----------(Oversight by Dept. of L&I)
Received mailing from Dept. of L&I with information that I was an approved preferred worker, from an earlier L&I claim, claim Id # X-555501. Contacted L&I claim manager, for that claim, voice mail and asked of the preferred worker program. Received voice mail back that the claim was closed and that if there were any questions regarding the preferred worker program, to contact Mark Jacobsen in the preferred worker program at L&I. I called Mr. Jacobsen and he stated that he issued the status as "a favor to the employer", Burke Electric, that a Tom Hill of Approach Management was supposed to have already contacted me to explain all the benefits of this program. Mr. Jacobsen gave me the number for Approach Management and I called. Mr. Hill told me that the preferred worker program was so that the employer, Burke Electric, would not be held liable for any monetary charges if my claim, Y-260258, were approved.

10/2001
Follow up with Dr. Tyson 10/03/2001. Referred back to Dr. Guistozzi.

I have made numerous calls with the Dept. of L&I regarding the "favor for the employer" that was done due to the card having been incorrectly issued. I requested that I be given a vocational counselor to assist me in my search for work, as outlined by that program, and was told that would not happen. Mark Jacobsen himself told me that the claim Id, X-555501, that he put the preferred worker status to would not qualify for the program He had done it only as "a favor to the employer".

10/17/2001
Follow up with Dr. Guistozzi, she stated that the reports from Dr. Tyson would be sufficient enough, in her opinion, to award the claim. She again wrote me off work, due to the industrial injuries, for a period of seven days. To return for recheck on 10/25/01

10/25/2001
Return to Dr. Guistozzi. She removed me from work, due to my work related injuries "until further notice".

12/13/2001----------(Inappropriate Handling of Claim)
Independent Medical Examination. Actually a verbal review of Dr. Tyson's NCV, by Neurologists, Dr. Robert Price, M.D., who is the same that conducted the IME examine of my wife, Cynthia, claim Id # X498145, which resulted in an unfavorable decision of her claim also.

Continued calls to L&I, Preferred Workers Program. Supervisor John Blomstrand stated that from the information and complaints I have logged that, the Preferred Worker Program was issued incorrectly and that the Dept. of L&I is reviewing their web site, as well as the program, to possibly make necessary changes in them to avoid this occurrence in the future. I continued to ask for either a Vocational Counselor or a "favor, as the employer received". I was denied.

01/15/2002
Claim, Y-260258, rejected though staff at both South Auburn Crown Medical Clinic, Dr. Guistozzi and Neurology Specialty Clinic, Dr. Tyson, continued to state that Dr. Tyson's reports should, according to Dr. Tyson, be sufficient for the approval of the claim.

01/23/2002
Retained services of Small, Snell, Weiss & Comfort, Attorney James D. Snell, for assistance in matter of claim. Mr. Snell also took the claim of my wife, Cynthia.

01/24/2002
Filed a Notice of Appeal with the Board of Industrial Insurance Appeals.

02/15/2002
Took a dispatch out of the hall, IBEW Local 46, due to the need for income. Employer, Cochran Electric, in their hiring paperwork had a form regarding the preferred worker status of an individual and asking if the applicant would object if they inquired if the applicant qualified. I marked and signed that it would be okay. In further conversations with Mr. Jacobsen, Dept. of L&I preferred worker program VRC, he continued to attempt to convince me that the preferred worker status provided me with fabulous benefits, due to my objections that the employer was "done a favor" and I was receiving nothing from this program. He did call the employer, explained the program to them and I began receiving an extra 2.5 cents per hour on my check.

03/05/2002
Appeal granted by the Board of Industrial Insurance Appeals, State of Washington

Awoke through the night moaning in pain from wrist and arm discomfort due to "stroking, dressing, cables" at work. Found relief by putting on the Carpal Tunnel Wrist Splints.

04/08/2002
Settlement Conference, by phone, handled by office of Small, Snell, Weiss & Comfort. Continuance, by Judge, for all parties to be able to gather more information.

04/30/2002
Laid off due to a reduction in force.

