Are Injured workers ward of the state?

Author Subject: Are Injured workers ward of the state?
Working Families Of America Unite Posted At 20:14:26 06/06/2000
This is reply from an injured worker about article written by Mark L. Zientz.http://www.mzlaw.com W/C Laws Unconstitutional? Hi John,

Thanks for this site. I've been having one of those very bad nights
with just a few hours of sleep and got on here and saw your email.
Well I have been shifting between sitting and laying down on my couch
reading this entire article.This man says it all right in this article. It is enlightening and totally disturbing to read this.
It is appalling to see exactly, step by step, all of our rights were
taken away from us.Huh, the state owns us? The state polices the
injured worker? The state makes the decisions for the injured worker?

Now I understand why, at these hearings we are not allowed to speak for
ourselves. When I attended my first hearing I did not have legal
representation, my second hearing I had a lawyer that, I felt, was not
working with my best interests at heart.Turns out I was right about that one after my hearing last Thursday.
They might as well just put a blindfold and gag us at these hearings so
that it is obvious what is going on. I thought these hearing were the
same as the hearings I testify at City Hall for reform and adequate
training within the NYPD and within the Mental Health System, another
rude awakening at my second hearing.
If the judge presents a question to me, I am allowed to speak, if
information is needed from me, I get to speak.Information is always
needed because I never have the same judge and they never seem to know
what the heck is going on with my case. It would be nice if I even had
the same lawyer all the time so that the law firm representing me knew
what was going on with my case.
Yet, with all of this ignorance to my case, only the insurance companies
lawyer seems to know what is going on, I am not allowed to open my mouth
and correct misinformation, serious issues not being addressed, point
out recorded documentation of anything and be forced to sit there like a
wooden puppet while I am witnessing this pathetic, waste of time
proceeding that does not get me anywhere but a date for another one of
these hearings and more time to suffer this system.
Now it all makes sense to me, as illogical as that may seem, this is
what it was planned to be. Me, knowing the full history of my case and
injuries, sitting there with a gag order at the insistence of the state,
for my behalf. I am owned by the state and the state deems that I am
not to be of any cost to any one or be a burden on anyone because I was
seriously injured on my job. I am not allowed to speak for myself, am
denied a trial by jury, I need to be policed by the state, and the state
has taken all my constitutional rights away from me for my own good and
the good of others. I am no longer considered to be or treated as a
citizen of the Country.
Due to my injuries I am now classified as owned by the state in which I
reside and the state has the right to decide what is best for me without
or with as little cost to others. This is to allow for the insurance
companies to give me the minimum amount of money to live on and as
little treatment as possible. Yet, it allows for their representatives
and mine to be provided with an earnest and profitable living.

So much for living in America and becoming a ward of the state I reside
in. So much for the protection of the Constitution when it comes to
being injured at work. We can't have that tort you know.
Unreal, this is so disgusting, thank you for making me aware of how I
lost all my rights when I fell and got seriously injured on the job.
This makes me sicker to my stomach. Sometimes it seems when I am right,
I am right and this article proves it all.

Unconstitutional and no one does anything about it. They do not want me
to be a burden on the rest of society, so I loose my constitutional
rights, yet at the same time my rep from my wc group tells me I have to
apply for welfare because I cannot live on the huge amount of $144 a
week to live on that I am being given for all my serious injuries and I
cannot even get the surgery I need to help me because it is costly.
I was even asked at my hearing Thursday who was paying for my
neurosurgery. What kind of a question was that? Does that mean, in
other words, look elsewhere because you are not getting your injuries
taken care of through workers comp? Where am I suppose to get the
money for this surgery? I cannot even pay for my health insurance any
more, I am without resources after a year of this hell. I felt as if I
had received a death sentence at that hearing and no right to appeal it.

Thanks John, instead of being depressed,now I am angry.This snapped me right out of my depression and makes me want to fight more. I do not
like the idea of being a ward of the state and having my rights taken
away from me and deemed incapable of making any decisions or thinking
or myself nor being deemed in need of policing by the state.
Joannie B. Re: Are Injured workers ward of the state? (Currently 0 replies)
Posted At 04:17:10 06/07/2000

I have a question regarding the control the states have over the legal actions the families of the injured workers can take. My husband was injured over 4 years ago, his claim was stalled, then denied and no benefits were paid for over 2 years. LNI was without legal grounds for withholding benefits or for the eventual rejection, and the minute we hired an attorney, the benefits were paid. The attorney got over $9,000.00 for writing 2 letters containing no new information, only the notice of representation, and the request for payment of benefits. We have lived through a 4 year nightmare that has had a devistating effect on our 5 children, 3 of which have lost all help with collage expenses we had planned on providing. That was spent on living expenses. Our health insurance was the first to go, then car insurance, and we just got the house insurance bill, but have no money to pay it.

It seems to me that the families of injured workers that are victims right along with their injured loved ones, should be able to get someone to listen, and see that this system is a violation of too many civil, constitutional, and human rights to list. And these violations are against the families, as well as the person unfortunate enough to be forced into this systm because they were injured on the job, and had no choice!!!!!

Any insite?
Thanks

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