 |
 |
Dear Ivan, In your post in PD Digest, you describe an atrocious situation. I would hope that the NPF -- perhaps urged by vocal support of you by the listmembers -- would change its stance and reimburse you for your wasted, expensive, and important trip (assuming that your posted account of this siutation is correct and complete); or perhaps that they would consider (if mutually agreeable) a compromise by which they would finance, or co-finance, another trip for you (& your Aide) to see them. A few questions: Do you have any documentation (preferably in writing) providing evidence that NPF specifically had agreed -- BEFORE you traveled from Maine to see them -- that their doctor would meet with you at the scheduled date & time & location, and that NPF KNEW that you were flying down especially for that meeting? If you have nothing about this in writing from the NPF, do you at least perhaps have your OWN notes, on paper, jotted down when the appointment was being made? Or even the unerased tape from your answering-machine (if you have one) on which any of your discuissions with NPF might have been recorded? Can your CNA (or other persons you know) corroborate that NPF had made such an understanding with you, or even that you had clearly expressed a personally certainty as to NPF's agreement prior to when you embarked on the trip? In short, how much evidence, written or verbal, can you pull together to show that your decision to make that journey was indeed the result of a clear and definite agreement -- i.e., A WRITTEN OR VERBAL CONTRACT -- with NPF? And are you CERTAIN that you did NOT misunderstand or misinterpret what NPF had told you prior to your embarking on the trip to Florida? Might you have erred? Might there be anything that was communicated between you and the NPF, prior to your trip, that could have honestly lead them to believe that things were NOT quite as you have stated them to be? I am not a lawyer, but I would suspect that a good lawyer would ask you for this same information; and that if you can provide good evidentiary materials in your favor, he/she may well find that at the least a VERBAL CONTRACT -- which can be legally binding -- did exist. I further suspect that if such a contract did indeed exist, then -- if what you described in your post is the case -- a court may well rule that the NPF violated that contract, and that the NPF therefore must not only reimburse you for your travel-expenses but also for other related expenses as well, and that you might also be awarded additional monies for such things as "time lost" and "pain & suffering". But again, I am not a lawyer. That's why I suggest that you consult with one about this. You might also want to consult with the office of your Congressperson as well as of the Congressperson for the NPF's locality, as well as your State Attorney-General's Office and that of the one for Florida. At the least, they might be able to give you some guidance as to your rights. Don't give up the ship -- all is not lost! -- SS 9/5/97