In Copyright Since September 11, 2000 Help for Kaiser Permanente Patients on this public service web site. Permission is granted to mirror if credit to the source is given and the material is not offered for sale. PRIVACY POLICY  Download the Free KaiserPapers Tool Bar with Google Powered Search  |  ABOUT US |  CONTACT  |  WHY THE KAISERPAPERS  |  MCRC |  Why the thistle is used as a logo on these web pages. |   kaiserpapers.com/horror  

John Pellini - Victim of Kaiser Permanente - Hayward, California

He served our country during WWII.  He raised a family.  He worked hard all of his life and he trusted his medical HMO - Kaiser Permanente.  One morning he placed his foot up on his bed to tie his shoelaces and a pain in his leg.  It didn't go away so he went to Kaiser.  The pictures below show the gentle treatment he received in the hands of his medical provider.  The one that he once trusted.  Mr. Pellini said at one point after Kaiser had done this to him and they were avoiding the arbitration by creating numerous roadblocks said to his then attorney and family - "What are they waiting for?  For me to die?" As it turned out - it sure looks as if that is what they were doing.

mirrored for historical purposes from: http://cbs5.com/local/local_story_244205451.html

Sep 1, 2006 5:54 pm US/Pacific

NOTE:  Photographs are of Mr. Pellini while he was in the Kaiser Hospital.  Kaiser administration said his appearance was caused by rough handling by the staff.  The family of Mr. Pellini requested that we include these photographs with this historical mirroring of the story.  CBS5 did not air these photographs.

Hard Time For Kaiser Patients To Get Day In Court

Anna Werner Reporting

(CBS 5) Getting out of bed is hard for John Pellini. He can barely walk.

"The whole body, my shoulder my hands, everything aches," Pellini said.

He even needs help breathing. For John's family it's a 24/7 job.

"I feel guilty because I have always been the type of person to do things by myself," Pellini said. John's family said he could walk fine just over a year ago, when he checked into the emergency room at Kaiser in Hayward, complaining of a pain in his leg. A few days later, it became even worse.

"I heard code blue and I knew, I just knew it was my dad," John's daughter Teresa said. He was on life support and never fully recovered.

Teresa believes Kaiser injured her father. But seek­ing justice has been even harder than taking care of her dad.

"You put your whole life, your whole breath in it and you are just beaten down to the ground," Teresa said.

The Pellini's filed a complaint and are now going through Kaiser's mandatory arbitration system. Unlike other HMO's Kaiser doesn't follow national arbitration guidelines, but has crated its own set of rules. The Pellini's say under that system they have not been able to find an attorney to take their case.

Teresa volunteered to do the job herself but Kaiser's arbitrator said no. Even accusing her of a misdameanor for practicing law without a license.

"I think its an example of Kaiser acting like a bully and using everything within its arsenal to deprive this woman of a hearing," said attorney Cliff Palesfsky. He added it's not standard procedure.

The country's largest arbitration association, the AAA, does allow representation by a spokesperson of the patient's choosing.

"The arbitrator could very easily have allowed her to rep­re­sent a relative that was incapable of speaking," Palefsky said.

Meanwhile, the Pellini's asked for a continuance to renew their efforts finding an attorney, but their request was denied. "What you did to my father is wrong," Teresa said. "And you should pay for what you did to my father"

After CBS 5 contacted Kaiser, the HMO agreed to postpone John Pellini's hearing. And the arbitration oversight board will now consider allowing representation by family members. The hearing is set for later this month.

(© MMVI, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)

  Image is a cute parody of three little men.  

KAISER PAPERS