Let's hear your story.

[Mom]

I am looking for some fodder for my speech regarding ACC and how they use our levies. Now I would dearly love a link to the their financial reporting showing the profit and dividend payments. But more importantly I want real stories from real people about how they have been treated by ACC if they have made a claim.

This one just in and is not made up, it is real and absolutely sickening.

There is a woman up here that came to grief on her Burgman. Single vehicle accident, she came off and suffered some fairly horrendous injuries. One of them was the loss of her right arm. Needless to say the recovery time has been long and is still ongoing, but do you think she can get a lump sum payment from ACC? Nope. Apparently not for 3 years because, and I am not shitting you these were the doctors words "the arm might grow back".

Yepper, you read right, the arm might grow back! I know this woman, and will be getting her to put her battle with ACC on paper for me.

So, my list starts. Be good if the tale is bike related, but I am happy to have any ACC tale that you would like to share. They want to charge us more? Well they can pay us what is due if that is the case and not provaricate and tell people that their amputated limbs might grow back in 3 years time.

[Princesszxr]

Im not sure if this may help you but my partner came off his bike in nov in a single vehicle accident and has lost movement in his left arm. Im not entirely sure exact deatils but by the sounds of it so far (his case manager is useless which doesnt help either) ACC will most likely not pay a lump sum because the Drs/specialists have told ACC that he 'might' be able to move his arm again within two years. If that will help i can get him to talk to you.

As for being told your arm might grow back?! thats one of the stupidest most horrible things ive ever heard!And from a Dr?!

[Mom]

Im not sure if this may help you but my partner came off his bike in nov in a single vehicle accident and has lost movement in his left arm. Im not entirely sure exact deatils but by the sounds of it so far (his case manager is useless which doesnt help either) ACC will most likely not pay a lump sum because the Drs/specialists have told ACC that he 'might' be able to move his arm again within two years. If that will help i can get him to talk to you.

As for being told your arm might grow back?! That's one of the stupidest most horrible things I have ever heard! And from a Dr?!

I understand that the criteria for a permanent injury pay out may well be 3 years - I dont have an issue with that perse, that being the arbitary time that it might take to recover whatever use you are going to get from an injury, but "your arm might grow back"?

I sincerely hope that ACC are funding full physio for your hubby so he can attempt to regain maximum use of his arm? Bet they are not eh? $25 per treatment? Yeah go on, lets be having it. The inequity drives me crazy.

[yungatart]

When I came off in 2006, breaking my left leg and right hand in the process, ACC did not want to give me home help. Their reasoning, John worked from home so was available to do household chores, and I had a teenager at home (who was on call for work, as it was school holidays at the time).

John took over my "personal cares" (assisting me with showering etc) ...worked really well, until he got stuck on the phone with a client whilst I was in the shower for 40 mins (water turned off, just freezing my butt off unable to get out or even reach the towel to put around me).

We had to fight for anything to ease things for us, I even resorted to scooting around the house on the computer chair (one with wheels) to get the vacuuming done.

I will pm you details of a guy who has been absolutely shafted by ACC here, to the point he is in the process of losing his home.

[Mom]

When I came off in 2006, breaking my left leg and right hand in the process, ACC did not want to give me home help.

I turned down home help via the hospital when I was discharged. Really, I have Maha and my teenager, but then again I can walk and have two arms to slap the kid upside of head to fetch for me :innocent: I am not approved for ACC yet you see. You were "disabled" by your injury. My loved ones have showered me, treated my skin in places I cant reach etc. But yeah, my brain is going this way at the moment. You dont have a link to their financial reports too do you?

[onearmedbandit]

Was told by my case manager back in 97/98 that my injury was common, that it was easily fixed, and that I was milking the system. I asked her if she had read my notes, she replied she didn't need to as she had been a nurse for x years. I told her she should read them, she said she didn't need to, so I told her again. As she reluctantly did her mouth dropped open, she looked at me and apologised. I told my doctor about this in passing, he took action and she was demoted (turned out she had been doing it to a lot of clients).

