gealach

MyPTSD Pro
This is bothering me a lot more than I'd like to admit, so I'm reaching out for ideas/advice/I don't even know what I'm looking for.

One of my best friends, and my former paramedic partner, committed suicide in April 2015 after a short brutal battle with ptsd.

I've been off work since April 2016, and have twice been independently diagnosed with ptsd, a diagnosis the wcb disputes. So I've been in appeal with them since August 2016.

In the last week I suddenly have a new appeals advisor, and in our second conversation, he dropped a bombshell. Apparently wcb says my partner didn't commit suicide.

For 1104 days I believed my partner committed suicide. Then on day 1105 that's changed... maybe? I've been a mess since that conversation, or more of a mess than usual.

He clarified a bit today in an email. He couldn't/wouldn't disclose her cause of death, but wrote that my employer told wcb they "didn't believe" her death was a suicide. So the information isn't even coming from wcb.

What does my employer have to do with this, why would they even be a factor? If anything, wcb would/could have told my employer her cause of death... but not the other way around. My partner still had an open claim with wcb when she died, and they would know her cause of death, whether suicide or not, in order to close her file. But apparently wcb doesn't know... or do they?

Did she suicide? didn't she?

Having a 1104 day belief that my partner did commit suicide, and then on day 1105 maybe she didn't, or maybe she did, no one seems to know for sure...

how do I even begin to process that? how does that fit in with Crit A? what does that do to my diagnosis? what does that do to my claim?

This is such a mind f*ck. I don't know what to do with this.
 
wcb is ....?

I’m guessing a professional organization, right?

It’s ridiculous that you can be un diagnosed.....but remember, their bottom like is $$$$, they don’t actually care about you as a person. Sad to say...

Is your claim based on her suicide?

I can guarantee you that even without that, you have enough trauma exposure for a ptsd diagnosis...but I know, it is a big mind f*ck.
 
WBC will do anything to get out of paying. I ripped my shoulder badly, and they messed around with it for 9 months before allowing me to see a surgeon. Ask for their findings in writing. It doesn't matter how she died for your case, you have PTSD from the suicide, because your brain messed up when that happened, and them taking it back doesn't fix your brain. The damage is done.
 
WCB will do anything to get out of paying.
Horror stories about WCB. They are like any other organization that deals with claims. Worse even. They don't want to pay. They don't want you to get their money. They are mind f*cking you which is why you feel mind f*cked.

At the end of the day you have PTSD. Period. If you have the symptoms and meet the criteria you should be able to fight it. Oh, and sorry if there is redundancy in the posting. I haven't read the other posts.
 
It doesn't matter how she died for your case, you have PTSD from the suicide, because your brain messed up when that happened, and them taking it back doesn't fix your brain. The damage is done.

is that how Crit A works?


I feel like I need to defend my relationship with her. I shouldn't have to, but to minimize the effect of her death on me, and remove it from my claim, wcb has alternately argued that we were "just" co-workers, that we were friends but not inseparable BFF's, and that we weren't actually partners because we both went off with health issues.

I knew her when we both worked for different services in the NW division, long before we both went to the city. I worked calls with her in the city before we were scheduled to be partners. I waited 2 years to be her partner, and we were both so excited that we got to be partners, and that we got the station she had wanted for years. We actually discussed coping strategies, because she was such a black cloud, and I was a vortex of weirdness, that we figured it would a synergistic ass kicking of a partnership. She was actually a bit scared of our energy as a team. So yes, we were partners.

And I spent time with her off duty. We had meals, I swam in her pool, played with her dogs, and spent Christmases at her house. When she died I brought flowers to the house for her family, and 2 big bones for the dogs. So yes, we were friends.

But if she didn't actually die by suicide, they'll say I have no Crit A. And the other co-worker suicide (verified COD) also doesn't count because we weren't close enough friends.
 
I shouldn't have to, but to minimize the effect of her death on me, and remove it from my claim, wcb has alternately argued that we were "just" co-workers, that we were friends but not inseparable BFF's, and that we weren't actually partners because we both went off with health issues.
You need a lawyer. Like - now. The WCB themselves will end up flaring up your PTSD with what they are doing. People with PTSD aren't the greatest at defending themselves and it sounds like they are priming you to say one wrong thing and throw out your claim. Pretty sure there are lawyers out there who would take on a WCB claim without upfront money.

Honestly, you need support through this. Serious support.
 
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