| DBA Insurance and Your Credit Rating There are no provisions under the Defense Base Act that require the insurance company to pay your medical bills in a timely manner. There is no recourse when your credit is adversely effected. |
Walter Reed Strong Arms over Hospital Bills
When my veteran husband agreed to go to "Post War" Iraq three and a half years ago (May 1, 2003) the last thing he expected was to be blown up
and land in the military medical system.
When I got the call that he was injured I immediately began making calls to the insurance company that we pay more than $1,000 a month for medical
coverage to. I told them my husband had been injured overseas and was relieved to find out that he could go to any hospital he chose and use any
doctors he wanted. He also had private insurance to cover medical evacuation back to the States.
I knew nothing of the Defense Base Act coverage that was provided by the company he works for and he was forced to use having been injured on
the job. The DBA insurance company had control of our lives, our finances.
I understand that he needed to go to the field hospital in Iraq and even to Landstuhl due to the fact that the conditions in Iraq were much more Warlike
than Post War, but......
They kept him over in Landstuhl for four days despite his doctors pleas to medivac him immediately to the States to catch the window of success
needed for his leg reconstruction. This was because he didn't have his passport with him. I begged for the private medivac to please get him out of
there before he lost his leg. He watched the private Evergreen medivac plane sitting on the tarmac as they loaded him onto the flying cattle truck they
use to haul our injured soldiers back to the States on. No one deserves that flight but that's another story.
When he finally arrives at Walter Reed at 10:00 at night, five and a half days after the explosion, I get a phone call that I need to arrange a private
medivac for him immediately because they cannot accept him there. He didn't have his insurance information with him. While I was trying to do this I
received another call saying he was in surgery. He stayed there until he was stable enough to be moved following the reconstructive surgeries.
Eight days after he entered the military medical system he tested positive for Acinetobacter Baumanii. In addition to the setback they caused in his
reconstruction they apparently also gave him this potentially deadly bacteria that he would eventually be overdosed on toxic drugs for.
The leishmaniasis they failed to diagnose attacked the traumatized area and we again thought he was going to lose his leg. This was either
contracted from a sand fly bite in Baghdad or from the blood transfusions he received in the field hospital. The staff in the field hospitals were
donating their own blood to cover the shortages.
Two years after this fiasco we receive a bill from Walter Reed for $1,200. We thought this must be some smaller bill that fell through the cracks. It
took the insurance company another 7 months to pay the bill and it shows to this day on our credit rating as a serious delinquency to the Treasury
Department.
Last month we received a bill for $35,000 for 17 days in his filthy, contaminated hospital room which he shared with several other unfortunates at
Walter Reed. A small fraction of this bill was for other services, few of which he even received. I was told that they had just gotten around to billing.
They sent this bill directly to their collection service, bypassing the insurance company and even us, and this bill is now on our credit rating as a
serious delinquency to the Treasury Department.
Irony here is that the DOD has to pay the insurance company back every expense they pay for his injuries and disabilities according to the terms of
the War Hazards Act which is attached to the Defense Base Act. The insurance company also gets to keep the premiums it was paid every month.
The contractor includes the DBA insurance premiums in their contracts.
Not a bad deal unless your the injured and disabled worker and/or the taxpayer.
We received unpaid bills from labs and an ambulance company.
None of the people involved with this were concerned whether these were taken care of or not.
We were the only ones whose credit report it was going on.
