Limin Wang
136-09 59th Ave
Flushing, NY 11355
Aug. 29, 2019, Thu
Re: Request for Truth and Justice
Government Agency: NYS Workers’ Compensation Board (WCB)
WCB Case#: G2029240
Carrier Case#: 18D48F512440
Date Of Injury (DOI): Jan. 16, 2018
Injured Worker and Claimant: Limin Wang
Direct Employer: B.Q. Wide Auto Body Parts Supply, Inc.
Headquarters Employer: KSI Auto Parts
Professional Employment Organization: TriNet/SOI (Strategic Outsourcing Inc.)
Third Party Administrator (TPA): Cannon Cochran Management Services, Inc. (CCMSI)
Claim Adjuster: Ms. Lisa White (from CCMSI)
Employer/TPA’s attorney: Jones Jones LLC
My former WC attorney’s law firm: Bangel, Cohen & Falconetti, LLP (BCF)
Doctors/Clinics Mentioned Herein: Dr. Mehrdad Golzad, Dr. Chiyoko Kobayashi Frank (New York City Medical & Neurological Offices, PC)
Dr. Alfred A. Steinberger (Metropolitan Neurosurgery)
Dr. John M. Caridi (Mount Sinai Health System)
New York Medical & Diagnostic Center (NYMDC)
Dear WCB, and other Parties,
Specifically, from the Aug. 30, 2019 hearing, I hope for 1) the workers’ compensation for temporary total disability, retroactive back since Feb. 02, 2019, as well as the C257 reimbursement of total $496.00 for travel fare and full self-pay to cervical spine MRI without contrast (including $220 from last previous C257, Document ID 323232587, Received date 05/04/2019, and the receipt of MRI $265); 2) authorizations for the thoracic and lumbar MRIs (without contrast), physical therapy and training, and medication. The more later I get the first MRI on these spine segments, the better chance my opponents can frame the significant findings onto a “pre-injury situation”; 3) assistance from WCB to locate a physician or clinics to at least diagnose and treat the spine trauma and sequenae.
The opposition to my requests for truth and justice is expected to be tremendous, from the employer/insurance general line, the medical professionals, my formal WC attorney’s law firm BCF, and even some people within the WCB, because such opposition has been shown in the past. If you think what I wrote below is sickness, then it’s just the sickness of truth. I don’t expect a few people to envision my horrible sufferings.
Since DOI, numerous times the whatever said to be insurance carrier was reportedly not able to be reached by a correct fax or email for authorizations. The adjustor Ms. Lisa White from TPA CCMSI often ignored contact from me the claimant, and reportedly ignored my treating physicians’ offices. This August my call to Ms. White by her prior working #s ended as if it hit a non-working #.
It’s practically very difficult to find a WCB-authorized physician to impartially and unbiasedly evaluate and treat the injuries. The WCB online list of physicians have been found not to take a Workers’ Comp case by various ways. Some physicians who did offer appointment(s) after the adjuster’s authorization didn’t even have the time or temper to hear the how of the injuries and the what of the symptoms, and for some physicians, not even during the first visit. Some treating physicians know how to lead, interrupt, or divert the physician-patient communication, do a little physical examination, avoid the more objective less ambiguous while not so expensive or risky diagnostic technology such as MRI, and then report in the medical report with a significant downplay of the etiology, scope, and severity. Something I didn’t say or say that way may be claimed in a medical report as the patient’s own words.
To name some specifics, NYMDC (80-46 Kew Gardens Rd, Kew Gardens, NY 11415) absolutely did the open-mouth view of the craniovertebral junction on me on March 08, 2018. That patient-access-denied plain X-ray image and the cervical spine MRI partial images (after rounds of service-denying, eventually done on Apr. 12, 2018 at Neighborhood Radiology, referred by Dr. Jacob Sadigh from NYMDC) definitely show fracture of the odontoid process. NYMDC report about the plain X-ray images claims almost everything normal, and the 04/12/2018 cervical spine MRI report claims no fracture and blames much on almost non-existent osteophytes. To my understanding, NYMDC’s diagnostic and treating reports have never even mentioned the spine trauma.
