User:Stuntrek

This is my user page for Stuntrek. I have been in the movie industry for close to 35 years now. Though I have no children my Nephew Ritchie has decided to follow in my footsteps. Though not a stuntman, he is an Actor and is working his way up in the Industry.

I now know for 100% sure that my Health Plan (SAG-Producers Pension and Health) has stopped my Disability Pension payments deeming that I am NOT disabled....though I have been on Federal Disability since 2002, which was awarded to me while I was living with my Parents in Saranac Lake, NY due to my then physical impairments received as a stuntwoman. SSDI had originally turned me down and I was going to appeal their decision, I already had Jack Piller (attorney from Plattsburgh, NY) hired to due the appeal (a date was even set) but then I had my first "nervous breakdown", which I now know comes from my Traumatic Brain Injury that was undiagnosed at that time. None of the medical help that my Father took me to ever looked for a TBI, they only wanted to treat me for depression. In all fairness, (not that they would have used it) there are no SPECT Scan machines in the North Country. An MRI or CAT Scan would have missed my TBI.

I was in and out of three different hospitals for my depression, finally I was home with my Parents and a Friend of mine who was the President of the Local Star Trek Fan Club asked me if I would like to go to Ticonderoga where they were filming Fan Video of their own version of Star Trek. Jim Lowe thought that being among Star Trek Friends would help me come out of my depression. I did have fun and enjoyed being with other people that loved Star Trek that I would come back and visit my Parents and also drive down to help them film other episodes by giving them suggestions on how to do a "stunt" without hurting themselves. I was never paid by them and I paid my own airfare back to Saranac Lake because I was VISITING my Parents. The SAG-Producer Pension and Health is now using this against me saying that I was actively seeking EMPLOYMENT as a stunt coordinator while I was declaring myself disabled to them, so now they want over $132,000.00 back plus stopping my Pension Payments.

Back to Jack Piller, it took a year but I did finally have the SSDI Appeal hearing a year later and the Judge immediately granted me my FEDERAL Disability. The only thing was in his "approval" letter in the findings section he only mentioned the "Depression". That was SAG excuse for only giving me my Disability Pension but NOT the Health Plan that goes along with Occupational Disability Pension and Health. It is SAG's feelings that you can not get depression from injuries on the set....I guess their Staff, Doctor and Trustees have not read about the NFL Players or the Soldiers that have suffered TBIs. Actually they probably have because I have proof that 1) even before my hearing they had already emailed their Lawyers telling them that they wanted to deny me my Occupational Disability because they feared there would be more in the Stunt Community that would qualify then in my own hearing before the Trustees (many who did not like me due to my advocacy in the 80s when I was on the SAG Board of Directors and they were either Staff, Executive Directors or one of them was a Member of the National Stunt and Safety Committee that I was the Chair of) also stated that they did not want me to get Occupational Disability Pension and Health due to the fact that other stuntpeople would also qualify

Real quickly Social Security in their computers does list my bad back....so that means SAG Health never investigated my case. I have never been physical seen or examined by their "Expert Doctor" originally or the outside "Expert Doctors" (after the case was overturned)

All I am saying this newest move on their part is vindictive and now they are trying to punish me further because I am fighting what is rightfully due me. They misrepresented my case to a Lower Court Judge (5 years ago) who then ruled in their favor. My Lawyer was able to have a Higher Court overturn the case because the lower court was WRONG!!!! Now a new Judge has been assigned but does not even know whether I am disabled?!?! He would't even listen to the case until "both sides submit all their paperwork".....why would SAG want to do that??? There is no advantage to them to have this case heard....delaying is to their advantage. My Lawyer wet back up to the Higher Court and was told "they do not want to hear about this until the lower court judge makes a ruling" So here I am with a Judge that will NOT listen to my case and a Health Plan that has taken away my Pension that I need every month just so that I can pay my mortgage and other monthly bills.

Junior Seau committed suicide KTLA brought in Dr. Michael Uszler to talk about TBIs. It is this same Doctor that did one of my two SPECT Scans and diagnosed me with my TBI.