My Sister Has Amnesia

[Pheran]

OP, I really hope your sister gets better. I can't even begin to imagine how hard it must be for her and everyone in her life.

I second the advice of getting a lawyer, her employer shouldn't be able to screw her like that when she so obviously needs help.

Finally, if all else fails I would suggest trying the media. Amnesia is sufficiently rare as to put an interesting spin on the story and the potential bad publicity for the store might goad them into action. However, do not do that without talking to a lawyer first as I do not know what the legal ramifications would be.

 

[Mide]

sorry to hear that..I hope she regains her memories. Does she know the password to her email and such?

 

[I Saw OJ]

Crazy, I thought amnesia only happened in sitcoms.

 

[Locut0s]

Crazy, I thought amnesia only happened in sitcoms.

Long term amnesia like this is rare but it happens. Look up retrograde amnesia and read about some of the long term cases.

 

[Hayabusa Rider]

Note these words...

Get
A
Lawyer

 

[jman19]

Wow, it took 24 replies to get to this?

ATOT is slipping.

Good luck to OP's sister, whatever she looks like.

MotionMan

Probably because it comes off as a dick request in a serious thread.

 

[JohnOfSheffield]

Prayers for my sister please.

Some how she fell at work and hit her head. She was transferred to an area hospital by helicopter. The CT scan was negative. Doctors say she has a severe concussion with retrograde amnesia. They said there was no reason to keep her in the hospital and sit her home even though she doesn't know the people who drove her home. (Husband and in-laws.)

She doesn't know me or any of her family. I am sitting next to her and I am a stranger. She looks at her family and cries and says I'm so sorry but I don't know you.

Her husband who is great to her is completely devastated but is holding it together. She has two children, 16 and 6 and they are completely lost.

UPDATE 1: Had a second CT scan today. Everything looks good. She still has amnesia and has no memories prior to yesterday. She is relearning family and we are praying her memory returns.

11/18 UPDATE: She has had several doctor visits and we really don't know anything. Two CTs and a MRI came back negative which is great news however doesn't explain the amnesia. Memory loss isn't getting better. Waiting on referral to neurologist.

11/18 UPDATE: Her employer (a big box store) denied coverage for her to see a neurologist.

Shit like this breaks my heart, that they should have to fight to get healthcare on top of having these problems is even worse.

I suppose others are right when they say lawyer up but it's fucking retarded that you have to go through the legal system to get proper care when you need it the most and have the least means to afford it.

Something is seriously wrong in the state of Arkansas.

 

[JohnOfSheffield]

Note these words...

Get
A
Lawyer

Don't you think that it's sad that in any other first world nation the advice would be "go to the hospital and see your doctor"?

Now she needs a lawyer that she can probably not afford on top of having paid more taxes for healthcare she doesn't recieve than she would have in other nations where she would not even have been released before they knew what was wrong if she had not requested it and her employer paying twice that to insure her health which still isn't even close to what she'll need.

Something is FUCKING WRONG when you need to employ a lawyer to ensure that you get proper care.

 

[BoomerD]

Fortunately JoS, in most states, work comp lawyers work on a contingency basis. They get a small percentage of any final award.
Here in California, IIRC, that's capped at 14%, and doesn't include any medical costs in the formula.

While I agree that:

Something is FUCKING WRONG when you need to employ a lawyer to ensure that you get proper care.

unfortunately, the insurance companies and corporations usually have a strong hand in writing the work comp laws...PLUS, there has always been a lot of fraud in the system, by patients, by doctors, and even by companies trying to screw their employees. All that makes insurance companies notoriously suspicious, often very difficult to deal with, and the injured worker needs a lawyer to get the necessary medical treatment.

I've been through several work comp injuries in my 30+ years of construction, 3 of them serious enough to take me off of work for more than a day or two. In all three, I had to resort to lawyers to get things handled fairly (to me) and resolved so I got the needed medical care and compensation while I was off work.
IMO, the American medical system, as good as it is, just plain sucks.