Jun 19, 2016

This is the case. My case. The end/Final

It started summer 2014 and ended this week. Two years.

For those of you following me, you know I have been in a legal process with the City regarding my needs for assistance as I am physically restricted. The main part of the contentious issue has been regarding being assisted to my treatments twice a week. June 2014 my application was denied by the City and November I appealed to the Court of First Instance (Förvaltningsrätten). And lost. 

Although my lawyer and I had very little hope about a different outcome, we decided to go forward in the process, appealing to the Court of Second Instance (Kammarrätten). This happened in January 2015.

On Midsummer’s Eve 2015 I got to know the Court of Second Instance (Kammarrätten) approved my appeal, which means they were willing to look at the verdict from the Court of First Instance (Förvaltningsrätten)! Great news, there was something they were questioning and willing to look in to!

In November though, the verdict came. I lost. I was sure that was the end of it, so I had been told, but it turned out I could do one more appeal, to the Court of Third Instance, Högsta förvaltningsdomstolen.

My lawyer is just the sweetest person.  By that time he had put in I am sure at least 30 hours on me, only charging me for 5. And he still wanted to go forward. Would I be onboard? Of course I was! I am not a quitter, neither is he.

I need to explain my situation about the main issue. To survive this pain hell I am living I get treatments twice a week by a chiropractor. It will never cure me, but it gives me temporarily pain relief for some hours or some day. And without them I would get even worse.

Now, how the system works here in Sweden is that if I need treatments within the healthcare system I am allowed subsidized taxi and assistance to get where I need to be. But not so if the treatments are outside the healthcare system, private. Since I can’t find the help I need within the system I need to seek it outside, which not only makes it terribly expensive, it also means I am not allowed help to get myself there. And the latter is what I have been fighting for.

This is also a reason for my lawyer to fight. Because I am not the only one in Sweden with this problem. I am sorry to say, Bernie Sanders, but although we have a fine healthcare system, a lot of what we need isn’t within it. And when you are outside the box, you are really outside the box. You are on your own. And in this case I am on my own. And so are many with me.  And this is why my lawyer wanted to do the appeal to the Court of Third Instance, Högsta förvaltningsdomstolen. So, we did. Although we knew the chance for succeeding was minimal. 

The denial came Thursday. The Court of Third Instance, Högsta förvaltningsdomstolen, decided not to look at the verdict from Court of Second Instance, Kammarrätten. Which means I lost. 

This is what my lawyer tells me: normally a denial comes after only about a month. In this case they had been considering for six months. Which means they had been thinking long and hard. And unfortunately made the wrong decision.

I have been fighting quite a few battles in my life but never before a legal one.  It lasted for two years and now it’s over. I lost. And that’s the end of it.

Unless… I can come up with a way to change the law.




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