Injured worker slams ACC

A Masterton man denied ACC payments after a spinal injury forced him from work says the system is failing.
Seeds and Cereals storeman Mark Foster has been without pay for over a month following surgery to fix a crushed nerve in his spine on November 22.
ACC says the injury is degenerative, which neither Mr Foster nor his employer accepts.
He is due back at work on January 10, pending clearance from his doctor, but in the meantime is having to go through a painful recovery while supporting his partner Teresa and their son Anton, 15, and daughter Abigail, 11.
He said ACC should be paying him 80 per cent of his salary, but instead he has been left to fend for himself.
"Stress-wise it's been really, really bad on me. Coming out of an operation and having to worry about everything," he said.
"It's not even really the money side, it's the stress. We're better off than a lot of people but with Christmas coming up and with the bills and the stress."
Mr Foster, 46, has been working as a storeman for the last two years, running machinery and lifting up to eight tonnes of seedbags each week.
In October 2009, he started experiencing chest pains, numbness in his hand and dizziness, and was referred to the Wairarapa Hospital by his doctor.
The initial diagnosis was a pulled muscle on the left side of his neck, and he was told to go back to work and see a physiotherapist.
The chest pains and numbness continued, but an MRI scan at Wellington Hospital in March showed a compressed nerve at the top of his spine.
A Wellington surgeon recommended surgery, and last month he spent three hours under the knife to correct it.
Mr Foster said the injury was work related, and said this was exactly why he paid his ACC levy.
"We're not after charity and we don't want a payout. We just want the system to work."
ACC director of clinical services Kevin Morris said there were a number of facts in the medical report, such as a long history of pain, that indicated Mr Foster's condition was degenerative.
He said the medical report from the neurosurgery department at Wellington Hospital stated that the client "has chronic neck pain ... which has been present for many years".
It also showed that Mr Foster's pain was on both sides of his neck which was inconsistent with a workplace accident.
"ACC's role is to cover injury as a result of an accident and it's our responsibility to provide care and rehabilitation in the event of an injury. We do not cover degenerative or pre-existing conditions."
He said there was a free review system available to ACC clients should Mr Foster pursue it.
Masterton ACC and employment barrister Jills Angus Burney, who represents Mr Foster, said the system was flawed.
"These are people who pay their taxes and pay their ACC levy, and what we're asking is treatment like any other New Zealander would. They're not asking for anything more."
She said if Mr Foster had continued to work he would have "done himself permanent injury", but said the medical assessors at ACC had never met him.
"ACC have a panel who make technical assessments about claims, they don't meet the people.
"I don't understand the ethics of a situation where an employer accepts [the injury] and encourages him to take the time off and encourages him to take the surgery, and then he's left with no pay."
Seeds and Cereals general manager Bruce Tocher said his employee had been "dealt a rough deal".
He said he believed Mr Foster's injuries were a result of work, either in Masterton or at a previous job.
He said the company was looking forward to getting its employee back next year.
"Mark's a good worker, he's reliable and we value his input. It would certainly be disappointing to us if he didn't come back."