Comments on: One Year on and another Setback

By: Madeleine

Madeleine — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 08:43:00 +0000

We get so many at times its hard to tell them apart – they all have the same name you see.

By: MacDoctor

MacDoctor — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 11:17:00 +0000

Hey, nice troll, Madeleine. They're so cute when they're incomprehensible. Sorry, I know I shouldn't feed them, but they are so hard to resist...

Recent blog post: The Right to Sue

By: Glenn

Glenn — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 08:57:00 +0000

“worried you might have to live like the majority do? “

Yeah, because clearly the majority of us have painful permanent neck injuries… what a twit.

By: Madeleine

Madeleine — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 03:27:00 +0000

Exactly. How much skiing am I going to be doing in the future now I have a permanent disability anyway?

As for the claim I rushed into surgery, even my anti-surgery osteopaths said I would end up with surgery within 2 years regardless but the longer I left it the worse the recovery and the higher the risk of complications such as bony growths as the vetebrae tried to push themselves apart to compensate for the flattened disc.

What stuffed me was the car accident.

The reason I am struggling financially [far from "rich"] is because the govt compensation scheme sucks and prevents me from exercising my legal right to adequate compensation.

By: Mr Dennis

Mr Dennis — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 02:57:00 +0000

As usual, some people don’t have the guts to use their real name when they just want to spout nonsensical abuse.

By: Madeleine

Madeleine — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 00:22:00 +0000

ACC is sold to us as all we need in terms of accident cover. The politicians believed in it so much that they decided that none of us needed to retain the right to sue.

Given this, it should be all it claims to be; it should be adequate, it should cover everything it should provide decent compensation if its existence denies us the right to sue.

If it is going to operate as a baseline, no frills, crap service for those who cannot afford to sue or their own private insurance then the right to sue should remain and a tax rebate should offered to those who avail themselves of superior options. (I still maintain the govt has no place running it.)

In addition to it being outside the scope of the proper role of govt, if a private insurer had the same amount of money available to it to provide its service as ACC does I am damn sure I would be in a much better off position.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 23:48:00 +0000

Hate to say it but I did tell you that surgery was the last thing you should do. IMO you rushed in thinking that a quack with a sharp knife could save you from a lifetime of pain when realistically the cure was bound to be worse than the disease.

And with regard to ACC, welcome to the real world, my world, a lifetime of pain and disability on 80% of your earnings and a bottle of pills.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 22:47:00 +0000

What are you complaining about? $4k is a lot of money for some people. If you don't want it plenty of other people could feed their families for months on that money.

What's your problem? worried you might have to live like the majority do? That your kids won't have new skiis for their next ski trip?

You make me sick you rich bitch.

By: Madeleine

Madeleine — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 21:37:00 +0000

Thanks for that Jim. The crazy thing is that I didn’t realise prior to this accident that you could get private accident insurance in New Zealand. I thought ACC made it redundant because of the removal of the right to sue. I guess I should have been better informed (and covered) – funny what you learn when you need to.

I am not sure what to do with regards medical council investigations. I do not know at this stage whether it is fair to blame him for it or whether it is just one of those things that freakishly happens sometimes. I have no idea how to find that out especially if Scalia’s point is well founded.

I would probably have to spend more money than I would get back getting second opinions and follow up MRI’s.

By: macdoctor

macdoctor — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 21:25:00 +0000

ACC legislation removes your right to sue for an accidental injury. Your trade-off for this is that everybody has their treatment paid for and is compensated (partially) for loss of income, regardless as to the cause of accident.

Obviously, surgeons like this because they can't be sued for compensation. However, they will still be dragged through interminable ACC, HDC and Medical council investigations. Frankly, I would rather be sued.

Remember that this is a government insurance. Because it is funded out of taxpayer funds, it is very "baseline" - there are no frills, and the compensation is designed for low-income people not the well-off. If you want efficient, well compensated insurance, you still have to buy your own.