After months of back-and-forth with the ACC, it was only after Jema Wall approached the Otago Daily Times she received a likely path towards a resolution and even compensation.
Ms Wall, 30, has been dealing with blood clots in the lungs since giving birth to her daughter Lottie in May.
"The doctors told me my case was quite a severe one — I was hours away from death.
"The sort of blood clots I experienced were more associated with older people."
Ms Wall said everyday tasks were a struggle, she was constantly battling fatigue and had been told the damage could be permanent.
Because the disease was clinical, she had contacted the ACC in the hope it would provide financial assistance when her maternity leave ran out in three weeks.
Instead the Crown agency told her she should be fit to return to work.
"They gave me nothing."
She repeatedly visited doctors, but all of them told her she had a "rare case".
"I’ve been put in the too-hard basket by everyone.
"The irony is that there is a lot of support for people with this disease who are older than 65; they get access to home help and financial help."
That was her story late last week.
But not long after the ODT approached the ACC with some questions about Ms Wall’s situation, the ACC gave her a call.
"I think they must have just got a bit scared, and then they rang me and said, ‘oh, hey, Jema we’ve actually just relooked at your claim and you actually do qualify’, which I thought was quite funny."
ACC head of client recovery Matthew Goodger sent an apologetic response to the ODT.
"Our previous correspondence with Jema wasn’t clear enough and we’ve been in touch with her to apologise for this and discuss what additional support she may need from us, including any treatment for her covered injury.
"Presently, Jema isn’t eligible for weekly compensation because she is still on planned parental leave. However, we can relook at this if she still needs support when her planned leave ends."
Ms Wall’s maternity leave finishes in three weeks, and the ACC has advised her to see a doctor to provide another medical certificate saying she is unfit for work.
The ACC would then work through the compensation options, Ms Wall was told.
While this was all a step in the right direction, she found it odd she had to go to the media to get some action, Ms Wall said.
"If they were certain that they could pay me, they should have said that from the start."
