Posted on 09/10/2011 4:54:45 PM PDT by WesternCulture
Even though ten years have passed since Fredrik Jansson from Skellefteå in northern Sweden had his leg amputated, he must still prove his leg hasn't grown back in order to keep his disabled parking permit.
“It is ridiculous to say the least. It defies all common sense,” Jansson told The Local.
Eleven years ago, Jansson was forced to have his leg amputated after a long battle with cancer.
Despite the fact that it is unlikely his condition will get better, he regularly has to prove to local authorities that he has enough trouble walking to need a disabled parking permit.
“I go down to Umeå once every three years and have a doctor establish my leg is still gone,“ he said.
According to Jansson the trip makes him lose a day's wages as well as using up a medical appointment someone else might have been more in need of.
But according to the local authorities, the medical certificate is necessary in order to establish who needs a permit and who can manage without, as there are a limited number of disabled parking spaces in the area.
“It is really difficult for us to judge these things and that is why we need the medical recommendation,“ said traffic administrator Annica Persson from Skellefteå municipality to The Local.
She also pointed out that there are very many prosthetic aids for those lacking limbs today, which also makes it difficult for laymen to know who can manage without a permit and who can't.
For Jansson, however, a prosthetic leg is not an option.
But even if it was, he doesn't think he would manage without a disabled parking permit if he was trying to carry shopping bags, manage crutches, and forced to walk some distance to his car.
But according to Persson the authorities are not allowed to take carrying groceries into consideration.
“We are only allowed to make our judgement from the person's ability to walk,” she said.
However, Persson also said that it is in fact possible for the authorities to make an exception from the rule and use the same medical note twice, provided the certificate has enough information in it.
She also said that using it more than two times would probably not be possible, or the certificate would be considered outdated.
“But even so, the actual application for the permit still has to be handed in every three years,“ Persson said.
Jansson understands that it is not in fact Persson and the local authority that make up the rules, but he still thinks that it is ridiculous that the permit has to be renewed so often.
“It's not like my leg is going to grow back,” he told The Local.
Well the politicos probably need the spaces/permits for their friends...
Yes, you will if you do things “legally” My father was electrocuted on the job and lost both his hands. We sent pictures but still had to have his doctor certify that they hadn’t grown back. On the other hand, we all figure we got our Social Security benefit through him as he collected for 41 years. He wanted to go to work, but would have lost both his ss and union disablity checks if he had tried.
Of all tyrannies, a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. It would be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron's cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated; but those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end for they do so with the approval of their own conscience.- C.S. Lewis
This happened to my hubby- right here in the U.S.A. He lost an arm in Vietnam and a few years ago when the government decided to audit old VA claims he was one of the first ones to get a notice. The notice said he had to report to a VA facility over 200 miles from us to be evaluated to see if his medical condition had improved. He called the VA and asked them if anyone had even bothered to open his file to see what his medical issues were. He shortly got a letter saying his evaluatiion had been canceled. Many people raised a fuss about them going back over old cases when they were so far behind processing new claims for the recent wounded so the whole deal was canceled shortly after that. I was so angry I had planned to call and see if I could get a TV station to report that the VA wanted to see if his arm grew back.
Here’s another Monty Python piece with an amputated leg.
From Jabberwocky starting at about 4:30 or so.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4huQ9rg1kw8
It’s a reasonable procedure. One could have a leg amputated,
then applied for the generous benefits, and finally have the leg
re-attached. Today’s technology can do wonders.
I must admit that I’ve done similar things in my otherwise
colourful history. Free money’s free money!
The gravy train rolls on!
It happens here the US too. My mom has MS and has had it for 22 years (she’s 73). Every two years we have to go to the state with a doctors note to get her placard renewed. We’re in Illinois by the way.
She also pointed out that there are very many prosthetic aids for those lacking limbs today, which also makes it difficult for laymen to know who can manage without a permit and who can't. The title is misleading. It's not about proving if the leg grew back, it's about deciding if his condition is diabling giving that he can use a prosthetic and that prosthetic technology is improving.
I would also point out if he is dibilitated where he can't walk very well, maybe he should be recertified to drive with that dibilitating leg.
Of course, it seems ridiculous. It’s more humorous than anything.
When I lived in the Czech Republic, there was an investigatory arm of the Health Ministry, which I dubbed the “Sick Police”. One time, my ex-wife had a couple of birthmarks removed which she and her doctor had concerns could be potentially cancerous (they weren’t, thank heavens), including one directly under her bra strap. It was considered necessary preventative outpatient surgery, so no problems with coverage.
She took about one and half weeks off work for recovery; 5 days into it, the “Sick Police” showed up to make sure she was indeed genuinely recuperating at home. The visit only took less than 10 minutes, and as she explained to me, it was to ensure that people weren’t goldbricking and scamming the system. It was unique for me at the time, so this story sounds like the Swedish version of it. Incidentally, the Czech health system covered (I don’t know if it still does) house calls for the infirm. I never used it myself, but it was ok as far as centralized health systems go....the total wait time from request to approval for my ex-wife’s outpatient treatment was 10 days.
I’m a typical enough guy......I only go to the doctor (or dentist) when I’m truly ill or in pain.
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