Gallagher Bassett Insurance The RIP OFF Insurance Company Workmans Comp, ripoff, torture, scrooge, liars, Sadists Clearwater Florida

Neil,we must compare notes about
Luella Rogers, agent for
Gallagher & Bassett Ins., you know the company that is to help you with the on the job injury, workers comp. Yes, I have been with Cracker


Barrel, server/trainer for 5 plus years,store #138, Slidell, Louisiana. Luella Rogers' never puts anything in writing. My doctor just wrote my attorney a note about this. Luella has cut off all checks and demands the doctors clinic to put everything in writing. She is the Ring Leader that will put you into a very dark place. Featuring no respect and could care less about Cracker Barrel standards. I have a knee injury after slipping in the over flow of water from the ice machine, smashing into a steel back of the house leg of a table. No matting on the floor. This happened on May 9, 2008. I had one operation, yet Luella Rogers decided she no longer had to take any advise from my doctor unless he put it into writing. For 9 months I handled Luella & the circus of Gallagher & Basset by myself, now I have a Attorney. If you wish to file the class action, let me know. Your entire report is true. 100% plus behind you. At this time Luella cut off P.T., refuses to give me the permission for the treatment needed to make me pain free and maybe have the chance to walk with a straight leg. She wants me at work. She continues to pick me apart, one word has 6 meanings. Cracker Barrel is unable for accominadation for the server position due to injury with limintations. My doctor said what I can tolerate. Now they want me to host. Yet, server duties along with host duties cross one another, this is a very busy company, you can see over 600 people a day. For 3 months Luella Rogers has picked apart job essinetinals requirments for the job position. OSHA Standards has code of Federal Regulations required. This may help me with the wet flooring. Cracker Barrel home office workers comp dept. helped me push Luella. Then came the screaming phone calls with threats from Luella, not only to me, along with the entire staff at the doctors. I could go on for days on the way Gallagher & Bassett's prize cookie has treated me. Good Luck My Friend. Please contact me if I can help you in any issue dealing with Luella Rogers, adjuster for Cracker Barrel.~~~Ms. Cherie~~~Covington, Louisiana

I was told that we were to have a mediation prior to going to trial however GB decided that their lawyer needed to talk with me. A meeting was set up along with my lawyer and a stenographer who took all the information. At the end I was suppose to be hearing from them. They agreed to set up an appointment for me to see a Doctor. My Dr., recommendations was to be going to a pain center to see a specialist to verify possible nerve damage. GB set me up with an appointment with a Rehab therapist rather then a Specialist. Upon my lawyer's recommendations the appointment was canceled and my lawyer contact their lawyer to inform them that we wanted a specialist not a rehab therapist. As of date I have not seen another doctor however I received a letter dated the 25th of Nov. 2008 from Coventry Worker's Comp Services who I have no idea who they are unless they are a part of GB. I received the letter on the 2nd of Dec. 2008.

The report stated: Procedure/Description date Start 11/26/08 End date 12/31/08 Amount 1 PerDiem. Pain Management Evaluation for lower abdomen.

So far that would sound good except I never had an appoint for that and never saw a doctor. It further states:

Notice of medical necessity. On behalf of Gallagher Bassett, the requested treatment referenced above has been reviewed by Coventry Worker's Comp Services, and has been determined to be medically necessary.

So for still sounds good you would think. Continuing:

This recommendation is not a guarantee that benefits are payable by the claim administrator. If you have any questions about payment please contact the claim administrator (gives her name and number). If you have any questions about this review, please contact (a nurses name at Coventry and her number).

That might have been all good and well however in the top of the letter there is something that contradicts the letter itself. Date of Injury 01/22/2007, Diagnosis Code: 847.2 Lumbar Sprain. How can you get a lumbar sprain out of lower abdominal injury and how do they figure one PerDiem when I've been out of work for over 2 years?

