ERISA Exposed?

It is mind boggling the number of times I hear "that's impossible" when I tell people what happened to our family when I had my stroke. God bless Mark Sherman for this article! I can't believe he had the guts to write it, most people tuck their tail and run when it comes to crossing big insurance companies and others, like Schwab. But I'm honestly concerned for him now- he is not going to be able to get away with this. They are going to destroy this valiant man. This is the definition of a TRUE patriot. Thank you Mark!

AP article below:

AP
Employers use federal law to deny benefits
Saturday July 5, 11:31 pm ET
By Mark Sherman, Associated Press Writer
Workers -- and some judges -- frustrated in legal fights over benefits with large employers

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Dying of cancer, Thomas Amschwand did everything he was told to make sure his wife would collect on the life insurance policy he had through his employer.
"He was obsessed with dotting every `i' and crossing every `t'," Melissa Amschwand-Bellinger recalled about her husband, who died in 2001 at age 30.

But Spherion Corp., the temporary staffing company where Amschwand worked, told Amschwand-Bellinger she would not receive any of the $426,000 in benefits she believed she was due. When she went to court, Spherion succeeded in getting her lawsuit thrown out. The Supreme Court on June 27 refused to review the case.

Amschwand-Bellinger received a refund of the few thousand dollars in insurance premiums she and her husband dutifully had paid. The total, she said, would not cover the costs of his funeral.

The story has played out often under the federal Employee Retirement Income Security Act. Designed to protect employee benefits, the law has been used by employers as a shield against suits.

Federal appeals courts, interpreting Supreme Court decisions dating to 1993, consistently have said companies that offer health, life and retirement benefits under ERISA cannot be sued for large amounts of money, or damages. Instead, they can be sued only for typically smaller sums such as Amschwand's insurance premiums.

Several federal judges have bemoaned the unfairness even as they have felt constrained to rule in favor of employers.

"The facts ... scream out for a remedy beyond the simple return of premiums," Judge Fortunato Benavides of the New Orleans-based 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said in the Amschwand case. "Regrettably, under existing law it is not available."

The Bush administration has argued that the appeals courts are misreading the precedents and has asked the high court at least twice to clarify the earlier rulings. So far it has refused.

Congress, which could amend ERISA to make clear such suits are allowed, also has taken no action.

The result, in the view of ERISA experts, the administration and some lawmakers, is perverse.

"The beneficiary under the policy didn't get the promised benefit," said Colleen Medill, an expert on ERISA at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. "To say we're just going to return your premiums, that's a total farce. That's not what they paid the premiums for. They paid them for the benefits."

Sen. Patrick Leahy, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said at a recent hearing that before ERISA became law, employees clearly could sue for benefits in state courts.

The court rulings, said Leahy, D-Vt., have left people "more vulnerable than they were before the law was passed."

Spherion's decision to deny benefits to Amschwand-Bellinger turned on an odd set of facts. Spherion, which employs about 300,000 people, switched insurers after Thomas Amschwand was diagnosed with a rare form of heart cancer. The new policy did not take effect until an employee worked one full day. Spherion never informed Amschwand of the requirement.

Amschwand asked repeatedly whether there was anything else he needed to do and was told no. He asked that the new policy be sent to him. Spherion never did so.

He died without returning to work. His widow said he easily could have worked a day if that was what it took to activate the new policy. Spherion could have waived the one-day-of-work provision, as it did for other employees but not for Amschwand.

Spherion spokesman Kip Havel issued a brief statement when contacted by The Associated Press after the high court declined to review the case. "We are pleased the court has made its decision and the matter has finally been resolved," Havel said.

The court also recently turned down an appeal from Louis Gerard "Gerry" Goeres, who sued Charles M. Schwab & Co. over hundreds of thousands of dollars in retirement plan benefits.

For 16 months, Schwab mistakenly refused to acknowledge Goeres as the beneficiary in the retirement plan of his domestic partner, Stephen Ward, a Schwab employee who died in 1999. By the time Schwab acknowledged its error, the value of the account had declined by more than $500,000. Goeres sued for the rest. Federal courts dismissed the suit. "Unfortunately, legal relief is not available," U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer said in ruling against Goeres.

"You know the Schwab commercial, `Talk to Chuck?'" Goeres said. "I thought if Chuck knew this, he'd say, 'Oh my God, this is so wrong.' I live on naive dreams."

Schwab said in court papers that Goeres could have taken legal action soon after Ward's death, when he first was told he was not the beneficiary.

Amschwand-Bellinger said the cases show the need for either the court or Congress to provide "some sort of meaningful remedy for employees when employers have a breach of fiduciary duty."

A Texas native who lives in an unincorporated Houston suburb, she has since remarried and has an 18-month-old daughter. She is president and executive director of the Amschwand Sarcoma Cancer Foundation, which she founded with her first husband.

She recognizes that she is more fortunate than many others who have fought similarly futile battles for benefits under ERISA. "What if we had had children and I was a stay at home mom?" said Amschwand-Bellinger, who previously worked for a public hospital system. "What if I was 60 years old, with no skill sets, and I had to go back to work?"

Stroke Survivors Online Support Group

In addition to the Factor V Leiden Support Group, I am also a member of another Yahoo group for Stroke Survivors.

If you have had a stroke, whether FVL related or not, this is an excellent group in which to learn and share information.

