Limin Wang\'s WC Case: Objection to BCF’s fee application of bey

Limin Wang's WC Case: Objection to BCF’s fee application of beyond the $500
already awarded
June 12, 2019
by Limin Wang

The following letter was submitted to the New York State Workers' 
Compensation Board in two electronic ways, but it has not been shown up in 
the WCB eCase folder yet. The other file I submitted at the same time did 
show up. However, the eCase folder also has a very brief-contented ECF-16.1C
with a time line of 6-10-19 10:51 am. That's the time I had actually just 
arrived at the hearing site and was talking to the reception desk personnel.
The decision made was once again not protecting my benefits by not 
providing the needed real medical examination and treatment and financial 
compensation.

What justice I can get from such a crooked system? For any one who is 
interested in matters of work injury, workers' compensation case, and 
justice, you are invited to read the following letter.

June 10, 2019, Mon
NYS Workers’ Comp Board
PO Box 5205
Binghamton, NY 13902-5205

Re: Objection to BCF’s fee application of beyond the $500 already awarded

Dear WCB Officers,

Bangel, Cohen & Falconetti, LLP (BCF, 91-31 Queens Blvd, Suite 400, Elmhurst
, NY 11373. Ph# 718-446-4400, Fax# [phone]) states that they only 
handle workers’ compensation cases. After filling in their online free 
consultation form on Feb. 13, 2018, the next day I got the phone call from 
BCF about the details and was then invited to go to BCF the same morning. A 
significant portion of time there was for me to fill up the two-page 
questionnaire and then to wait. Then I was brought in to Mr. Matthew T. 
Swansen. There was not much talking. Mr. Swansen added something to the C-3 
I already filed with WCB, filled in the retainer and appearance form OC-400,
and we signed the OC-400. Without me requesting so, Mr. Swansen wanted to 
replace the two medical clinics (WCB-authorized at least at then) I already 
had a medical visit to each. Then BCF senior paralegal Ms. Carolina A. 
Faraglia placed phone calls to set up appointments with Dr. Mehrdad Golzad (
New York City Medical & Neurological Offices, PC (NYCMNO), 91-31 Queens Blvd
, Suite 601, Elmhurst, NY 11373. Ph# 718-454-2222) on that day and with Dr. 
Jacob Sadigh (New York Medical & Diagnostic Center (NYMDC), 80-46 Kew 
Gardens Rd., 2nd Floor, Kew Gardens, NY 11415. Ph# 718-261-1000) the next 
morning. These two referred treating clinics have turned out to bring some 
serious problems to me, including the medical record issues.
 

The attorney-client relationship did not even start well. On Feb. 20, 2018, 
when I was scheduling the MRIs (prescribed by NYMDC) with Neighborhood 
Radiology (92-37 Metropolitan Ave., Forest Hills, NY 11375. Ph# 718-571-9900
; the prescription form is Neighborhood’s), Ms. Rose at Neighborhood said 
the 1) the insurance denied the MRIs; 2) BCF eventually answered after her 
multiple failed calls that BCF would not support my injuries and would not 
represent my case. That same day, I called BCF twice, and I couldn’t reach 
Mr. Swansen or his paralegal.
 

Then, how BCF represents my interests can be largely reflected from the four
hearings (Mar. 12; Jun. 21; Aug. 07, 2018; and Feb. 01, 2019). The files in
the case folder can reflect somewhat too. Since the first three hearings 
had honored BCF’s fee requests and deducted them from the temporary 
compensation to me, I would just reveal in specifics about what happened 
after the Aug. 07, 18 hearing.
 

On Aug. 13, 2018, BCF paralegal Ms. Jessica Morris emailed me with two brief
questions, “(1) Are you interested in settling your claim? (2) Are your 
currently receiving or have you applied for Social Security disability.” I 
immediately answered not now to Q.1 and no to Q.2. Then nothing was heard 
back until Oct. 2018.
 

On Oct. 16, 2018, BCF settlement director Ms. Donna K. Hengel left me a 
voicemail. I called back on the same day, but the phone couldn’t reach to 
Ms. Hangel, and BCF couldn’t answer it’s about what. However, on Oct. 18, 
2018, I got a regular mail from BCF (the second of the only two postal mails
from BCF to me up to today Jun. 10, 2019) which simply says “We have been 
trying to contact you regarding your Workers’ Compensation case but have 
not been able to speak with you. Please call our office when you receive 
this letter, thank you.” I then called on Oct. 18, 2018, and finally knew 
it’s about what content. Ms. Hengel first said it requires me to resign 
from that employment for the settlement to start. She answered me that it’s
the employer’s request. I was furious to learn such demand on me. The 
employer is the direct party in this premeditated coordinated murder attempt
on my life in my Jan. 16, 2018 falling, and soon afterwards the employer 
was taunting me by instructing me to set up a new employee account on a 
website similar to the old one by using my old account’s password. I was 
never able to set up such a new account, and the employer never solved that 
new account problem. Additionally, BCF once again dodged the real murder 
cause of the “work accident”, and BCF didn’t answer me what’s in the 
proposed settlement.
 

