Sunday, a week ago, an employee called to say he had hurt his back at work ten days earlier. I told him he could go to any doctor. He went to the ER at a reputable hospital. Their diagnosis: hemorrhoids! They sent him home with the appropriate ointment and pain medication and told him to see his family doctor on Monday.
Still convinced he had a back problem, he went to a chiropractor on Monday. Surprise,surprise, the x-rays and MRIs confirmed he had a "twisted" spine. Limo picks him up every day (he has a car and his wife drives) and carries him to therapy (electronic muscle stimulation).
His hemorrhoids you ask? According to the workers compensation statutes, his first medical provider must refer him to any other doctors. Which ten days later hasn't happened, even after it ruptured.
I'm barred from telling him which doctors to see. I understand that. I'm not qualified. But a health professional who is not qualified to treat a condition should disqualify himself.
The system is broke when quacks are allowed to syphon off money that is intended to ease suffering and repair bodies.
||>Sunday, a week ago, an employee called to say he had hurt his back at ||>work ten days earlier. I told him he could go to any doctor. He went ||>to the ER at a reputable hospital. Their diagnosis: hemorrhoids! They || ||>I'm barred from telling him which doctors to see. I understand that. ||>I'm not qualified. But a health professional who is not qualified to ||>treat a condition should disqualify himself. ||>
||>The system is broke when quacks are allowed to syphon off money that ||>is intended to ease suffering and repair bodies. ||>
You know Ed, I was pretty sure with your connections, you would know where Jimmy was.:)
I would be interested in your view on the following.
A lifelong farmer bought a new farm on the prairie with a creek running through it. A seasonal creek; when it rains, the creek runs. This farm is along an interstate highway. He began cleaning the creek bed (more a ditch), gathering up old dead trees and brush. The State of Texas has a program that proves removing Salt Cedar from banks can return the flow of water to now dry streams. He removed a few of those. All this was over a period of two years.
During this period, an EPA official drove past this farm on his way to work every day. Some 6 months after his last work on the creek, the EPA hoard descended on him. He was cited for polluting "navigable waters of the U.S. (defined as a flow of water 4 feet wide and 4 feet deep by 200 feet long at any time during the year), the pollution being dirt; converting wetlands and destroying migratory bird habitat.
To date, it has cost him nearly $100,000 to correct his damage. He had to plant willows along the creek bed. Which are now sucking more water than the Salt Cedars, which, by the way, really aren't cedars. He had to plant special grasses 30 feet out into his fields for 2650 feet on both sides of the creek. He had to build a 2 acre shallow pond and plant oak and pecan trees in it. The pond must be flooded in the winter and drained in the spring. No matter that the creek is dry, he has to provide the water. No matter that it rains and fills the pond, he has to drain it. He has to pay for pencil-pusher monitoring for who knows how many years.
Forget the fact that the "cure" seems to go far beyond the damage. My question is about the EPA official, responsible for mitigating such "damage", who watched it happening for two years. Does he not have some duty to stop illegal activity when he sees it? Or is he thinking of the income to his agency of fines of up $11,000 a day as long as the damage goes unremediated? Over 8 million.
A cop would surely detain two masked men with shotguns exiting a bank, even though a robbery hasn't been reported.
The whole thing sounds a little fishy to me, Andy, and I don't mean the ones swimming in it.
The Navigable Waters Act, or whatever it's called, goes back to 1898. If the EPA was involved, this is a federal case, so it would have a case name and number, and the name of the court in which it was heard.
Do you know what the case name or number is? I'd like to look it up.
Andy, The way it works in the People's Republic of Illinois with our WC policy carrier, is they have a list of medical providers that they want the injured employee to visit. The employee has no right to select whatever physician that they want to choose. If they are dissatisfied with the medical report from the primary caregiver, there is a appeals policy where they can select another physician. To the best of my knowledge, all physicians have to be MD's or DO's- NO CHIROPRACTORS!
I spoke with the fellow yesterday. They also required some concrete structures in the creek to slow the flow of water. Now THAT sounds like a hazard to navigation.
I stand corrected on one point: the $11,000 per day UP TO A MAXIMUM OF $27,500. A hearing on August 22 so he can protest the civil penalty.
I got interested in this after seeing the legal notice in the local paper. I knew the fellow. In all the two-column legal jabber was the name of the Regional Hearing Officer and her phone number. It stated she was the one to call for copies of the complaint. She must be a very busy woman, it took her a week to return my call.
Her first question, "Why did I want it?" I explained I was just a citizen interested in what was happening in my area. "Well, why did I need it?" "Because I'm a citizen of the United States and I'm entitled to know what my government is up to."
Now she doesn't know anything about the notice or what she is supposed to provide. She will have to consult with their attorney. Ten days pass and no call. I called yesterday. Voice mail. I called the alternate number given in the voice message. This lady thinks she has left the building but wait, here comes her supervisor.
