Claim Id # X-498154


02/22/1999
Emergency Room due to breathing dificulties. At my place of employment, Prosser Piano & Organ, SouthCenter Mall, construction for the new Rainforest Cafe was causing Asbestos and other foreign matters to float and fly around without the proper ventilation.

03/02/1999
Logged in L&I claim file:
Received filing for injury.

05/31/2000
Scheduled appointment and was able to be seen at The Work Clinic. Diagnosed with COPD / reactive airway disorder, since 2/99, due to work enviroment. I had already left my job due to the employer refusing to provide proper ventilation within the open store area, not wanting to cause further injury to myself. Claim was denied.

RCW 51.04.030 (1) - ...That the department may recommend to an injured worker particular health care services and providers where specialized treatment is indicated...

06/03/1999
Claim Closed.

06/07/2000
Claim Reopened.

06/09/2000
Claim Denied.

06/26/2000----------(Oversight by Claim Manager)
Logged in L&I file incorrectly, protest of closure of claim, from medical provider.

07/17/2002
Over the past few days Citizens Representing Citizens has sent off e-mails on claimants behalf to respective Governor, Senator and Representatives. Susan Girsch-Arnsdorf, Legislative Assistant to Rep. Shay Schual-Berke has been kind enough to look into claim and today reported, via e-mail, After receiving your message this morning I contacted our liaison at L&I. When they reviewed the file, it was noted that a protest to the reopening denial from your medical provider was received on 06/26/00 and inadvertently did not get logged in as a protest.

08/27/2002
Phone conversation with Ms Kenyon, Claims Manager, Dept. of L&I, regarding the timeliness of this claim. RCW 51.52.060 Ms Kenyon said that the individual that entered the protest into the system was probably not trained to recognize the medical report as a protest. That typically the individuals filing the protest follow up to find the status of that. That the Dept. should not be held responsible for the fact that it overlooked the timeliness of the protest. It was requested that due to the fault of the Dept. that the Claimants Time Loss, Medical Providers and Permanent Partial Disability.

09/06/2002
Spoke with the Dept. of L&I 1-800 information "hotline" this date. Asked regarding the letter mailed to the Dept. of L&I Dir. Gary Moore addressing the "timeliness", inappropriate observance of RCW 51.52.060. Heather, L&I phone rep., stated that the Claims Manager had scheduled to review the claim this day. Nothing regarding the review was yet in the file.

09/11/2002
Received letter from Dept. of L&I informing claimant of a scheduled IME to take place on 11/12/02.

09/21/2002
Mailed letter to Board of Industrial Insurance Appeals regarding claim having been wrongfully denied and timely protested. The protest was ignored which is in violation of RCW 51.52.060. Requesting that the Board of Appeals now take jurisdiction of the claim.

09/23/2002
Phone discussion with claim manager regarding decision of information regarding timeliness, RCW 51.52.060, along with RCW 51.04.030 "prompt and efficent care and treatment". At this time the Dept. has felt that RCW 51.52.060 is for claims that have gone to the Board of Appeals, yet it was pointed out to her that it states "...person aggreived by an order, decesion, or award of the department must, before he or she appeals to the courts..." She said she would review these matters.

More to Follow
The development of mesothelioma is dose related to asbestos exposure. Patients report history of moderate asbestos exposure several years to over two decades prior to the development of the disease. Course of the disease is usually rapidly progressive with most patients surviving less than two years post diagnosis.

Excerpt from Penina Speigel's book:
Mesothelioma attacks the lining between the lungs and the chest cage. The particular form Steve (McQueen) had, called a high-grade malignancy, is particularly virulent, spreading wildly from the lungs to the other organs. By the time the cancer is detectable, the patient usually has just months to live. "I don't know anyone with the disease who's been cured," said the chief of oncology of a Culver City, California, medical center at the time. Chemotherapy was not ordinarily effective, nor was surgery.

Mesothelioma is most frequently seen in shipyard workers, construction workers, and miners. Cigarette smoking is not associated with the disease; it attacks smokers and non-smokers with equal frequency. Mesothelioma is a cancer whose cause has been known since the mid-1960s.

TO FIND OUT MORE ABOUT THIS TERRIBLE DISEASE, GO TO THE MESOTHELIOMA APPLIED RESEARCH FOUNDATION WEBSITE LOCATED AT: WWW.MARF.ORG