General Please Explain

[Tammy]

hey guys sorry it has been so long, but we have just finished moving house.
We are really liking our new life, we live on two and a half acres and we all enjoy it so much more than suburbia.
We heard back from MCRS about Alex's compensation payout... They are now using dr Vickery's report to say that Alex does not have PTSD at all. Which annoys me because technically Alex was discharged from the Army for no reason! They are however still paying for his psyche appointments and travel to and from psyche appts, all for a condition he apparently doesn't have. We are continuing to fight with them through our lawyer who is probably sick of us by now!
Can someone explain to me why after receiving this idiot drs report, they paid Alex his redemption of incapacity payments, but now say he isn't entitled to anything because he doesn't have PTSD? It is driving me mad, and Alex was really depressed about it all because in his mind, he could have been working all this time!
Our solicitor has asked them to reconsider his case and he seems to think we will be ok, but I don't know. I told Alex he should go and join up in the army again! Why are MCRS only taking into account this one drs POV when at least four other drs as well as the ptsd course said that he has PTSD. THeir answer- they dont have anything from any dr that says Alex has PTSD.

Please explain.

 

[Damiea]

Hi Tammy! So glad to hear you got a new place and are all moved in and happy with it! I don't know anything about the legal issues though.. but as in any legal case.. stick to what you know is right and fight it out! Hope things change for you soon.

 

[anthony]

Its called red tape Tammy..... the longer they wrap you in it the more likely you are to go away or no longer be able to afford fighting them.

 

[Nicolette]

Anthony is correct Tammy. Don't give up now, you have to stay strong and continue the battle. I am sure Alex's claim could cost them a fair amount of money so they will try and put you off by making it hard. The process and system suck. :rolleyes:

 

[Tammy]

Thanks guys
Our solicitor says our $5000 is running low but because we paid him capped at that unless we have to go to the correct appeals tribunal, we don't have to pay him anything more yet!!! Alex and I are just both so sick of their BULL; but we won't be giving up. Like I said to Alex even if in the end they decide to stick to their present guns, there has to be something we can do. Especially because of theway Alex was treated by other military personnell after his diagnosis before they discharged him... I have been searching the net and I think I will just tell MCRS that if they don't pay him out we will be suing the Australian defence force for discharging him; but they will likely know that this an empty threat.

 

[2quilt]

Get his mental health medical records from active duty.

 

[Tammy]

We have been trying to get hold of his records, but as usual there is a lot of red tape. I did however have some of the information from the Army Dr who discharged him. I also rang around and got the Dr reports from his psyche and social worker in Townsville and I also have a copy of the PTSD groups report on him. A lot of phone calls and a lot of begging later, I was able to hand them to our solicitor, so hopefully that will be enough until I can hack at the other red tape!

Alex rang Comsuper (they are the ones paying him) and asked them what he was allowed to do about working again. They told him that they are not means tested and that he can go back to work whenever he wants to! So I am assuming it was MCRS saying he had to get a psyches permission beforehand. Comsuper also told him that as they aren't means tested, he still gets his pension every fortnight and it will only change when he has to come up for a review. Can anyone tell me what ramifications this may have?

Alex is really low at the moment and wants to support his family better. He is so fed up with MCRS, he says that even though him going back to work will affect the compensation payout, he really wants to do it.

We are almost becoming indifferent with each other because we are together 24/7 and I think it is taking its toll on both of us. Alex says he wants me to look at him like I did when he was working again; I wasn't aware I looked at him any different!

Any input would be great...

 

[Murphy's Law]

HI Tammy
My husband left me 6 months after I was diagnosed. I had no idea it was coming, sucker punched. So I guess my advice is to be honest with him. Talk about your relationship and your future. If you are feeling uncertainty, it will only multiply in secret. Take some time out of the endless battles and do something fun, remember how strong you can make each other feel.
This is a very close subject for me, obviously, so I don't know how objective I am being. You seem very strong and beautiful. It has been aprox 4 years that i have been battling Workers Comp, so keep up the fight. Remember its not personal to them, although its certainly is personal to you.

 

[anthony]

You might be surprised what response you could get by appealing to any legal facilities, QC's even, barristers.... due to the publicity of the poor treatment of those service personnel diagnosed with PTSD due to service.

 

[Cindy]

OK, this is a different perspective, but having worked with my elderly parent I think your husband wishing to work at some level is about his pride and self esteem. Maybe he needs to do it for these issues alone.

As far as ramifications - no clue. But for him personally there may be a huge benefit. He will feel like a contributing member of the family again. Even if it is volunteer work he would be able to feel some self worth again through an organization. Independence is a very tough thing to lose at any level at any age.

 

[Tammy]

Our solicitor is apparently one of the best where we are so for now I will leave it in his hands. I get so frustrated trying to get any sense out of them that I end up yelling and swearing at them, which just makes me look stupid.

Cindy, I agree with you that it may just be his 'wanting to contribute'. He feels slack as he says, and the pressure from his family, my family and friends who don't understand what ptsd is is so strong that I know some of the things they say cut him to his core.

On the good side though; he has been doing the online learners test and has gotten 100% enough that he is now ready to try that. We have to go to a town called Dungog to make a booking, then they'll ring us and tell us his appt time and then he go and get his learners; which is a positive and means I won't have to drive everywhere!!! Not looking forward to sitting on 80kph on the highways though...

He has also started selling things on ebay which has given him something to do, and he enjoys it. If only he was only selling things and not buying. For example, yesterday he bought a car manual for a HJ Holden- and we don't even have a HJ Holden... Sometimes he makes me mad, but it gives him something to do so I won't complain too much!

He is slowly getting rid of all the crap he bought at an auction house that has been cluttering my house for months, so I am certainly happy about that!

He just seems to be so determined to do something more now. But I guess being 26 and retired because of PTSD is frustrating for him; although he mainly jokes about it now a days.

I just hope all of this crap with MCRS can be sorted out without causing him too much more negative emotions... fingers crossed

 

[Nicolette]

He has also started selling things on ebay which has given him something to do, and he enjoys it. If only he was only selling things and not buying. For example, yesterday he bought a car manual for a HJ Holden- and we don't even have a HJ Holden... Sometimes he makes me mad, but it gives him something to do so I won't complain too much!

While it sounds funny reading it, have you thought about why Alex does it? What does it give him? Is it the high from winning the deal or is it have more material possessions?