 |  |  |  |  |  |  |
| May 29, 2007 The DBA Insurance Company has still not paid a bill to a civilian hospital from August 4, 2003. We just found out that this was now on our credit as well. This is of no concern to anyone but us. I was told I should just pay it. Marcie Clark |
| January 14, 2009 Defense Base Act and your credit Update January 27, 2011 Update It is only getting worse We continue to receive calls and emails from injured contractors daily whose medical bills are not being approved or paid. Injured contractors are going without required surgeries and medications. Injured contractors are losing their homes and their lives because NO ONE is overseeing the insurance companies. Where is the Department of Labor? Your state may have a law in place that makes it illegal for credit bureaus to place worker's compensation bills on your credit report. Check with your lawyer to see if there is a law to cover this in your state. If your lawyer can't be bothered then get another lawyer There is such a law in place in Florida. |
| South African Injured Contractor Daniel Brink Loses Family, Loses Home, nearly loses life due to CNA Insurance Company Daniel Brink was working for DynCorp International as a Personal Security Detail Officer in Baghdad Iraq on the Civpol Programme. He was injured in a bomb explosion on the 22 nd of December 2005 just outside Baghdad, this is his story. After my return from the St.Georges Hospital in England, I was under the impression that CNA Global Insurance will be putting me in a position to recover from my wounds and loss of limbs, instead my real struggle began. I obtained approvals from Donna Sprags of CNA Global Insurance to see various Dr’s , Psychologists, Psychiatrists, Dieticians ,the supplying of wheelchairs etc etc. At the time I still remarked to my then wife that under the circumstances what I have been through at least DynCorp International and their Insurance Carrier was going to look after me. After a couple of months medical bills started pilling up and various medical providers refused to give me treatment. The Sheriff repossessed my wheelchair because CNA Global Insurance stopped payment on the check that they issued to the suppliers and my life really started spiraling out of control. I made an appointment with CNA Global Insurance and at great cost to myself flew from South Africa to the United States of America to attend the appointment with CNA Global Insurance in order to discuss the non-payment of my medical providers bills as well as various other issues. Upon my arrival at the front-desk of CNA Global Insurance I was informed that CNA Global Insurance no longer wished for the meeting to take place and I was instructed to leave the building. I further more on another occasion had a meeting with DynCorp International in Texas where they informed me that they wish to appoint me as the South African Representative for the Civpol Alumni Programme to give assistance to injured DynCorp International employees and also the widows and families of contactors who had died. A application for employment was signed where they were going to pay myself and my then wife a retainer/salary. I converted a room in my house to accommodate the “DynCorp Civpol Employee Assistance Program for South Africa” and then all of a sudden, as in hindsight should have expected DynCorp International stopped communicating with me.I am now five (5) years and one (1) month after my incident at the stage in my life where I have lost my wife and kids, my house and motor vehicles and my dignity. Two (2) weeks ago I got evicted from the rental home where I was staying and the little bit of furniture I had left was attached by the court for the non payment of medical bills not paid by CNA Global Insurance dating back over the last five (5) years. My medication that I need because of PTSD and the severe pain I experience, has not been paid for three months. My teeth are extensively damaged right down to the nerves due to grinding caused by the severe Post Traumatic Stress Disorder I am suffering from. My dental implants in front of my mouth have come loose and I have to secure them with super adhesive, this is extremely dangerous and toxic. All requests for medication and treatment have fallen on deaf ears. My night care giver was suspended for one (1) month because of a lack of payment. The night service has only been reinstated a short while ago. I am now five (5) years and one (1) month after my incident at the stage in my life where I have lost my wife and kids, my house and motor vehicles and my dignity. Two (2) weeks ago I got evicted from the rental home where I was staying and the little bit of furniture I had left was attached by the court for the non payment of medical bills not paid by CNA Global Insurance dating back over the last five (5) years. My medication that I need because of PTSD and the severe pain I experience, has not been paid for three months. My teeth are extensively damaged right down to the nerves due to grinding caused by the severe Post Traumatic Stress Disorder I am suffering from. My dental implants in front of my mouth have come loose and I have to secure them with super adhesive, this is extremely dangerous and toxic. All requests for medication and treatment have fallen on deaf ears. My night care giver was suspended for one (1) month because of a lack of payment. The night service has only been reinstated a short while ago. I am being sued by various medical practitioners, hospitals and pharmacies for +- 275 000 USD of outstanding bills, that the United States Department of Labor during November 2009 and on the 29th of June 2010 instructed not only Donna Sprags of CNA Global Insurance but also their attorney Mr. Roger Levy to be make current. At one stage the amount was 150 000 USD but because of the strengthening of the South African rand vs the USD as well as added interest on interest it has gone up to 275 000 USD, my credit has been revoked and I now must pay cash for everything I want and need and I cannot afford this. GUESS WHAT –NOTHING HAPPENED!! I HOPE DONNA SPRAGS, ROGER LEVY AND THE MANAGEMENT OF CNA GLOBAL INSURANCE CAN SLEEP COMFORTABLY AT NIGHT BECAUSE I SURE AS HELL CAN'T!! “” Daniel Brink 18 January 2011 See also South African Contractors in Iraq and Afghanistan Justice for Injured Contractors |