Due to deterioration of my health and the WC case, after great effort, I found some other physicians willing to offer an appointment. The Apr. 03, 2019 appointment with Dr. Alfred A. Steinberger (Metropolitan Neurosurgery, 1158 Fifth Ave, New York, NY 10029) was first-time quickly authorized by the adjuster Ms. White and then offered by Metropolitan Neurosurgery on Mar 13, 2019. The two CDs I brought to Dr. AA Steinberger on Apr 03, 2019 definitely includes all five MRIs and the two X-ray sets, but he and his assistant kept claiming no X-ray data on the disks while I saw they never loaded the CDs to any drive at all. On April 04, 2019, I stop by to bring a 3rd CD with only the X-ray data, and later Dr. AA Steinberger briefly told me over an anonymous phone id that “there is no fracture of X-ray.” On the 04/03/19 visit, I provided all reports of all the seven studies too, but the Metropolitan Neurosurgery handwritten medical notes provided by the employer attorney lady surprisingly on the Apr 05, 2019 WCB hearing claimed there were no medical reports and no X-ray image data provided. That specific report is a typical example report from a treating physician that I have to disagree to. I was representing myself on the 04/05/19 hearing, and I was not provided a copy during the hearing. Afterwards, I downloaded and read that Steinberger report, which was hastily handwritten and even addressed the adjuster “Ms. White” as “Ms. Wang.” Somehow, my recent visit to that exact same IDed document found the report had been changed to a print version at the WCB eCase folder. What’s so alarming to me is the file previously downloaded to my computer has been replaced with the new version too. WCB phone receptionists told that a case file can not be deleted or changed, but the fact says the opposite. Dr. AA Steinberger is from a prestigious medical school and must has been in medical field for decades, but apparently I couldn’t get the needed professional help. My registration paperwork includes my own written report of symptoms, and I don’t know how that was funneled into some words/sentences in that diagnostic report. Additionally, how an eminent physician makes a “back to work without restrictions” based on his concurrent CT prescription with no insurance authorization or data yet, as well as on his negation of available affirmative data on fracture? Later on, it even took me a lot of twists to simply get the 3rd CD back from that Metropolitan Neurosurgery’s Manhattan office. They said and did to let the assistant as the janitor to pass the CD through the narrowly opened gate to me.
The Apr 04, 2019 visit to Dr. John M. Caridi (Mount Sinai Health System, 5E 98th St, 4th Fl, New York, NY 10029) produced two referral notes. But the referral note for eyes situation led to nothing so far, for various reasons, including no authorization from adjuster Ms. White. The other referral, for MRI’s on cervical, thoracic, and lumbar spine, didn’t go well either. Although I have provided all my known information about the WC case, Dr. Caridi’s office staff first kept replying of no response from the insurance, later became not responsive to my inquiries, then got annoyed of me, and then the single 04/04/19 visit had five C-4.2 reports on WCB eCase down the timeline. Since the third report, no MRI referral at all. The fourth and fifth reports dated as Aug. 13, 2019 even shrank the diagnosis only to the cervical spine, and of course again no MRI indicated. When I asked about why the multiple versions, Dr. Caridi’s staff Ms. Shari Hope altogether avoided that question, and claimed that she had answered that question many times already, and that any medical service needs insurance’s authorization. When I mentioned about the rule of “pre-authorized” for diagnostic imaging like MRI, according to the WCB Medical Treatment Guidelines about the neck and the back, and total charge asked by Main Street Radiology (MSR, 136-25 37th Ave, Flushing, NY 11355) is $795, below the $1,000 threshold which indicates an authorization request, Ms. Hope wouldn’t change her position. She kept repeating that authorization is required and the insurance adjuster still has not responded yet. More than four months have passed.
I contacted MSR on Aug. 12th, 2019 for appointments, which were set for Aug. 15 & 16, 2019. Soon, MSR told me the referral doctor still hadn’t heard any response from the insurance, and offered me a full price of $265 each for the 3 spine segments MRI. I contacted the Medicaid sourced insurance EmblemHealth, but found my call couldn’t go through their customer service line any more to talk with a person. Only several days before, I was able to call EmblemHealth for medical service help. That approach to my PCP didn’t produce any meaningful result yet.
On Aug. 15, 2019, at MSR’s downtown Flushing site, MSR’s registration personnel Ms. Huang prevented me from filling in MSR’s workers’ compensation case form, and didn’t take my EmblemHealth card for scanning, although I provided both insurances’ info on MSR’s general registration form. MSR told me that I have to pay full out of pocket to have the MRIs. I afforded with cash to have only the cervical spine MRI (without contrast) for $265. MSR personnel claimed the MRI referral note dated on 04/04/2019 is expired and such a referral is only valid for 90 days. After some delay, MSR got a faxed referral from Dr. JM Caridi’s office, dated 08/15/2019, only of cervical spine MRI w/o contrast, with a diagnosis code m47.12. Just like Dr. AA Steinberger’s report, Dr. JM Caridi’s report stresses about “degenerative disc disease”. My opponents by all means do not want me to have a more revealing while less harmful (follow-up) MRI.
After I got the CD of the 08/15/19 MRI, I found the sagittal series didn’t cover generally symmetric along the medial plane, and the axial series didn’t cover the craniovertebral junction area well. MSR radiologist Dr. Jeffery Lee’s report, dated Aug. 16, 2019, claims many things are normal, and repeatedly stresses the disc/osteophyte complexes” while mentioning the disc herniation and degeneration. To my very limited current medicine knowledge on the two available sets of MRIs 16 months apart, and particularly on the follow-up MRI, 1) vertebral osteophyte is non-existent. 2) still there are the dens fracture, ligamentous disrupt, spinal cord signal change, cervical spine straightening (even worsens to mild kyphosis), and intervertebral space narrowing. 3)The disc herniation posteriorly has disrupted the posterior longitudinal ligament or the other way around. 4) The disc herniation posterior-inferiorly has penetrated some superior end-plates, and made some sagittal images with the false osteophyte appearance. 5) The herniation has significantly worsened. 6) The compression on the spinal cord and roots has worsened. Etc, etc. While what multiple treating doctors have tried is to discredit the injuries and to shift the blame to some hypothetical pre-fall spine degeneration, the available MRI images clearly show the internal damages resulted from that complex mechanism of fall (vertical acceleration-deceleration compression hyperflexion and hyperextension of neck and head, body rotation, side way jerk, ref: Document ID 324974600, Received date 06/10/2019). The comparison of these two MRI data of the cervical spine does show disc degeneration, but the cause of disc degeneration is from the fall off the 8-ft stepladder meticulously tampered by the perpetrators to be broken. The tampered ladders were meant to specifically harm me, because I was supposed to almost the only one to use those dangerous ladders.
