Chapter 17: The Rating Board

Joan left full duty on January 7, 1987 to work with her doctors and heal herself. She found that she really needed this time off not only physically but emotionally. Every day, while at work, she felt the stress of being accused of trying to pull something!. This time off gave her relief from that also.

During the next 6 months, she was treated by an osteopath and a dentist who worked together to stabilize her condition known as Tempero-Mandibular Joint Dysfunction. Also, she was seen by an internist and a neurologist to rule out other possibilities. No doctor suggested that her symptoms were from anything other than from the original accident, negating the State Police Surgeon, Dr. Murphy's, opinion it was from a virus. She was at a doctors' office up to five days a week. The dentist worked with her in between osteopathic visits as she was fitted for a splint to keep her jaw aligned. She was always to wear it.

In July, she was feeling confident she had accumulated enough information to prove without a doubt her current condition was related to the accident. She prepared an extensive report inclusive of all doctor's reports, x-rays, diagnosis and prognosis. She asked that her time off be converted to "injury leave" which would provide back pay to January 7 and help with the rising medical bills and living expenses incurred during this time.

On July 8, she submitted her report to the MSP "Board On Claims." State Police Surgeon Dr Murphy and two State Police Majors comprised this decision making Board under Massachusetts General Law Chapter 32 Section 26. On July 17, she received a letter stating that her request was denied due to insufficient documentation showing a relationship between the cruiser accident and her current symptoms. She was devastated. She truly believed her report would end the battle. Unfortunately, this was the same State Police Surgeon who had given her so much trouble earlier and was the only doctor to sit on the Rating Board.

She remembered a story Dr Murphy had shared with her around 1980. She was telling him about a former trooper who had given her a hard time. Dr Murphy stated, "Oh, Yes, we gave him disability retirement...that's how we take care of our troublemakers." She thought, "I had a legitimate claim and couldn't even get injured leave."

The MSP Rating Board would be used repeatedly by the State Police to assure denial of her benefits. Somehow, she just kept thinking that if she continued to be truthful it would all work out. However, other state officials had let Joan know they were aware of the MSP abuse of this statute.

From this point on, Joan realized that the truth was simply irrelevant!!!