MPI adding financial insult to life-altering injuries, says man recovering from devastating motorcycle crash

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This article was published 07/03/2024 (594 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A Winnipegger who was seriously injured in a crash last summer says the stress of his long recovery is being compounded by MPI’s handling of his medication and medical equipment coverage.

Dan Léveillé suffered life-altering injuries, including multiple broken bones that required surgery, when he was hit by an alleged impaired driver in Elmwood on June 14.

Léveillé was driving his motorcycle to work when a minivan turned into his path. He hit the van’s windshield and was thrown onto to the road. Among other fractures, his pelvis was split open, his tailbone sheared off and his right knee had to be reconstructed in two surgeries.

He suffered nerve damage in his leg that may not heal, so although he’s getting physically stronger, Léveillé expects he’ll always have residual pain and will need an assistive device to walk. His doctors and surgeons have told him his physical rehabilitation could take another six months to a year.

“Friends of mine are shocked that I’m A, alive (and) B, not paralyzed,” said Léveillé. “So I am a lucky person.”

He was discharged from hospital Jan. 29, seven months after the crash. But dealing with Manitoba Public Insurance has been a battle, he said.

“It’s been absolutely horrible,” Léveillé said. “The stress that this causes makes me sick, because we are left spending an inordinate amount of our time battling the agency.”

The Crown corporation hasn’t covered the cost of all of the prescription medication and medical equipment Léveillé needs. Because he can no longer work, he receives an income supplement. Rather than provide coverage for painkillers, Léveillé said MPI staff have questioned why he still needs pain medication several months after the crash, and have suggested to him that he should have no trouble paying for his prescriptions with the money he’s receiving from the income supplement.

He’s been paying for the medication out of pocket despite a doctor’s prescription and subsequent medical letter of justification, which a doctor submitted on his behalf.

In a statement, an MPI spokesperson said the corporation’s privacy policies prevent discussion of individual cases, but that personal-injury benefits are legislated.

Decisions about entitlement to benefits “are made based on information received from various health care and medical experts to make coverage decisions,” including independent medical professionals who form MPI’s health-care services team, the spokesperson said, adding while many prescription medications are covered, “there are specific protocols around certain medications to ensure they are used safely and effectively.”

“We believed that they’re going to pay for things that I need, and here we are not knowing whether or not they’re going to do that,” Léveillé said.

His wife Tobi has become his caregiver. He needs help getting out of bed, getting dressed and showering. He can’t walk up the stairs without help, but he said he believes MPI is playing down the seriousness of his needs, and is twisting documentation from occupational therapists to try to make it appear as though he has greater mobility than he actually does.

A manual wheelchair was covered, but a power wheelchair and lift were not. Léveillé said he received an email indicating those devices weren’t covered because MPI believes he can walk up the stairs.

“I’m capable of doing stairs, yes, that’s true. But not on my own. I have to have someone helping me,” he said.

While he tried to get MPI staff to provide coverage for his medication, a power wheelchair and a lift, Léveillé wrote to several local politicians, including the premier, asking for help. He didn’t receive a reply.

Léveillé said he feels re-victimized by MPI.

“I shouldn’t be. No one should be. But we are.”

He said MPI’s policies need to be “transparent, clear and more complete.”

The MPI spokesperson said customers who disagree with benefit-related decisions can appeal. There are processes for an internal review and an independent appeal to the Automobile Injury Compensation Appeal Commission.

Léveillé said he plans to ask for a review and, if necessary, appeal MPI’s coverage decisions.

katie.may@freepress.mb.ca