Hi -

My name is Catherine Wylie. I live in Denver, Colorado and was in an
automobile accident almost four years ago. Up until a year ago, I was
recieving most of the care that was prescribed for me and then as all good
insurance companies seem to do after a while, they started to deny care that
was doctor requested.

For more than six months now, I have been fighting them to even let me go to
pain management for chronic pain issues. My primary care doctor finally gave
up on me and now I have no primary care physician either. I believe she got
tired of fighting the insurance company too for pain management as there was
nothing else that could be done about my conditions (Thoracic Outlet
Syndrome, severe TMJD, and pain that has now spread to other parts of my
body).

The only person who would help me out with any sort of pain management
was my psychiatrist and they cut him off recently too and send me a letter
saying that after reviewing the doctors notes they do not feel that whatever
pain I have is related to my accident. This is a complete convoluted lie.
Actually, the last pain management specialist I went to wrote to them saying
that this was due to my accident and that I could benefit by pain management.

So they write me saying that based on what even she said, they do not feel I
can be approved for pain management.

Now, the issue that is troubling me, is that I have been trying to get my lawyer
to help me with all this for months as well and while we were in the litigating
stage with the unprepared, very stalling adjuster from State Farm, he did not
press the issue enough about getting my health care needs straightened out -
the fact that they have been denying me care and I myself had brought that up
in the deposition and the arbitration meeting.

About a week before having to go to court, they decide to settle out of court
and only because I was desperately out of money did I sign the litigation
agreement that a state farm lawyer wrote up and while I do not have it with
me, my lawyer told me that by signing it, I release them from any further
charges - basically I cannot take them to court for bad faith etc. I knew I
should
not have signed it and I would rather have had the thing go to court but my
attorney assured me that trying to force a bad faith claim is like "trying to
find
the unicor on the arc" - that it can be impossible to prove.

So now he has his money and I have some of mine that I need to live on and I
am expected now to pay out of my pocket for my own care and I have been for
alternative things. I cannot afford to pay for pain management and besides,
my policy says I have five years of care from the date of the accident coming
to me and I still have 21K in medical coverage left.

Due to their behavior towards me for the last year, I have become sicker and
need help with pain mangement. I finally went again to my thoracic outlet
surgeon and he once again wrote a note that I need pain management,
possibly another surgery, physical therapy, and a psychiatrist. My lawyers
office sent this to my state farm adjuster, along with a request for them to
just
settle out my PIP claim (basically give me what is left of my medicals) and they
are supposedly going to write me with a decision.

I hate to be negative, but I know what the decision will be since they did not
tell the paralegal over the phone that they were going to give me the money.

I am extemely frustrated and agnry and need help with pain management. I
refuse to let them off the hook and pay out of my own pocket. I do take pain
meds for now and I have already paid plenty for accupuncture and massage
but nothing fixes me long term and I cannot afford to keep letting my
settlement money drip out of my hands like this.

I am scared and frustrated and angry as hell. My mother, who is an attorney
said that even though I signed that release, it still does not release them from
the obligation to provide the care I have paid my premiums for and that maybe
I can take them to court on another issue.

As well, I am also planning to write to the insurance commissioner if they do
not do either give me the PIP money or the care I need. I am dreading that as
well because there is so much paper work that they have lost and stalled at
Sloane's Lake Managed care that it will probably be a large undertaking by
now to explain exactly what they have done to me to the insurance
commissioner.

And what if for some reason they do not want to see it my way and State Farm
gets away with this? I will be really out of luck. But I do not see how they
cannot, being that about five doctors have said, this person needs pain
management for injuries sustained for this specific MVA.

Thanks for any insight into the laws or perhaps another direction I could go in.

Thanks,
Catherine