Why do I bother
Date: Mon Jul 12 09:55:21 PDT 2004
Location: home
Music: Insanity – Oingo Boingo (playing in my head)
Mood: effing pissed
On July 2nd, I called my doctors in Michigan and my doctor in San Jose,
and started the process of records transfer. I asked the secretary at
my San Jose doctor’s office to pose some questions for me to my doctor,
including whether or not she can bill AAA directly or if I should pay
her and then file claim with AAA.
Before hanging up, the secretary wanted to be sure she got the information
correct.
She said, “you’re a new patient and we’re getting your records?”
I said, “No, I’m an EXISTING patient and you’re getting my records.”
Secretary: Oh, so you’re moving away and we’re sending your records to the
new doctor?
Me: NO! You’re requesting my OLD records from my OLD doctors in Michigan!
Secretary: Oh…
That day, the secretary called me back TWO more times and we had the SAME conversation twice more. It ended with me giving her the doctor’s
snail mail address and fax number AGAIN.
I SWEAR, the whole goddamned thing went just like a Monty Python skit:
FATHER: Guards! Make sure the Prince doesn’t leave this room until I come and get him.
GUARD #1: Not to leave the room even if you come and get him.
GUARD #2: Hic!
FATHER: No, no. Until I come and get him.
GUARD #1: Until you come and get him, we’re not to enter the room.
FATHER: No, no. No. You stay in the room and make sure he doesn’t leave.
GUARD #1: And you’ll come and get him.
GUARD #2: Hic!
FATHER: Right.
GUARD #1: We don’t need to do anything apart from just stop him entering the room.
FATHER: No, no. Leaving the room.
GUARD #1: Leaving the room. Yes. [sniff]
FATHER: All right?
GUARD #1: Right.
GUARD #2: Hic!
FATHER: Right.
GUARD #1: Oh, if– if– if, uhh– if– if– w– ehh– i– if– if we–
FATHER: Yes? What is it?
GUARD #1: Oh, i– if– i– oh–
FATHER: Look, it’s quite simple.
GUARD #1: Uh…
FATHER: You just stay here and make sure ‘e doesn’t leave the room. All right?
GUARD #2: Hic!
FATHER: Right.
GUARD #1: Oh, I remember. Uhh, can he leave the room with us?
FATHER: N– no, no. No. You just keep him in here and make sure he–
GUARD #1: Oh, yes. We’ll keep him in here, obviously, but if he had to leave and we were with him–
FATHER: No, no, no, no. Just keep him in here–
GUARD #1: Until you or anyone else–
FATHER: No, not anyone else. Just me.
GUARD #1: Just you.
GUARD #2: Hic!
FATHER: Get back.
GUARD #1: Get back.
FATHER: All right?
GUARD #1: Right. We’ll stay here until you get back.
GUARD #2: Hic!
FATHER: And, uh, make sure he doesn’t leave.
GUARD #1: What?
FATHER: Make sure ‘e doesn’t leave.
GUARD #1: The Prince?
FATHER: Yes. Make sure ‘e doesn’t leave.
GUARD #1: Oh, yes, of course.
GUARD #2: Hic!
GUARD #1: Ah. I thought you meant him. You know, it seemed a bit daft me havin’ to guard him when he’s a guard.
FATHER: Is that clear?
GUARD #2: Hic!
GUARD #1: Oh, quite clear. No problems.
FATHER: Right. Where are you going?
GUARD #1: We’re coming with you.
FATHER: No, no. I want you to stay here and make sure ‘e doesn’t leave.
GUARD #1: Oh, I see. Right.
Also that same day, I called my lawyer to inquire about the lawsuit.
However, it was after 5pm his day and he was leaving.
The lawyer laughed at me and said, “It’s been TEN years? GOOD LUCK!”
I asked him if there was any paperwork he could submit to help me out
and he said NO. He said, “given the fact that AAA gave us such a hard
time about this last time, you’re chances may not be very good, especially
after ten years. You’re going to have to go through a LOT of tests and work
and x-rays to PROVE this is related directly to the car accident.”