Otherwise ACC have been reasonably good to me, other than they do not make you fully aware of all of your rights. It took legal action from a Christchurch lawyer a few years back for ACC to *remember* to pay me my independence allowance, a tax free payment I get paid every 5 years. Seems they are still in the same habit as a workmates sister wasn't made aware until I told him. She received a decent payout and is now getting what is rightfully hers. But ACC won't tell you, you have to push them

[Mom]

Was told by my case manager back in 97/98 that my injury was common, that it was easily fixed, and that I was milking the system. I asked her if she had read my notes, she replied she didn't need to as she had been a nurse for x years. I told her she should read them, she said she didn't need to, so I told her again. As she reluctantly did her mouth dropped open, she looked at me and apologised. I told my doctor about this in passing, he took action and she was demoted (turned out she had been doing it to a lot of clients).

Otherwise ACC have been reasonably good to me, other than they do not make you fully aware of all of your rights. It took legal action from a Christchurch lawyer a few years back for ACC to *remember* to pay me my independence allowance, a tax free payment I get paid every 5 years. Seems they are still in the same habit as a workmates sister wasn't made aware until I told him. She received a decent payout and is now getting what is rightfully hers. But ACC won't tell you, you have to push them
As a matter of interest, do you recall how long you had to wait for a "lump sum" payment from them. How outrageous is it to say to someone their arm might grow back?

[mashman]

I remember seeing this on the ACC site, seems like the're may be more than 1 report you need for the picture you're trying to build?

"The ACC Injury Statistics 2008 costs may differ from the costs presented in ACC financial statements because each of these reports is produced for different purposes. "

Pick a report, any report!

[MSTRS]

I remember seeing this on the ACC site, seems like the're may be more than 1 report you need for the picture you're trying to build?

"The ACC Injury Statistics 2008 costs may differ from the costs presented in ACC financial statements because each of these reports is produced for different purposes. "

Pick a report, any report!

How the hell do you deal with an organistion that runs like that?
Basically, they're saying "We'll say what we like, when we like and to whom we like. We can't be believed."

[Mom]

How the hell do you deal with an organistion that runs like that?
Basically, they're saying "We'll say what we like, when we like and to whom we like. We can't be believed."

Creative accounting in its purest form is all that is. That is why they can say they are broke afterall.

Was talking to a non biker friend today about this and she was totally outraged. Imagine a doctor telling someone they cant get compensation for 3 years because her amputated are might grow back. There has to be some commonsense approach sometimes surely?

Another woman I talked to yesterday had her hip broken during surgery to obtain a bone graft. It took a few weeks to discover it and when the surgeon saw it he immediately swung into action and readmitted her and fixed it. An ACC claim was made and it is still not accepted by the treatment injury department 5 months later! She has a huge bill from the hospital (private) for the treatment, her insurance wont pay as it should be ACC, ACC have not accepted the claim - they are trying to wriggle by saying she may have osetoporosis. Well luckily for her one of the tests she had done prior to the bone graft operation was a bone density one. There was no weakness in her bones.

[T.W.R]

How bigger story do you want about being screwed by ACC over an injury??? Got all my paper work and correspondence from my initial accident and all the following operations, assessments etc. Went through 3 case mangers and because of their rearrangement of "lump sum" payouts I'm on permanent disability allowance which is 2/10 of sweet F/A and according to ACC's great injury scale I have 27% permanent disability of full body function and the severity of my injury has medical specialists stumped

[Mudfart]

