Updated May 2003

This Page serve four purposes.

I wish to apologize in advance to the few ACC Case Managers who do try to honestly help their clients within the system. I have no qualms about calling the rest of them Liars, charlatans, knaves, scum.....pity their job titles are bigger than four letters.

When the ACC scheme was established it was world class, visionary and innovative. It ensured all New Zealanders were fairly compensated for accidents, regardless of cause or fault.  Today if you or your family are dealing with ACC over anything more than a cut finger you are probably being royally screwed.

Now for my input.

ADVICE

1. Keep a record of all contacts you have with ACC.

2. Keep a copy of all your case notes etc.

3. Ascertain that any "occupational specialists" you are sent too by ACC have all your case history .

4. Question Professionals about why you are being seen!

5. Ask for a copy of any referral.

6. Don't sign any contracts with ACC without proper legal and medical guidance. You wouldn't buy a house without a lawyers input!

ACC vs. ME 1998

Short Case History. Head Injured in a motor vehicle accident March 1988. Severely concussed in an 8 meter fall (caving accident) October 1997 along with a variety of other broken bits.

1998 could have been a really beneficial year for me, keeping in mind my personal rehab goals. It was suggested that I should consider upgrading my computer skills by completing a degree in computer sciences (3 years full time study). My preference was to undertake 6 week part time computer courses in HTML and JAVA to prove that I am capable of learning technical stuff. ACC agreed in principle with this idea but asked me to complete two small Tasks.

1. To see their vocational guidance person to explore the market place and other possible employment outcomes.

2. To see their clinical psychologist to ascertain my ability to undertake a full time course.

Result.

1. I explored the job market so thoroughly that I was offered a part time position teaching disabled children computer skills. Oh NO ! said ACC that isn't a suitable outcome.

2. The report from the clinical Psychologist stated that I could possibly undertake computer studies, that we as a family could possibly do with some counseling over ABD issues; AND That further testing would possibly be of benefit with  regards to my psychiatric state. ??????????

Meanwhile I had asked my GP to refer me to a neurologist through ACC . With query about the mild and intermittent problems I was having with regards to my vision.

Happily I sat through a a cursory 20 minute examination by the eminent neurologist to be told that I didn't have a head Injury. Neat I'm cured I can get on with life, all the other Psychiatrists, Consultants, Professor's, neurologists, Neuro-psychologists and the hours and hours and hours of testing and evaluation must have been incorrect.

• the report from this "eminent" neurologist stated quite clearly that there was no evidence from Wellington Hospital of a head injury in 1988, I hadn't suffered any head injury in 1997 and yes my psychiatric condition was questionable as I suffered from a high level language disorder and that possibly I should be referred to an appropriate specialist.

NET RESULT. My ACC Case manager reported to his management that I was psychiatrically disturbed (nuts) by having a "high level language disorder" (asphagia); not head injured and asked when could he close my case.

MY TURN !!

1. Why was my psychiatric condition being evaluated by a clinical psychologist without my knowledge ?.

The Clinical psychologist contracted to ACC was asked to comment on my psychiatric state as well as do a basic work up of my abilities.

2. Why was there no evidence of head injury in 1988.

My copy of the Wellington Hospital records clearly show an xray report stating "there is a suggestion of a fluid level in the sphenoid sinus raising the possibility of a skull fracture. In Addition , there is a linear shadow which may indicate fluid in maxillary antra."

3. Why was my mental state in question ? .

My case manager made the clinical decision that I was "psychiatrically disturbed". The case histories and file notes he sent both the psychologist and neurologist were carefully edited to support his view.

Because I had been treated in the past for depression!  Funny thing that, don't head injuries and depression run hand in hand?

Report from Porirua (Psychiatric Hospital) which stated I suffered from "A High level Language disorder" (asphagia ?)

Ask a group of your local GP's if they know of cases where ACC case managers are making clinical decisions about what treatments will be offered or refused patients. You may well be surprised by the answer.

4. Did my case manger lie by omission to health professionals.

In editing the case notes he sent on then yes.

These particular ACC contracted health professionals are just as bad. They both lied to me as well. The psychologists by failing to reply fully to a direct question as to what I was being tested for. The Neurologist by asking me what I was seeing him for (Vision problem) and then failing to tell me that he been requested by ACC to examine and report about something completely different.

