California_Help - THANK YOU! That makes total sense! I will request copies of the policies immediately. That did not occur to me and you are spot on with that suggestion. Also, the way you explained it, I now understand the differences. I don't know how many people I have talked to but for some reason the way you wrote it...I get it. Whew. Ok I know what to do for this one - and yes I am still within all my time limits etc. I keep up. Or, I try.
Going back...I am very angry that I can't go back to my job actually. I didn't want to be that person that left by way of 'freaking out' and ended up just fading out of everyone's mind until someone asks what ever happened to....I'm angry for so very many reasons but mostly, rather than allow a safe work environment for me, they made me the problem. So my recovery has been especially hard because I'm fighting myself. I want to go back to where I'm not wanted and it won't be safe for my health. Even on leave they were harassing me. I've got a ton of documentation but there is no lawyer that I can find, that will talk to me. Well there is one actually and that firm is reviewing some things now to decide if they want me. If not...I'm out of places to call. The firm said they think I have three separate cases in addition to work comp, but they wanted time to look deeper.
I know I come off negative and just whiney...I am trying so hard to get to the end of this, and it is scary. I've been without benefits on and off for months the most recent being the sudden halt to benefits in December. So I went through the holidays with no benefits. For no reason. They caught me up after but the added stress of simply handling my claim, is overwhelming. The only party involved who does what he says, is the QME doctor. I can call his office even though I have an attorney and his offices tells me what's up. And they are always 100% straight with me. And meet deadlines etc.
Every other person or entity involved has had decisions appealed by me, and at every level I have had to learn more and more of what their functions are, in order to properly appeal and get them to handle my claim appropriately. My own company's work comp contact didn't file my second claim for 23 business days!! Payroll had no idea I was out of the office. Then she put in writing to me, that I was confused as to why I was out of the office so she had to wait until I clarified my leave intentions. Seriously. If I had another 2 days and 80 pages, I could tell you so much more (and bigger of a deal in the grand scheme of things) but...I'm close to being done. Just wondering what happens next.
I wish I never would have started this process years ago...I was too naive and had zero clue about this sort of thing. I had so many people at work come up to me saying oh you are so lucky how did you get them to approve your leave (the first time years ago) and I couldn't get past the oh you are so lucky comments...because I disagree. I would have been better off learning years ago that I wouldn't retire at that place, wouldn't reach any of my goals...because they decided to allow my boss to mess with me. Humiliate me. Bad mouth me. Contradict me. Discipline me. Ostracize me. You name it - it was done. After he got into trouble from comments I made to HR, he came at me harder and here again, they are making me the problem. All I wanted to do was my job. And my boss to do his job, not my colleague (who then started bullying me too)...Anyway - this is really all secondary to the main issue that I can't even bring up or mention anywhere so...for work...I don't even know what I'm going to do. I have no clue. I'm angry, and scared, that I have to come up with a plan B.