Not only that but this was sent to my Doctor and to me, and not my lawyer. When I contacted him he had no knowledge of it so I faxed it directly over to him and he confirmed receipt. He said he would contact the lawyer and find out what was going on. Since the 2nd of Dec.2008 I have been in constant contact almost weekly to my lawyer's office. In Jan 2009 I found out the one secretary he had was no longer working there but that he had a new one. Spoke with her she was not up to date on the case so I asked to speak to my lawyer. He informed me that he had to bring her up to speed on the cases but that he was trying to still find out for their lawyer what was going on. In Feb. 2009 when I contacted my lawyer I was told that yet another secretary was now handling all the worker's comp cases. I spoke with her which of course she was unfamiliar with the case. I asked for an update on what had been going on, what the status of that letter was and when were we going to have some type of mediation. She had no knowledge but would get back to me. On Monday the 9th of March I contacted my lawyer's office and he was out. Left voice message that I needed him to call me and let me know what was going on. That I was in constant pain, my life has been destroyed, I have no money at all, my sister and family can no longer continue to support me, I can't get a job, can't file for disability, can'f file for SSI, and at a point that I don't know what to do.

As of today the 10th of March 2009 I have still heard nothing back from my lawyer. GB I believe is hoping I will either die or forget the whole thing which I can't do. I live in constant pain some days better then others but constant. My doctor said that there isn't anything he can do for me without their authorization which seems impossible to get. I can't get another lawyer as I am on a contact with this one. I wish there was not only a class action suit against GB but that the President and Congress would step in and investigate the shady practices of this company. The 4th largest in the world and yet one of the worse to deal with. Something little or simple they would deal with but let it be a major event and they will do anything in the world to put you off. The sad part is that the way Worker's comp is written we have no recourse against them I am told.

They have destroyed my credit, taken my car, finances, life, and ruined me but do they care? NO! Being 55 years old I think they are hoping that I will die off rather then have to pay me a dime! I wish that our President would take a good look, read what the people are saying who have been injured, who have been screwed over, who have lost everything because of this insurance service and do something about them. HELP US FIGHT BACK!!! I would be more then happy to go on TV, to help file suit, and to fight them. I am an emotional and physical wreck because of them!!! This web site knows how to contact me. I have documentation to back up everything I have stated and more. I want satisfaction for what has happened but feel as though GB would want me to praise them if only to get the treatment (if that) that I need.

On Sept 24, 2007 I reported to my Supervisor that I was having numbness, tingling, shooting pains in my hands and wrists that woke me up at night.
I have worked for my employer for 24 yrs as a sheet metal operator.

I was immediately sent over to Occupational Health at the nearby hospital where the Dr examined me and ordered for me to see a Neurologist for an EMG study on both hands. Neurologist preformed the EMG and his diagnoses was SEVERE Carpel Tunnel in BOTH hands
Went back to see the Dr from Occupational Health who after reading the results brings in an Orthopedist, am told that at this point the Carpel Tunnel is so severe that only surgery will help....surgery is set up. From the time I reported the problem up until the day before surgery is a total of 4 weeks, not bad right?
12 hours before surgery I get a call from GB saying the surgery is off and a few days later a formal letter of denial for Workers Comp.
I also had a part time job of 1 yr, and once GB saw that they now were going to blame the part time job which was laughable because all the doctors I had just seen who were not my doctors all agreed the Carptel Tunnel was a result of my full time job of 24 yrs...lots of repetitive motion, vibration and grinding metals etc.

Since GB denied WC I had to retain an attorney. Attorney advises since GB has denied claim to go through my private Health Insurance and have the surgeries and collect Short Term Disability.
I was out of work a total of 5 months because I had to have one of the surgeries done twice on one hand, first time wasn't successful.
I was only able to collect STD on my full time job and recieved nothing from my part time job...so now I was living on 1/4 of my pay, it was beyond awful.
I didn't think my family and I would make it, it wiped any savings and retirement out we had.

My attorney and an attorney for GB go before a WC Judge.....GB orders me to have an Independent Medical Exam with a doctor the choose, of course.
They (GB) hire the best of the best, an Orthopedic Hand doc in Philly, this guy treats major athletes.
I go to my appointment, an eval and exam is done..
A few weeks later we get notice that the WC Judge has ordered another hearing to be updated on the case.
The day BEFORE the hearing GB faxes my attorney the report of the doc they had sent me to in which their very own doc says he believes the Carpel Tunnel is a result of my first job, agreeing with the other doctors. Not exactly what GB wanted to hear.
So GB and my attorney go before the WC Judge and it is entered that GB will pay all lost wages from BOTH jobs (minus the STD I recieved) and all my medical bills.
They have to reimburse my health insurance company.