Very few professional people would openly stand out to help put forth the truth and help me fight for justice. BCF stated that they wouldn’t delve into the medical issues. This echoes so well the message I have learned since the injuries that the physicians decide whether you are injured or not. The modern technology like MRI is commonplace in developed countries like the U.S.A., but the injured worker’s opponents have used various ways to deny the accessibility of (follow-up) MRI to expose the serious damages to the head and spine. Even some people within the NYS Workers’ Compensation Board answered me on the phone that the MRI referral doctor needs to file a MG2 form (for beyond-routine treatment) for the diagnostic test MRI.
The WCB hasn’t been that much of help to me the injured worker. Just to name a few more points. Some files on WCB eCase have been found with some errors, and such errors could be very bad to me. A test done on March 05, 2018 by New York City Medical & Neurological Offices, P.C. was shown on eCase with a date of service of 01/05/2018 (i.e., prior to the DOI, 01/16/2018. Document ID 304906471, Received date 05/22/2018). The “no medical evidence” finding on the Feb. 01, 2019 hearing at Jamaica, NY, while I still had BCF as my WC attorney, was believed to be a deliberate show of my opponents’ wanton power. Those needed medical reports showed up somehow after the hearing, on the same Feb. 01, 2019 hearing day. My submission of the doctor’s medical report wouldn’t show up in eCase fast enough before a hearing, if I had found the medical report of a most recent visit had not shown up in eCase for whatever reason. I arrived at Jun. 10, 2019 hearing by apparently twenty minutes late by public transportation, but the decision was apparently made right after I arrived, and states that I didn’t show up. The digital images I provided were not uploaded to eCase to show clear enough medical information, but the printouts I provided to the WCLJ were scanned into indiscernible patches and speckles in eCase (Document ID 322226015, Received date 04/05/2019). Recent days, I have seen the opponents’ wanton play on the medical reports about the Apr 30, May 03, 2019 visits to Dr. Chiyoko Kobayashi Frank and the Aug 06, 2019 visit to Dr. Mehrdad Golzad. By Aug. 28, 2019, I have only seen a C-4.2 report stating a May 03, 2019 visit to Dr. Mehrdad Golzad, and specifying Dr. Golzad’s specialty as psychology, instead of neurology. That report (Document ID 328507982, Received date 08/21/2019) shows a 90% disability. The fact is the May 03, 2019 visit was to Dr. Frank, a psychologist, at Dr. Frank’s request. The C-4.2 report I obtained from Dr. Golzad’s office about my Aug 06, 2019 visit to Dr. Golzad states a 100% disability, and the office told me their billing company did the medical reports and the billing company said the C-4.2 and narrative reports for all these three visits had been submitted to WCB this week. Whatever the delay or mess from other parties is, why I the injured worker burdens the consequences: suspended compensation for about seven full months since Feb. 02, 2019, skipped medical appointments, and denied treatments?
The numerous symptoms from the head and spine injuries have further worsened and expanded since my written report of symptoms (Document ID 325938598, Received date 06/27/2019), and the deterioration is still going on. Several days in this August, I had extreme pseudoangina, and I thought I would perish in sudden death. The pseudoangina started since DOI of Jan. 16, 2018. Afterwards, almost every measurement of my blood pressure and pulse rate showed normal parameters, even when I had the severe pseudoangina during such a measurement. I reported my recent close-to-death symptom to all related parties, but nobody else changes anything. I didn’t go for hospital emergency because my real experiences let me believe more and more of the premeditated and coordinated murder attempt on me, and I might die sooner in hospital emergency. Paranoid? The ruthless cruelty is as plain as it is. Now, what do I fear to expose the cruel truth for the scarce justice?
If you have read the whole thing, I appreciate your time. If you provide me help in my struggle for justice and survival, I thank you more.
Very Truly Yours,
Limin Wang
Attachments:
- C-4.2 and narrative reports of Aug. 06, 2019 visit to Dr. Mehrdad Golzad
- C-4.2 and narrative reports of Apr. 30 & May 03, 2019 visits to Dr. Chiyoko Kobayashi Frank
- C257, MRI charge receipt and referral note
- MSR radiologist report of Aug 15 2019 cervical spine MRI without contrast
- Nine MRI images from Aug 15, 2019 cervical spine MRI without contrast
- First three pages of filled registration form for Apr 03, 2019 visit to Dr. Alfred A. Steinberger
- The cover page of OSHA’s affirmative findings about my complaints