05/2002
Sometime in this month, Mark Jacobsen, Dept. of L&I VRC, contacted office of Small, Snell, Weiss & Comfort and requested that as, my Attorney, they contact me and request me to leave the problem of the Preferred Workers Program alone. James Snell did call and tell me that I should not be trying to gain the benefits or the "favor" of the program. I asked why he was siding on the oppositions, the Dept. of L&I, to influence me to not gain the "favor" the employer had, or the benefits as outlined in the Preferred Workers Program. He said that losing the program would cause the employer to fight the case harder and he did not want to deal with that. I told him that it seemed as though he was not working as my counsel, that, he was attempting to influence me to allow the Dept. of L&I to practice unethically.

05/15/2002
Offices of Small, Snell, Weiss and Comfort sent letter to all parties concerned that they no longer represented me in my claim against the Dept. of L&I. Letter signed by James D. Snell.

Continued contact with Supervisor John Blomstrand, Dept. of L&I, Preferred Worker Program, asking and discussing changes, "favor" and status of complaint with program. Unknown exact date, I again stated that it is not fair that the employer receive "favors", yet I do not. That either, I receive the Vocational Counselor, as outlined by the program, or the card be taken out of the system as to not allow further "favors" to the employer. Card was cancelled in system, as entered by the Dept. of L&I, at workers request. I had told John Blomstrand that it was at the incorrect issuance and unethical "favors" to the employer that it be cancelled. He agreed and said it would be entered as such.

06/12/2002
Settlement Conference by phone. Asked for and received continuance. Attorney General paralegal had sent a letter to Dr. Tyson asking his "objective, medical opinion" regarding my injury.

( To date there has been no known response from Dr. Tyson.)

07/02/2002
Letter from Attorney General Office of Washington, signed by Lisa D. Kelley, Assistant Attorney General, in reply to the Office of the Governor "in an effort to assist you regarding some of your concerns." In the letter she states "The only affect of a preferred worker card is to exempt the employer from paying into the accident fund for 36 months after the date of hire for the preferred worker.

07/03/2002
Began soliciting via e-mail information on web pages, http://home.earthlink.net/~kdgardiner/poli/speak_out.html to try to gain the understanding and support of our legislative leaders in Olympia to look into and stop these "oversights".

Letter from Dept. of L&I, signed by Kathryn Kimbel, Program Manager, Employer Services in reply to the Office of the Governor. She writes, "I will specifically address your concerns regarding the management of the Preferred Worker's Program." She goes on that she found the card to have had an "exception to policy". That the card as she determined had a backdating of 65 days from date of hire, rather than the established 60 days. She also writes "In this instance, I have determined that there has been no inequality in the services or decisions rendered". I followed up her letter with a phone call to the number she provided and told her that the "specific concerns" that I have are the fact that the card was back dated 5 ½ months, not 65 days, though it was that also. That it was done as "a favor to the employer" and that the claim that it was attached to did not in any way qualify for the status of the program. Her reply was that she was not interested in any of that, she had addressed my concerns and as far as she was concerned the matter was handled. I let her know in my follow up to the Governors Office I would inform them, that again, there had been miss-communications and that my concerns had not been addressed. She stated that did not interest her, she would tell them that she had satisfactorily addressed my concerns, and if I were to continue, that I was verging on harassment. I urged her to file the charges, she hung up while I was still attempting to address my concerns of the program to her.

07/08/2002
Settlement Conference, by phone. Continuance, I had asked the Attorney General Office for an agreed Board approved Neurologists examination. Never received back an answer after numerious attempts leaving voice messages regarding same. I, on my own, had set an appointment and the Judge urged that I see this Neurologists, yet he did not want to send any questionair to the Dr., not wanting to influence that Dr. in any way. Employer represented by, unauthorized, NECA (national electrical contractors association) rep., Tom Hill of Approach Management. Mr. Hill is the same that Dept. of L&I, Preferred Worker Program, Mark Jacobsen VRC, had said was supposed to call me and explain all the benefits of the program, in the earlier call of 09/2001. (I work in the IBEW (international brotherhood of electrical workers), when we negotiate our contracts we are represented by our union local, the contractors are represented by NECA.)

