My doctor's office refused to fill out official paperwork certifying their diagnosis, and I got denied...?

Question

I recently lost my job due to illness, and I needed certification from my doctor that I actually WAS sick to get unemployment. My boyfriend is my caretaker, and I had signed releases of ALL of my medical information (receiving and/or dropping off) so I sent him to take care of everything at the doctor's office. He went to my doctor's office and requested they fill out the portion of the unemployment paperwork that was required to be filled out by my doctor. The secretary there (I learned this one was very unprofessional) took my paperwork and stated it would be about $150 to get the paperwork filled out ($40/page, and there were multiple partial pages). He contested that, saying that it was GOVERNMENT paperwork, etc, etc, but eventually broke down and basically said 'whatever, charge me for it, just get it done' because we NEEDED it completed and the due date was rapidly approaching. He left the papers with her under the assumption that they would get filled out. The day before it was due I still hadn't heard back, so I sent my boyfriend/caretaker to pick up the forms thinking they just didn't call me to let me know. When he got there, the same secretary was there. She said the forms had not been completed (they were dropped off AT LEAST 5 days ago). At that point we had no other choice, we were going to have to send it in without the doctor's certification, so he requested to get the forms back. She REFUSED to give the forms BACK, stating 'she couldn't release that information to him because I needed to sign a release form'. ?!?!?!?!?!?!?!? He drove all of the way back home where I was resting, and I signed ANOTHER release form IDENTICAL to the one I completed when I started service with them. He immediately drove BACK to the doctor's office, handed in the duplicate release forms, and recovered the unemployment forms. We mailed in the forms, and a few weeks later I got a determination letter from the unemployment office stating that I was denied solely because I didn't have doctor's certification. Please note that this is a psychiatrist's office that generally has sooner appointments available then most, and it took me 2 months to even get an appointment there to begin with, so I can't just go to a different doctor's office.
Can I sue my doctor's office for refusing to fill out the forms, causing me to be unable to get ALL KINDS of assistance? I can't even make claims for my various kinds of insurances that I'VE BEEN PAYING FOR because I got denied unemployment.
It's not that I just want free money either (I had actually let it go until my insurance claims started getting denied), but I've worked FT jobs ALL of my adult life and paid a mountain of Social Security taxes. Everyone basically knows that we'll never see any of that money we've worked for, so I think I am entitled to assistance (or the services I paid for) when I'm in-between jobs and need a little help.

Answer 1

Sorry but you're only entitled to those benefits if you foll'd all the procedures, jumped thru the hoops, etc. required as a precondition to obtaining them. Hindsight: You should have written doc a letter explaining the documentation only he could prepare by a certain deadline to allow you to apply for unemployment benefits. You would think these guys do this often enough that they'd get it right but, alas, personal instructions are invariably required. You have to tell people what you want. Every time. It's actually better that way. Unless BF has a power of atty, it's not so wrong of doc not to release certain info. They have insurance requirements that supercede everything. Write doc a letter explaining what happened and what's now required of him for the appeal you'll no doubt make. Frustrating, I know, but there is really no way to offload these obligations even when we're sick. And benefits don't accumulate in a fund for us while we're working just waiting for us to need them. The rules of accessing the benefits that form deductions on our pay checks change as frequently as the rules regarding their management. Best advice now is to review the rules and procedures involved in an appeal of that decision.

Answer 2

Doctors Paperwork

Answer 3

You can appeal the UI decision. Your doctor's failure to provide the forms is a perfectly acceptable reason to appeal.



Once you have a new deadline/determination date, have your boyfriend go back to the Dr. with a bank draft for $150.00 and the forms, together with a release signed by you and a letter signed by you stating the urgency of the matter and the deadline.

Answer 4

One dr not filling out one form, has little to no effect on you getting SSDI.



In what state do you live that you receive unemployment bc you can't work due to illness? In every state I know that's a bar to collecting.



And no, you can't collect from the drs office bc you feel entitled.

Answer 5

talk to a lawyer about the situation