Bob,
I had to pass on attending Scott's recent pool academy in the Bay area earlier this month.....things aren't progressing as expected in therapy........ran into some pain issues and my surgeon wanted to do a cortisone injection into my shoulder joint to ease in inflammation & swelling so I could advance in my physical therapy program.......Workers Comp Insurance Carrier has denied the treatment and revoked all approvals for physical therapy........my surgeon provided my attorney the ammo needed to get this resolved in Court next month but meanwhile I am back in limbo.......
CA SB 899..........1/1/2004.........granted "immunity" to Workers Comp insures against any and all claims or assertions of bad faith.........in other words, the insurers can never be sued for even intentionally abusive actions that even could result in the death of an injured worker........how's that grab you.........see Romano v. Kroger/Sedgwick CMS (2013)...........Sedgwick killed Mr. Romano and the Workers Comp Board in its ruling cited Sedgwick's blithe disregard for its legal and ethical responsibilities under the CA Workers Comp Statute and furthermore, intentionally abused their discretionary approval denying Mr. Romano seriously needed medical care.
Mr. Romano had the identical surgery I first had in 2009 to the very same shoulder.....left....his surgery was in May 2005 and he died in November 2008.......the Workers Comp Board recommended to the LA District Attorney's Office that criminal charges be filed against Sedgwick and also Sedgwick's claim adjuster that administered the Romano claim. Well, with my bad luck, guess who has been handling my workers comp claim since July 2009.........Yup, Sedgwick CMS but I suppose I should draw comfort from the fact that I'm still alive unlike Mr. Romano.....some journalist or investigative news reporter really should look into the many, many horror stories associated with Sedgwick.......just do a Google search about Sedgwick CMS & worker comp insurance claims......it's shocking how Sedgwick is allowed to get away with their bad faith behavior year after year.
So right now things aren't going as well as I had hoped and this was my 4th surgery ( 3rd time for my left shoulder) so I'm a little concerned at the moment but despair hasn't arrived yet.......and hopefully never does. I see my surgeon again next month and if another surgery is in my future, he's previously indicated to me to think about which leg. The next surgery would involve taking some muscle from one of my legs and re-attaching it to my r. shoulder.........I'm down to only the short head tendon in my shoulder since.the big head tendon completely ruptured before my last surgery was approved (18 mths delay) and so my surgeon just excised the big head tendon eliminating it entirely.
Anyway, I am trying to remain hopeful everything will turn out okay but this is taking way too long because of the denials and needless delays in between my surgeries which Sedgwick CMS has deliberately caused. However, due to SB 899, Sedgwick cannot be sued in California for any claims of bad faith.....really kind of sucks but the insurance lobby controls the CA legislature as you can tell from passage of SB 899 nearly 11 years ago.
Matt B.
p.s. Thanks busboy.....the colors were hard to decide.
j/k