07/10/2002
Attending at Neurologists, was told by Dr. that Mr. Tom Hill, of approach Management, had faxed the day before, information regarding my case history. The Dr., after review of my symptomologies and tests performed by Dr. Robert Tyson, stated that the earlier test in his opinion are inconclusive due to the facts that to test properly for the described injuries there should be more than the documented two nerves of each arm that had been tested. He has reschduled for an NCV to be conducted later this month.

Same Date:
Mailed letter of Motion to Dismiss Tom Hill and L&I from proceedings due to the unethical handling of claim and the contempt shown by faxing the claim history to Dr. Kohli.

07/18/2002
Dated letter from Judge S. Fredrick Feller regarding motion to dismiss. He states that the employer has the right to attend these claim proceedings and if there was inappropriate conduct it would be addressed in the following settlement Conference.

08/26/2002
Settlement Conference with AGO paralegal, Employer Rep. and Myself with Union Representative. AGO paralegal stated that the letter from Dr. Kohli did not show that the injury is work related and that the Dept. of L&I stands on its denial of claim. Judge S. Fredrick Feller ordered the case to trial.

08/28/2002
E-mail to the National Institute of Diabetes, Digestive & Kidney Disease - National Institute of Health.

I am a citizen of the State of Washington, and currently involved in a dispute with the State Dept. of L&I regarding my industrial injury of Carpal Tunnel / Tendonitis. They are claiming that my "pains" are a result of Diabetic Peripheral Neuropathy. I was fortunate to find the NIDDK-NIH web site and downloaded the information from the pages of Diabetic Neuropathies. The pains I suffer occur only after I engage in pulling and installing the Voice and Data Cables. I presented the pages I downloaded in settlement conference to the Attorney General Paralegal, Rachel Tilzer, Representing the State, as evidence that the CTS can as well cause the Neuropathies. She exclaimed that those were just pages off the Internet and they would not accept them as they could be inaccurate. Her tone was adamant about this statement. I found it offensive that she would insult the National Institute of Health in this way. I guess I am attempting to lodge a complaint and let you folks know of it. In my injury / claim my Neurologists has stated that my Neuropathy is present, yet sub-clinical and length dependent, with no sign of sensory loss. Today i ordered the hard copy of the information over the phone and plan to present it as Medical Evidence findings in favor of my case. Would there be any possibility that a representative from the NIDDK-NIH could as well advocate on behalf of myself and any others in the future that the State of Washington will attempt to do this injustice to. Possibly a letter of unappreciation to the Attorney General of Washington regarding this. If any aide, or response is possible it would be most appreciated.

09/11/2002
Phone Conference conducted by Board of Industrial Insurance Appeals with myself, claimant, Assistant Attorney General and unauthorized Lay Representative for Employer. Dates set for court of 10/18/02 - 10/23/02 and 11/25/02. I asked the AGO why time loss or authorized medical have not been paid as stipulated by the RCW's and significant decesions of the Board of Industrial Insurance Appeals. No answer was given.

09/12/2002
Dated letter from Board of Industrial Insurnace Appeals informing all parties that the letter of request has been accepted and acknowledged that Tom Hill is now the recognized lay Representative for the Employer.

09/20/2002
Called Assistant Attorney General Lynette Weatherby-Teague and left the 4th voice message this week asking why the Time Loss, nor Authorized Medical have not been paid?

09/21/2002
Letter dated 9-20-02, from Comprehensive Risk Management, Inc., sent to all parties concerned, asking the Board of Industrial Insurnace Appeals to accept and recognize Terry Peterson, WSBA# 18447, Staff Attorney, to make appearance at any and all matters pertaining to this case on behalf of Employer.

09/24/2002
Second phone message, this week, left for Assistant Attorney General Lynette Weatherby-Teague asking for a return call to discuss the information they have been given regarding the court decesions that the Dept. of L&I pay time-loss and the fact that the Dept. of L&I did authorize Medical Diagnosis that they have not yet paid for, there-by the Dept. of L&I, again, breaking the laws of the Washington State Industrial Act.

Board of Industrial Insurance Appeals sent letter to all parties acknowledging Employers New Representative.