Ftca Claim / Bay Pines,fla./ Need Help Elders?

[william n]

the lawyer has requested a meeting on 12/10/07..how should i prepare??what should i expect? thanks, william

[william n]

If I was going to meet a VA Lawyer I would take a recorder with me. I would prepare a written statement. I would answer questions with short answers but be very specific on how I was injured. I would ask to be treated fairly and with compassion. I would also take a witness preferably an attorney.

From reading your posts on Hadit I think that you are up to this. One last thing is if I did not want to answer a question I would say I don't recall or I don't know like all the crooks do who work for the Government.

Good Luck

its agreed,, i will follow the advice of those who walked before me.will there be any rejection to my recorder and if there is??should i tell him i have a poor memory??suggestions? thanks, william n

[Josephine]

its agreed,, i will follow the advice of those who walked before me.will there be any rejection to my recorder and if there is??should i tell him i have a poor memory??suggestions? thanks, william n

Williamn,

Being that you are not going for a C&P examination, I see no reason why a lawyer would object to a recorder.

This is for your records.

Just pretend that you are in court and that your recorder is the court reporter.

Keeping notes for you.

Always,

Josephine

(Betty)

[john999]

I agree with what Speaking Out is saying. If they have a lawyer you should have one. You don't go to a gunfight with a kitchen knife.

[carlie]

William,

Can you clarify what your Tort Claim is for ?

carlie

[william n]

williamn,

I am assuming that the meeting is about the medical malpractice and not the missing records.

I am wondering if this meeting is actually the Adverse Event Disclosure meeting you have been asking for and not a settlement meeting. Check the letter for any reference to adverse events.

As I have said in my PM responses, I believe an attorney is necessary in either case and that you should attend either.

The advice given in the posts here is right on the money.

The only things I could add are:

Go prepared with prewritten questions that YOU want to ask them. Then ask them in the meeting. If not, it will be a one way street.

Ask for copies of any documents they refer to in the meeting--most especially any expert opinion(s). They are part of your medical records and you are legally entitled to them. It they refer to specific regulations ask for a copy of them. If they refer to VA policies, ask for a copy of them.

As to taping conversations in Florida:

Fla. Stat. ch. 934.03: All parties must consent to the recording or the disclosure of the contents of any wire, oral or electronic communication in Florida. Recording or disclosing without the consent of all parties is a felony, unless the interception is a first offense committed without any illegal purpose, and not for commercial gain, or the communication is the radio portion of a cellular conversation. Such first offenses and the interception of cellular communications are misdemeanors. State v. News-Press Pub. Co., 338 So. 2d 1313 (1976), State v. Tsavaris, 394 So. 2d 418 (1981).

Under the statute, consent is not required for the taping of a non-electronic communication uttered by a person who does not have a reasonable expectation of privacy in that communication. See definition of "oral communication," Fla. Stat. ch. 934.02.

Anyone whose communications have been illegally intercepted may recover actual damages or $100 for each day of violation or $1,000, whichever is greater, along with punitive damages, attorney fees and litigation costs. Fla. Stat. ch. 934.10. A federal appellate court has held that because only interceptions made through an "electronic, mechanical or other device" are illegal under Florida law, telephones used in the ordinary course of business to record conversations do not violate the law. The court found that business telephones are not the type of devices addressed in the law and, thus, that a life insurance company did not violate the law when it routinely recorded business-related calls on its business extensions. Royal Health Care Servs., Inc. v. Jefferson-Pilot Life Ins. Co., 924 F.2d 215 (11th Cir. 1991).

If and when you answer questions, do so clearly and concisely. Don't exagerate, don't embellish, and don't lie. On the otherhand, don't volunteer any information either.

Good luck and keep us posted on what transpired at the meeting.

correct..this pertains to the malpractice and negligence suit.has a gesture of good faith i withdrew the "privacy act" action once the records were located and my NSC Pension was approved in 3 hours. how could i remain upset! that St. Pete Times reporter did an amazing thing for me..this Tort Claim has named 13 defendants and 2 more yesterday after they refused to refill my primary doctors prescription.they told me they could'nt because they were narcotics and i have an opoid agreement,WRONG..no agreement and i went 9 days without pain relief till my doctor got back at Bay Pines..it truly is madness.. jim, i will agree with your instructions...no reason to embellish,the proof is right in front of them[records,dates,etc,.]the lawyer says he's waiting on the expert opinion to come back from [atlanta,Ga.] on my records/allegations.meanwhile i will bring a copy of my claim and when asked a question i will read the answer from what i already stated in the claim,verbatim..yes/no?? thanks ,william n.

Edited December 4, 2007 by williamn

[Speaking Out]

I urge you to get an attorney, but you've gotten some good advice here on how to handle yourself in the meeting if you choose to go alone. Please let us know the name of the doctor the VA uses from Atlanta for their IMO. A doctor out of Atlanta was who the VA used in my case. Have you thought of taking that reporter from the St. Pete Times with you to this meeting? Maybe you got lucky and the media attention early in your case has motivated the VA to settle this with you. I hope that is the case!