ACC gave out my private information to my employer of the time, because my shoulder had seized from some serious labouring the day before. The employer claimed they asked ACC for my previous work injury history because they suspected I had lied on my job application where I had stated "no serious or permanent work injuries in the past".
They were claiming it was a recurring injury. Which it wasn't. It was simply inflammed tendons, ligaments or something similar, a pulled muscle etc.. I was over it in a few days and only had 1 or 2 days off work. I returned to work mixing concrete etc, with it still sore.
It turns out ACC AND my employer breached some very serious privacy legislation, so I laid a complaint to the "independant" ACC investigator, whom I have never heard back from......he swore he was going to investigate after the xmas break.
This was just before xmas 2005 I think. The guy had some absolutely fucked up foreign name that noone could pronounce, like Samibor labausiuesr or something. Fuck I dont even know what country he came from.
The employer only wanted to sack me, because I made the bosses look like retards in front of members of the public on a jobsite. It wasnt hard.
I had 3 "meetings", involving the employer, the union, and me. Everytime I got off one charge, they would say at the end of the meeting, right we would like to discuss something else with me.
I just wound up leaving coz it only fucking paid 12$ an hour. Leave the big men to it.

[NighthawkNZ]

I am looking for some fodder for my speech regarding ACC and how they use our levies. Now I would dearly love a link to the their financial reporting showing the profit and dividend payments. But more importantly I want real stories from real people about how they have been treated by ACC if they have made a claim.

I would give you one, if I had one but I have never ever made an ACC claim in my adulthood... even with 26 years of riding & working even with a few major offs here and there...

[Mudfart]

i had another one where i fucked a ligament in my hip, the sacro-illiac ligament.
I went to the doc coz i cud hardly walk. They put me on ACC (it was strained at work the day before). They also sent me to physio.
After 6 weeks with 2x physios a week, i get a call from some bitch at ACC quote "according to our records, you should be over this kind of injury by now". Unquote. This was in 2002, thats how painful of a memory it was.
I said, "According to your records, have you spoken with my GP about my injury and rehabilitation?", answer was "no, we haven't".
Then, "And have you spoken with my physio about my injury and rehab?", answer "no, we haven't".
then "And are you aware if my GP and physio have been in consultation with eachother about my injury, and subsequent rehab?", answer was "well, we are not sure".
I said "well , I'll tell you right now, I know for a fucken fact that my GP and physio have not ever spoken to eachother about anything, let alone, me or my injury and rehab". That shut her up, but it was a disgusting phone call to get.
I went back to work after 6 weeks off, still in a lot of pain, difficulty driving, walking etc. It took 6 more weeks for the pain to go away.
A total of 12 weeks.
Now I walk and stand with one shoulder a lot lower than the other, and have serious foot and footwear issues. Why?
Because noone gives a fuck.

[dogsnbikes]

Can't say I have had a bad run-in but my brother thats a different story...

They would'nt give him wheelchair access or home help,

so the home help was left up too family/friends no-one lived within 30minutes of him so thats time and money everyone gave up,if he needed anything you had to take it with you otherwise he would drag himself by his to the shop in his wheelchair as he could'nt use his arms very well to push himself that was almost 2miles away

after complaining to ACC in Wgtn about the treatment he was recieving from ACC Rotorua we were told he's the wrong colour to be under that office:shit:

[chasio]

As for being told your arm might grow back?! thats one of the stupidest most horrible things ive ever heard!And from a Dr?!

Is it possible the Dr was using black humour to ridicule the way the system works? It was still way, way, way inappropriate if so and I can thoroughly understand that a traumatised person and their family would not see that actually the Dr may have been on their side because of the way it was communicated. But remember that is a conduct issue for the Dr and not with ACC itself.

Please understand that I am defending neither the Dr nor the ACC; just observing that may not be a good quote to use.

[MSTRS]

... just observing that may not be a good quote to use.

Au contraire. An excellent quote to use, for it shows that at least one minion at ACC has no grasp on reality.

[chasio]

MSTRS, I agree with bells on provided the doctor was employed by ACC. In fact I'd be ropeable if that is the case. But I don't know if that's true, so I'm just advocating some caution.

[MSTRS]

The segment on 60 Minutes last night gives the idiot doctor some credit for 'knowing' what might be possible one day. But not yet, and why should it matter whether the doctor is employed by ACC, anyway? Fact is, everyone knows that limbs do not grow back. Yet.

[Pixie]

No ACC for fatalities ,either,in case they come back from the dead