The events around and on the Feb. 01, 2019 hearing precipitate the 
termination of attorney-client relationship. On Jan. 25, 2019, a gentleman 
from BCF called to remind me of the coming hearing date and time, to tell me
BCF themselves don’t know who would represent me that day, to tell that I 
should be there 15 mins earlier,  and to ask when were most recent visits to
my treating physicians. I clearly told him the Jan. 14, 2019 visit to Dr. 
Mehrdad Golzad (neurologist at NYCMNO) and his PA, and the Jan. 16, 2019 
visit to Dr. Benjamin Uh (orthopedist at NYMDC). On Jan. 29, 2019, I called 
BCF to ask to talk with the attorney who would represent me on my case. The 
reception lady said it’s Mr. Jeffery Feldman but proposed the phone 
transfer to paralegal Mr. Craig Bowe. I told her to just pass the message 
about my today’s (Jan. 29, 2019) visit to Dr. Appasaheb Naik (told as pain 
management neurologist at NYMDC, but listed as Surgery at WCB website). Dr. 
Naik said he would check only on my left shoulder, left elbow, and left 
wrist, but nowhere else. My spine injury was as if so unknown to him. I 
asked BCF to write me an email to tell me which body sites are established 
and which others are still disputed in this case. The receptionist confirmed
my email address on their system. Later, I never got the email or answer on
it. On Jan. 31, 2019, I had a missed call from BCF whose voice message was 
somehow high in electronic noise. The male voice, probably of Mr. Craig Bowe
, said Dr. Golzad’s office said my last visit there was in October 2018. I 
called BCF back on Jan. 31, 2019, and I told Mr. Craig Bowe that I had a 
visit to Dr. Mehrdad Golzad’s office on Jan. 14, 2019, and I told some 
details. The physician assistant was so rude and treated me as an idiot with
no knowledge at all. The seeing almost went to an argument, and then Dr. 
Golzad was brought by her to see me. On Feb. 01, 2019, at the Jamaica, NY 
WCB site, Mr. Feldman came to the waiting room to ask me when was the time I
last visited the treating doctors. I told the three visits (Jan. 14, 16, 
and 29, 2019) to three different specialty doctors. Mr. Feldman’s attitude 
and questioning techniques are not nice to me the client. Mr. Feldman told 
me there wasn’t any new medical record and they would stop the payment. 
That conversation last only a couple of minutes. In the hearing room, I 
straightened the twisted story from the defendant attorney about the Jan. 03
, 2019 IME at Dr. William B. Head, Jr. office. The judge’s decision was 
already made to suspend the compensation for the injured worker to produce 
medical evidence. I wasn’t given a good chance to talk about the recent 
medical visits. Mr. Feldman defended nothing at all for me by not even 
mentioning my actual medical visits. On the contrary, Mr. Feldman used a 
scolding voice and body language to urge me out of the hearing room. The 
total hearing last about ten minutes, and afterwards I talked with Mr. 
Feldman for a minute or two before parting. Later, I found some medical 
reports of the Jan. 2019 visits were shown on the WCB eCase folder in the 
afternoon of the Feb. 01, 2019 hearing day. Dr. Mehrdad Golzad’s office 
answered me that they emailed the medical report of the Jan. 14, 2019 visit 
before Feb. 01, 2019. In the afternoon of Feb. 01, 2019, when I emailed 
questioning Mr. Matthew T. Swansen whether BCF still represents me, 
paralegal Mr. Craig Bowe at 4:41pm that day emailed the Jan. 14, 2019 
medical report to [e-mail] and copied to me. I don’t 
know what that email address stands for. Among the so many insurances or 
third party administrator (TPA) brought up in this case, I only have learned
by myself that Strategic Outsourcing Inc is supposed to be the Professional
Employment Organization, and TPA Cannon Cochran Management Services (CCMSI)
, Inc contacted me and mailed the temporary compensation checks, although 
CCMSI isn’t so responsive to me. I waited till Feb. 15th, 2019, and I didn
’t see the difference from the compensation suspension, so I finalized the 
termination of attorney-client relationship from me the client’s side. Mr. 
Matthew T. Swansen was the one initiated the idea of termination of attorney
-client relationship during the Feb. 01, 2019 email exchanges. In other 
words, it is a mutual termination of attorney-client relationship with 
mutual agreement. On the April 05, 2019 hearing, the WCLJ forced me to 
answer only yes or no to his question whether I fired my attorney. I was 
reluctant to answer that way, and I have been slow in thinking and 
responding with traumatic brain injury. At here, I put forward the detailed 
facts.
 

Till today, Jun 10, 2019, CCMSI has sent me only one SROI, and it’s in June
2018. I checked the WCB eCase, and I found the insurance’s other SROIs in 
this eCase were gone after the termination of attorney-client relationship. 
These previous SROIs state that a lot more than what I actually received had
been paid, but not much of the medical bills had been paid. Why and how 
those SROIs disappeared?
 

I looked at the numbers shown on the OC-400.1 for fee application of $12,000
by BCF, and the hour numbers. I think they are extremely exaggerated, and 
the actual numbers have a significant dilatory factor. BCF even charges for 
their service on my brief contacts because of their own non-terminating 
intervening in this case after the Feb. 15, 2019 formal termination of 
attorney-client relationship. BCF’s services have already been paid with 
that $500 awarded. It’s not a personal injury case, and it has not 
progressed well on many aspects.
 

I have been asking for nothing inhumane but justice and recovery to my 
ruined health and capability.
 

Very truly yours,

Limin Wang
Injured Worker & Claimant