5. What about the report on my vision problems. (My vision has come right over time. See NORAVC for more info)

The GP's letter to the neurologist (hand delivered at the time of the examination) has never been answered.

6. Now to the saga of my files.

We requested a copy of my files from ACC. Funny seven years appeared to be missing, including a certain report from Porirua Hospital.

We requested a complete copy of my files from ACC. Funny no reports from any health professional. Receipts for getting the reports etc , but not the reports.

We requested all the reports. We have received most of them.

Those that are still missing; we have copies of from the source.

Getting copies of my reports released to my advocate required the intervention of the independent commissioner for ACC.

Elapsed time 5 month's.

August 1998: ACC accepts they have an ongoing responsibility with regard to my head injuries. However I still appear to be on their shit list. Slow payment of expenses (months), non returned calls, administrative errors etc etc etc. 

October 1998: After a lot of discussion It was agreed by ACC that I should see a Rehabilitation Specialist. Strangely only 3 reports were sent too him. Guess which ones? again what has happened to all the other information/reports etc that exist about my Head Injuries?

November 1998: ACC audit my income tax returns.

November 1998: ACC audit my wife's Income Tax records. Using fraudulent and illegal statements to obtain records from IRD.

Rehabilitation Goals

I want to lead a positive and constructive life. I believe that after ten years of living with ABD I have learnt what I am capable of.

I would like to work in the field of education. Particularly teaching and encouraging disabled people the use of computers for communication. A long period of employment in the DP industry including stints as a training officer I believe give me the background to build upon. What I feel I'm deficient in are current lesson planning and presentation skills. 

HAVE ACC HELPED ME

The greatest steps forward and the most positive recovery happened for me between 1991 and 1993. That is when I had a team of professionals behind me. Yes there was an ACC case Manager, a Clinical psychologist with an interest in Head Injuries, My GP (who gave up his/her afternoon off; once a month to attend case management meetings). The staff nurse from the day center I attended. A Social worker. My caregiver and a psychiatrist. See real rehabilitation teams get real results. On hindsight the only reason this team was put together was because I had been allowed to get so low and so down that intervention was required. So in essence the public health sector picked up the tab for this team not the ACC.

Geographically challenged.

It is obvious to the casual observer that the GPS (Global Positioning System) in the ACC offices is faulty. These guys are off the planet. The Manger of ACC Hamilton wrote to my advocates informing them that they could not be my advocates without the Permission of ACC.

I'm really sorry but I must be incredibly brain damaged. I was obviously working under the wrong assumption; that an  advocate  was appointed by me to act for me. Does this mean that if if I was perhaps charged by the police for murder that I would require the Police's permission to seek legal representation ?

If the ACC has this much power then you and I are in for a really hard time in the future!

ACC TODAY (1997).

What is driving ACC today. Well obviously the short answer has to be money.

The Long answer involves Politics, Money, Media Manipulation, Money, government Mismanagement, Money and of course Money.

Firstly the Government wrecked public confidence in ACC using the media and by praying on inherent prejudice. ( Think back to the add campaigns i.e. dob in a bludger be he ACC, social welfare, sickness beneficiary) Now anybody who is on ACC for more than a year is seen as a pariah. (What happened to the Jews in Germany in 1938?).

Successive chief executives have ended up in court, while the Board that runs ACC has never been held accountable for its performance in appointing those chief executives and failing to have in place adequate accountability mechanisms to detect questionable and unethical conduct.

The trouble with the ACC scheme was that some sectors tried to duck paying their fair share of the cost of insurance. Levies were manipulated by successive governments: reduced in election year so that ACC reserves were run down.

Then Bill Birch got hold of ACC. Under Bill Birch ACC was gutted. (Politics).   Lump sum compensation was abolished.. That meant an end to fair compensation for people who were injured. You no longer had the ability to recover adequate compensation in the way that was available before ACC was established; remembering of course that under ACC you do not have the right to sue.

Then the Government became arbitrary with the rules of who would be compensated. It started to depict the genuinely injured as mere malingerers. Everyone who was hurt was treated like a bludger. People became suspicious of ACC, because it was no longer there for them. It was no longer an institution to be trusted to deliver for them the services and rehabilitation that was part of the philosophy of the original ACC..

Now the ACC is being prepared for privatisation. Of course Private insurers will cream the profitable end of the market whilst applying severe conditions and terms for limiting long term and expensive claims. So of course all of us "long term and expensive" liabilities have to be weeded out of the system to make it more palatable for perspective purchasers.

