‘Arrogant’ ACC
Family’s battle after girl loses eye
The family of a little girl who lost an eye from a treatment injury are fighting ACC for the compensation they believe their daughter is due.
On top of the trauma of facing the fact Annabelle will only be able to view life through her right eye, the Taupo family are battling ACC for an extra payment they say was promised once her left eye was removed.
Alex and Maria Geisler say they have lost confidence in ACC’s process for determining impairment levels after receiving two contradictory assessments of their daughter.
Annabelle Geisler, now 3, was diagnosed with congenital glaucoma when she was a week old.
Since then, the cheerful little girl has had more than 25 operations as doctors try to control the pressure in her eyes.
In a bid to fix her more problematic left eye, a tube was inserted to help drain it in January last year. But nine months later the tube eroded and led to Annabelle going blind in that eye.
ACC accepted a claim lodged by the Auckland District Health Board which, in its letter, labelled it a rare phenomenon.
A medical expert contracted by ACC met Annabelle when she still had her left eye that was shrinking, discoloured and slowly changing shape.
She assessed the tot to give an understanding of their treatment and rehabilitation needs and a whole body impairment rating was issued.
The Geislers then received what they view as a “pretty abysmal” payout, but were buoyed by the assessor’s advice that they would be eligible for more money after Annabelle had the eye removed as the impairment would be greater.
But a different expert, who conducted a second assessment in July this year, found the original calculation was incorrect and the impairment rating was not as bad as first stated.
“He said to us, ‘if I [had] done your original review you would have got a lesser payout’,” Alex said.
“He said, ‘we are not going to ask you for your money back, but . . . it was bit of a blessing for you guys’ that he didn’t do the first one.”
The Geislers are now challenging the second report, which they say was riddled with mistakes and made conclusions based on an out-of-date ophthalmology report.
The two assessors were also at odds about whether Annabelle’s right eye should have been included in the assessment.
“This guy who knows nothing about eyes said she is going to be able to wear glasses and it’s going to get better and commenting on all of this and we have a letter from the surgeon saying it’s not going to get better even with glasses,” Alex said.
The Geislers complained to ACC about the different assessments and the second report was changed to correct the names of the surgeries.
An ACC spokesperson said there could be variations in assessments of complex injuries done by different medical experts. This was why ACC carried out a peer review process seeking advice from both assessors.
In response to why the Geislers had been promised a bigger payout as a result of Annabelle needing her eye removed, the spokesperson said the family were advised a reassessment could result in a higher or lower impairment rating.
“The role of the review specialist is to consider the decision that has been made, review all information available and consider a way forward. If the review specialist deems the original decision was incorrect, they will take steps to amend it.”
ACC acknowledged Annabelle’s parents were frustrated with the outcome of the assessments.
“We continue to support Annabelle with her treatment and rehabilitation needs,” the spokesperson said.
“We’ll also remain in touch with Annabelle’s parents as the review progresses.”
This guy who knows nothing about eyes said . . . it’s going to get better. Alex Geisler, Annabelle’s dad