The Stipulation Agreement is drawn up, I sign, my attorney signs, GB attorney signs and the WC Judge signs. Great...all settled right?
Pennsylvania WC Law states the Insurance Comapny has 30 days from when the WC Judge signs the Stipulatiion Agreement to cut your Compensation check.
Guess what? It's been way over that and they still have not cut the check, they keep giving the run around " Well it was cut on such and such date and sent out on this date" and we have yet to recieve anything.
So even though they were ordered by a Judge to pay out by a certain date they have yet to do so, as if they are above the law.
I will now ask that a Penality Petition be filed against them.

This whole case was a joke from the word go, it didn't take a rocket scientist to see it was my first job and not my part time job that caused the CTS.
GB wants to break you down so that you'll back down and not persue the claim..it's a game to them
They could care less about you and your family, you're a file # to them and a pain in the butt.
They could care less that you are on the verge of being homeless, can't feed your family, can't even buy the medication you need to function etc.
They could care less that they have stripped you of your dignity when you have to go and ask for someone to help when you've always taken care of yourself and family for 25 plus yrs.

To be honest, and I know WC laws vary from state to state, I don't even know why there is a WC law period, they are for the Employer not the Employee

Hang in there

As of date 8/27/07 I have now been told by my lawyer that GB wants more information. Not only that but as of date they have not yet even gave me any of the comp they owe me.

I have now lost my car which was repoed a few weeks ago due to non-payment. I still have no referral to get the needed evaluation or surgery done, and I am sinking fast. The worst part my mom passed away the end of this past month. I had to beg others around in order to get there for her funeral as I didn't even have the money for that.

GB thinks they are doing me a favor as they have finally sent me a prescription card to be able to get meds filled at no cost while this is going on. Funny thing though, they don't have me on any meds right now because everything that they had gave me didn't work. The doctor told me that they wouldn't prescribe anything further till I was evaluated by the pain treatment center and after the probable surgery that would be needed.

Personally if I ever go to work for another company in my life the first thing I would ask is who their insurance is with and if they said GB I would tell them "Thank you but NO THANK YOU!"

I was injured at Starbucks a while back--began developing carpal tunnel in my right wrist. First off, at the store level I had to fight just to be able to report it and see a doctor. Nobody cared and my manager and district manager just kept saying they didn't know where I was supposed to go--I ended up tracking it down myself.

Finally, I got to the doctor and my case was handled by Gallagher Bassett. First off, my claim kept getting handed to someone else and they expected me to keep filling out the same paperwork and retelling them the situation over and over again. So, I just stopped taking their phone calls because either way they had to pay for the doctor.

Ah yes, the doctor...I used to think that people's complaints about doctor's being in someone's pocket (as in owned by a company) was just paranoia. How wrong I was. This guy made it very clear that I would be getting no real care, that I wasn't in pain (though I was, so much so that it would wake me up at night), and that I would go back to work as usual. I ended up quitting my job because my injury was not being taken seriously--probably exactly want they wanted. The last time I saw the doctor, when I realized it was absolutely futile, I told him "it still isn't better. It isn't healed; anytime I use my hand for anything it hurts all the way up my forearm." His response: "So." My response: "Well, you just said you are going to discharge me and close my case. What if it gets worse, or needs surgery or something? What does it mean for my future that it still isn't better?" His response and last words: "It doesn't mean anything."

Obviously my complaint relates to Starbucks as well--they treated me very poorly throughout the whole ordeal. However, I just wanted to respond and let you know I've been there, am still injured, and understand that going to a doctor assigned by Gallagher Bassett does not indicate that you will actually be recieving any medical care/treatment.

I am in the same boat in Texas as your are in Alabama. The big difference about Texas is that I can't even find a Lawyer that will help me with my matter. I have tried to resolve things myself. No matter what I information I give GB, they come back wanting more or something totally different. Gallagher Bassett strives on stall and scare tactics towards injured employees. You know you are in trouble when you are invited to an informal meeting between GB, yourself, and the State mediating the whole thing when you find yourself up against a GB attorney instead of an adjuster. GB banks on this intimidation style to scare off the injured employee and make them want to give up. Hang in there Neil....