He gets on the phone. He has a most unusual name. When I asked his name, he answered, "what can I do for you." I let it pass, gave him my name and repeated my request. Just now, Ms. Regional Hearing Officer comes in. He tells her my name and in the background I hear, "I know who he is. I have the papers here. I can fax them now." I give him the number.
She faxed me the 40 page complaint and rules; THREE TIMES. Purely unintentional, I'm sure.
My brother is involved in one of those $25.000/day penalties in KY involving the EPA and his creek. That's $25,000/day administrative assesment, no right to a jury trial since it's not a 'fine'.
He has a sharp legal mind (after sucessfully crossing swords with the IRS) and looked into it deeper, and found that the EPA has been frightening (terrorizing) its victims into signing a consent decree to avoid the threat of $25,000/day. After the victim signs the consent decree, he discovers that the terms are impossible and he is in worse shape than before, and has NO legal recourse because he signed on the dotted line. My brother refused to sign and demanded a hearing - it swiftly became obvious that the EPA didn't even know how to hold a hearing, they bungled it so bad. He is now trying to get the issue into a real court and raise a number of fundamental constitutional issues. The KY EPA is now stonewalling him, hoping the whole thing will go away. They have already lost the case, but it will not become precedent unless he takes it to an appeals court.
BTW, anyone know a good reporter who can handle a HOT issue, as well as a good lawyer to do a pro bono case that might go to the Supreme Court? This issue is so hot that the Ky Farmers Assn will not touch it, they are bought off.
Thanks for the reference number, Andy. I'm curious about this one. We'll see how many times they try to send the 40-page fax to me. BTW, that's one reason I use WinFax.
Ha ha. Look out Andy, you are now another candidate for investigation from the Homeland Security department! Our government apparently had to operate in secrecy, simply because most of what they do cannot stand the light of day.
I really don't have an opinion about the quality of the case. The complaint is very vague on details. Whether guilty of the "crime" or not, he has conceded to the EPA's remedial demands. I think the only remaining point is how much of a civil penalty he pays.
I simply thought that an official charged with preventing this activity would have a duty to stop it when he sees it happening before him. Especially ongoing for two years.
IMHO I think they are pissed because he didn't get a permit. I think if he knew he needed a permit, he could have gotten one that maybe required a silt fence. I've seen a lot more terrain disturbance in a housing development. (Disclaimer: I haven't seen this since his crime but he has described it to me.)
Here is an aerial view. It is 1995. I think before he bought it. If you zoom out a little, you can tell it has rained recently by the water standing behind conservation terraces in the fields. On the west side of the Interstate the sun is reflecting off water standing in the field. You see all the ponds full but you don't see any flowing, navigable stream. His place is where the brushy area is on either side of the creek, east of I-35W. Compare the stream size with the 18 wheelers on I-35W.
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As stated in the rules I received, all negotiations with the EPA are informal. Which means there is no record of what they say and they can retract any offers. An agreement is only final when it is in writing and signed.
Another thing about this bothers me. Has anyone ever seen a duck eating pecans and acorns? That is what they had him plant in the new wet land pond.
I have more tolerance for fools than abuse or incompetence. I'm not timid about expressing my views when I encounter the latter. Sometimes it is hard to tell the difference.
TSA is an example of the latter. I earn my money in denim and denim is good enough attire to spend it. Jeans have metal (see, back on topic) buttons and rivets. I'm accustomed to the wand and a pat-down at the airport. I put everything else (coins, watch, cell phone, belt) in a Ziploc bag so it is easy to see.
I had concluded that their inspection methods were just window dressing. So, when the pat-down guy asked if he can touch me, I tell him sure just as soon as he puts on new gloves. What! You would have thought I'd opened a bucket of stink bait. All eyes were on me like I might make a break for the skyway.
His supervisor stepped behind me and wanted to know why they should use new gloves. In a voice loud enough for both lines to hear, I told them I didn't want the contents of someone's snotty handkerchief, dirty underwear or explosives kit smeared all over me. That got me an upgrade in accommodations; a private room. As we walked away, I heard a lady in the other line say, "I'd like new gloves, too."
They turned me loose with a warning not to create any more disturbances. I was the last to board and figured all the other passengers would be POed at me. As I walked down the aisle, there were many smiles and few thumbs up.
If you've ever flown Southwest from Dallas, you know you can only fly direct to the states adjoining Texas. If you are going farther, you have to claim your baggage and recheck it for the connecting flight.
This trip was from Dallas to Tulsa to Louisville. So, I claimed my bag at Tulsa and as I (re)checked the bag to Louisville, I was cheerfully, asked if my bag had been out my sight since I packed. I answered yes, you've had it for 4 hours. No more Mr. Niceguy. "I asked a serious question and I expect a serious answer." Well, the serious answer is yes. "Thank you, have a nice trip."
I just knew I was on the radar and wasn't looking forward to security. but I breezed right through without even a wand wave.
Not until I returned home did my wife point out that my money clip had a 1 inch knife blade on one side and a nail file on the other. Maybe I'll lay low for a while and let my luck bank recharge.
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