How I was Diagnosed with FVL

When I was a teenager in the mid 80's, my knee was injured and I had to have surgery. While laying in bed recovering at home a couple of days after the surgery, I began to have a horrible pain in the upper part of my calf. It felt like the worse leg cramp I'd ever had. And being an athlete and playing in cold weather, I'd had some horrible cramps. But none of those compared to the one I was having after that surgery.

After suffering horribly for a day or two, I returned to the surgeon and they diagnosed it as cramps from being in the cast and having to remain immobile for such a long period of time. He sent me home, told me to man-up, and it would get better.

The cramping eventually went away several days later, but throughout the rest of the 80's and 90's I would get recurring leg cramps that were so bad I couldn't get out of bed. I remember taking an road trip for vacation and I spent the entire week in bed because I couldn't walk, while the rest of the family went to Sea World and had a great time.

Visits to the doctor always had the same diagnosis- either a Charlie horse or a torn muscle. Though I do remember a nurse once telling the doctor my symptoms sounded like blood clot symptoms. I'll never forget the condescending look on his face as he replied to her, "Twenty-two year old men don't get blood clots".

Fast forward to late 2000 when I was 32 years old. I woke up one Friday morning with a headache so bad we rushed to the emergency room. After a weekend of being diagnosed from sinus infections to bad vision to migraines, on Monday morning I woke up and couldn't move the entire left side of my body. That was diagnosed as a reaction to all the medication they'd given me and I was told to see if it went away.

Later that evening, during the first Bush-Gore debate, I had a grande mal seizure and woke up in the hospital. It was then I was diagnosed with a Cerebral Vascular Accident (CVA), more commonly referred to as a stroke. A blood clot had apparently hit my brain. I thought it was because I realized Bush might actually win the election. But anyway, I was immediately put on Warfarin and anti-epileptic medications to prevent more seizures.

During the course of treatment for the stroke I had to undergo several invasive operations, and each time I was taken off my Coumadin so I wouldn't bleed to death. And each time I would land in the hospital for another five days with a blood clot.

After nearly a year and a half of a comedy of errors, a hematologist visited me and diagnosed it as Factor V Leiden. Two weeks later when my blood test came back, it was confirmed.

Knowing what I know now, and looking back, that first leg cramp after my first surgery was without a doubt a clot. And so were all the other leg cramps and torn muscles that I had throughout the 80's and 90's.

Oh how I wish someone would have listened to that nurse, it would have saved our family a lot of heartache and pain.

Swimming- The Number 1 Exercise

Growing up it was known that swimming was the best exercise available. It works out every muscle in the body, including the lungs and heart, without any sharp jerks or impacts that other exercises usually cause.

For my leg that has had recurring DVTs, nothing helps me more than swimming. Even on days where I can barely walk because of the pain and swelling, if I get into a pool and swim for just a short period then my leg quits hurting and goes back to normal size and color.

Due to a horrible case of stasis (my doctors all say its the worse they've ever seen), sometimes chlorine will cause my skin to dry out even more than usual, but a prescribed medication helps keep the itching to a minimum. Though it doesn't prevent the swelling or prevent hair from falling out.

If you have recurring DVTs, swimming in my opinion is the best medicine.

Note: Consult your doctor before swimming or doing any other type of exercises when you have recurring DVTs!

Donating Your FVL Mutated Body to Science

People with Factor V Leiden, especially those who have had unusual or recurring, over-the-top symptoms, have an opportunity to help generations that follow us by donating their body to science.

While this might not be for everyone, since many people believe there are moral and/or spiritual issues involved, many people believe that it is a great way to prevent future generations from suffering from our ailments.

Some things to keep in mind when donating your body to science-

* To put it bluntly, you'll be dead, so you must take into account the feelings of friends and family left behind. How will your decision affect them?

* You will still need to make alternate arrangements, in case your body is not needed at the time of your death.

* How will you feel about it as you grow older?

If you are interested in donating your body to science, the best place to start is the local medical university. Most have programs in place and will be more than happy to provide you with information.

FYI- Laws prevent universities and most medical institutions from purchasing your body, therefore your gift will be the great help you are affording generations to come, not monetary.

Life with Factor V Leiden

Life with FVL can be challenging. This is especially true if you have suffered a DVT, PE, stroke, or worse because of it.

But sometimes it can be a blessing in disguise. Below is my Top Ten List of why its good to have FVL.

10) You honestly understand the mutants' viewpoint in Total Recall.

9) You have the perfect excuse to be a hypochondriac.

8) You can remind your parents that your "perfect" sibling is mutated.

7) A little knowledge makes you sound really smart because most other people have no idea what you are talking about.

6) You can make yourself sound horrifically frightening if you need out of a bad relationship.

5) You can blame your parents and hold it over their heads forever, especially if you have to move back in.

4) Even if you are poor, you know you will have left your children something.

3) Your head will remain cooler during the summer because the blood thinners have made your hair thin and fall out.

2) Blood comes out easier during blood tests because its thinner.

1) No waiting at hospitals, EVER! As soon as you mention you have Factor V Leiden, a blood clotting disorder, and have suffered a CVA and/or recurring DVTs, you are whisked in front of everyone else in line.

Welcome to the Factor V Leiden Info Blog

Welcome to the Factor V Leiden Information Blog. This is a place where you will find information and articles relating to Factor V Leiden and other health issues. I hope you find this blog informative and helpful in teaching you or your family about FVL.

Feel free to leave comments, questions or share more information regarding each post.