My guess is that in the near future the court and appeal system's will be clogged by cases against ACC and private accident insurers. The only people to loose anything will again be us. The little people of New Zealand.

ACC TODAY (2003).

Well I'm sure a lot more victims of the ACC system are now aware just how far ACC staff are prepared to go. They will continually misrepresent their stock. ACC staff habitually continue to breach their "clients" Privacy by distributing financial and health information as they see fit. Basically the whole ACC system continues in its blatant discrimination against the disabled.Terms such as gaslighting come to mind.

One only has to read the stories in the newspapers (NZ Herald, Otago Daily Times) or on electronic media. such as Scoop, Kiwi news and the Hogbitch.com.

In my case ACC have happily disseminated my financial circumstances to all and sundry (bugger the Privacy Act)  on several occasions. They continue to send reports to assessors stating I've received no Brain Injury even though I've corrected that blatant piece of misinformation.

Personally I'm still happy to be alive. I've achieved some of my goals. I enjoy training friends, I've survived being destitute and homeless and I'm crazy enough to have hopped back on a motorbike. I've also recognised that Caving is a dangerous pastime and have curtailed but not ceased my underground adventures.

I still wonder just how prophetic were my words from 4 years ago. How many Brain injured people have ACC kicked off their books by claiming some pre-existing mental condition. I suppose I was very lucky in that I hadn't suffered from even mild depression before my original accident or ACC would have cut me loose long ago. I was wondering why every ACC claimant I know was being reassessed by a Shrink?

That's food for thought....Maybe I should have applied to ACC for retraining as a psychiatrist. Because after all that's where all the moneys going to go for the next few years.. ACC have blown their investments in such a big way they need to dump long term claimants fast and the easiest way to do it is flick everyone into the WINZ system by succeeding in having  long term claimant's classified as mentally unstable!

So much for the physical injury that's crippled the claimant in some form or another, for life.

I reckon the employers will be very, very happy and supportive to see their ACC levies reduced considerably because as we all know, all ex-employees on ACC are just 'mentally unstable bludgers'.

I think I can quite safely say that ACC are creating mental health problems for the majority of their claimants where none have existed before..

As for the direction and management of ACC well there's a laugh. We have the ACC CEO and the Minister of the Crown for ACC calling claimants stock. The Branch managers are so incompetent that when you ask a copy of your electronic file eg the ACC stock control system (PATHWAYS) they become upset and consider your requests frivolous or offensive. Come on now we were only being politically correct.

At least we now have it writing from the CEO that his staff is incompetent and untrained in the use of ACC computer systems.

And as for the ACC investment portfolio. Who cares that ACC has invested in the Breweries. Ok so the Govt increased the tax on some spirits recently because of the concerns on youth drinking. As an investment it was a wise choice. ACC has mismanaged its funds so badly it needs the high returns from such investments.

I guess that's made it impalatable for ACC to suggest to the government that it imposes a levy on each litre of alcohol sold for human consumption. After all in a user pays system ACC should be targeting problem health and accident issues and Alcohol like cars and petrol is surely such an issue.

I have it. A simple fix. Get the Petrol companies to sponsor the Drink drive, speed kills, and motorcycle awareness campaigns. As a sweetener allow service stations to sell liquor. It would be much simpler to then impose an ACC levy on all spirits sold. Wouldn't it?

That ACC as a private company has the ability to influence and direct the promulgation of Laws in this country defies belief. How many more years will it take before an MP in our Government stands up for the common man and like one of our governments founding fathers (Richard Seddon) works to ensure that our government is not influenced by such a corrupt corporation. I suppose that is a fanciful dream because the Government of today relies on its own cash cow (ACC) to provide much need funds for its own bad investments.

If only the CEO of ACC were Maori. Reminds me of another debacle with that Canadian CEO the Government was embarrassed by. I would however assume that the Government was very selective in its choice of CEO for ACC after all the fraudsters it has employed in the past, or is a fraudulent mentality now a requirement for employment by ACC.

I've often wondered why ACC has never tried to shut down sites such as this that could be seen to impune or denigrate the good name of that Company. Hah, I'm sure all publishers of anti ACC sentiment would welcome a day in court where they could reveal the extent of corruption and Fraud that ACC continues to perpetuate against its stock and shareholders (the taxpayer).

ACC Today 2007

Check out the ACC Claimants support Group ACCFocus.org

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