osodecanela | Say what? You're still breathing?

I've signed birth certificates and death certificates, but this one's a first. I've never had to certify that someone was still alive before. It seems that a client, who's also a friend of mine & who's currently on a disability pension, is having a tough time proving to the workman's compensation system that he isn't dead.

Apparently his brother, who has some work related psychiatric problems said something to his workman's comp psychiatrist about losing a sibling and the psychiatrist who is incidentally working for the same workman's comp insurer wrote in his report that the patient's brother (my patient) was deceased. They promptly stopped paying my patient's pension, which he is still entitled to, not being dead and all.

Apparently, physically walking into your attorney's office isn't sufficient proof you're not dead.

To this end I authored the following for his attorney to use:

Dear Mr XXXXXX, Esq.

Let me affirm for you what you already know, namely that XXX XXXXXX (DOB: x-xx-1960) is very much alive.

I have been his primary care provider since the late 1990s and can say that I know this man well. I can say with absolute security he neither committed suicide, nor died of any causes, natural or otherwise while out of the country.

I saw XXX before he left for the country last October. Not only did he come in for a medical checkup before his departure, I went out to dinner with him after his exam. I received no less than three phone calls from him while he was out of the country, as well as a number of e-mails which included photographs, taken of him during his travels.

I personally saw XXX when he was back to California, both in December & March, and he has been in my office for medical care several times since he returned from abroad a little over a month ago. Such would not be the case for a corpse.

If there's any further documentation that you need from me, confirming that your client indeed still has a pulse, please feel free to contact me at my office.