So on Tuesday, July 6th, I called the lawyer’s secretary and asked for the
case number. She informed me that her office SHREDS ALL RECORDS after 3 or
4 years.
I exclaimed that I did not know that, and that I had moved out of state
3 years after the accident.
She said I would have been given notice and could have had copies made
but she guessed that I never got the notice cuz…I’d MOVED AWAY.
This fight, so far, was a TOTAL loss.
Fast forward to this morning.
I called the doctor’s office to check on the status of my records transfer.
I got the same effing tit secretary on the phone as last time.
Secretary: …no..we did not get any fax.
Me: I GAVE you the information last week!!!
Secretary: Oh…hang on, let me talk to the doctor…
[put on hold with dead air]
Secretary: The doctor says No, she cannot accept AAA to pay for the
insurance, you will have to pay out of pocket.
Me: Yes, fine, that’s what I expected. I will bill AAA later. The question
HOWEVER that I had for you was, Did you receive a fax from my doctors in
Michigan of my old medical records?
Secretary: Oh…hang on, let me talk to the doctor…
[put on hold with dead air]
Secretary: No, we did not get a fax, you will have to come in and fill
out a form to release medical records.
Me: OH. You know, that would have been SO nice of you to tell me LAST
WEEK when I called, but instead you asked me for snail mail information
and had to call me back twice more to get the information straight!
Secretary: OH! But was that me??? I show only one call from you that
day!
Me: YES. I called ONCE. YOU called me back TWICE.
Secretary: …
Secretary: Oh, but I would have to write that down if I did…are you
sure it was me?
Me: YES. And you SHOULD write it down but I don’t think you did!
Now LISTEN! I GAVE you the doctor’s information! DO YOU HAVE IT?
Secretary: …
Me: *SIGH* I will come down there then and fill out paperwork and I
will talk to the doctor DIRECTLY. YOU need to learn how to do your
job – I’m letting you go now, BYE. *click*
This fight, so far, CONTINUES to be a TOTAL loss.
Now, let me just state for the record that this person is the REPLACEMENT
secretary for the OTHER retard who used to work there, and let me just
state for the record that THIS woman is Retard, Part II, with a heavy
accent of some sort. Perhaps Latino, perhaps Mid-Eastern.
I can’t tell, because both cultures say my name as “Tepanie”.
But I digress. Screw the language barrier. She’s Retard, Part II anyway.
I’m seeing red, I’m so pissed off.
This doctor is really good, but she keeps her office staffed with titbags!!!
GAH!!!!
And on the health front, my knees have continued to ache. I was SO
stiff yesterday, I could barely assist my bf who sprained his ankle
last week.
And I bicycled 10 miles, twice last week, and went swimming once, too.
And I did a lot of walking because my car is parked around the block and
I had to be the one to drive my bf all over last week and there is no
close parking (he’s got the assigned spot in the carport).
So the argument cannot be made that I am not getting enough exercise.
It’s been more and more difficult to crack my neck again lately, too,
and my shoulders are constantly on the verge of seizing up and making
my back go out again if I so much as stretch in the morning or lay on
my side at night.
I NEED to be looked at, and I DON’T have health insurance, and AAA is
*supposed* to pay my medical bills for life.
I DON’T have any proof that AAA was ever told in a court settlement to
pay for my medical expenses for life. As far as I recall, I DID ask for
this information from my lawyer years ago, and somehow he could not or
would not produce it, which led me to believe it was more a verbal finger-
waving at AAA because he KNEW he had no weight with it, and of course he
went and billed me for it, anyway. That’s what I think happened.
I *could* subpoena AAA for records on the case, but they probably purged
my records after 5 or 7 years, too.
I just called my lawyer and left a message with that question. If I get
a negative reply, I’m hiring a new lawyer and I already know of one locally.