Psychiatry Taboo, Workers’ Comp Catch-22 and Empty ‘Win’¶
Day 4 · 4:57:16 · Myriam Bohémier · Toni Lannigan
- 🚫 Psychiatrists diagnosed PTSD and panic disorder yet treated vaccine injury as taboo—‘shit happens, move on’—worsening trauma.
- ⚖️ Health PEI workers’ comp fought her for three years claiming the employer did not ‘expect’ her to vaccinate despite job pressure.
- 💸 She won but money only repaid disability, was taxed, and cost her child-tax support while summer EI still fails to replace nursing income.
Systemic denial in mental health and compensation that left her financially and emotionally stranded.
← Vision Loss, Brain Pressure, Falls and a Life on the Couch | Fatigue, Brain Fog, Ostracism and a Plea: Don’t Abandon Us →
Transcript¶
Myriam Bohémier · 4:57:16
And first of all, understand that we're very excited for you to share your story, which is why we asked you to Yes. And, um, but it's intriguing that, that you've been mistreated by the medical system. And can you share with us some examples just so that we can understand what you faced?
Toni Lannigan · 4:57:37
The main one was that— really sticks out to me is him telling me that was all in my head.
Myriam Bohémier · 4:57:43
Um, what was— which visit was that? What— where were you in the—.
Toni Lannigan · 4:57:48
Um, that was a a doctor in Charlottetown that was, um, like medically looking into my eyes. So there's that.
Myriam Bohémier · 4:57:57
Um, so this is when you can't see out of both eyes?
Toni Lannigan · 4:58:00
Yes, this is both. I left his practice that day and I never returned.
Myriam Bohémier · 4:58:06
Right, but I'm just trying to, to understand. So you can't see, you're, you're basically now disabled. You, you can't, you're, you're functionally blind.
Toni Lannigan · 4:58:16
Yeah, but no one would have said that.
Myriam Bohémier · 4:58:18
And you have an eye doctor telling you that it's all in your head?
Toni Lannigan · 4:58:24
Yes, I did.
Toni Lannigan · 4:58:26
I had, I had, um, psychiatrists that said, um, I don't know if it's appropriate to say, but they said to me like, shit happens, we move on. Diagnosed me with PTSD, panic disorders, years, but told me to move on. You never talked to me about it. Like, that was taboo. We're not going to talk about that. We're just going to talk about everything else except for the vaccine.
Myriam Bohémier · 4:58:53
Okay, so I, I didn't realize this, this went into psychiatry also, that they're not allowed to talk. So you're diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder?
Toni Lannigan · 4:59:03
Yes, and panic disorders.
Myriam Bohémier · 4:59:05
And a lot of— you are getting treatment by a psychiatrist that is being paid to basically address the mental difficulties that you're having.
Toni Lannigan · 4:59:17
Yes.
Myriam Bohémier · 4:59:17
And you're not addressing them at the same time, but you can't really talk about what is the most stressful part of your life.
Toni Lannigan · 4:59:24
Yeah.
Myriam Bohémier · 4:59:30
Which then actually makes it worse.
Toni Lannigan · 4:59:32
Sure does. Yeah. Um, So yeah, there was that. But then I was also trying, you know, I wasn't working, so I had to try with workers' comp. It took me 3 years to go through that court procedure. And the reason behind why I wasn't going to be compensated was because my employer did not expect me to get the vaccine. I worked for Health PEI, and I was— and the reason why I wasn't compensated was because they did not expect me to get it. Would I have had a job if I said no?
Myriam Bohémier · 5:00:16
Right, okay. So they're playing the game. So you have to— you're going to be sent home without pay if you don't get it, but because you could be sent home without pay, then you didn't need to get it. So it's not work requirement, and therefore you don't get workers' compensation.
Toni Lannigan · 5:00:32
Okay.
Toni Lannigan · 5:00:34
Now, on the flip side, I did win that case. What did it get me? Um, nothing. I actually went back to school, like you said, um, found a new passion because I was really passionate working at the hospital. Um, so I found a new passion in, um, working at the school system, advocating for people that can't advocate for themselves. But, um, so what did they do? They gave me money to pay back my disability because disability cut me off. Disability wanted their money back, so the money went to them, but they made me tax that money. So this year I have no child tax support because I make too much money, but I never— it was just money I had to pay back.
Myriam Bohémier · 5:01:20
And I just want to make sure I understand, so So you're getting disability insurance, but you don't have to pay tax on that. Or did you have— did you have to pay tax on disability?
Toni Lannigan · 5:01:29
I did.
Myriam Bohémier · 5:01:30
Okay, so you're paying tax on that and then you get workers' compensation, but you have to pay that all back to the disability people.
Toni Lannigan · 5:01:40
Yeah.
Toni Lannigan · 5:01:41
Yeah.
Toni Lannigan · 5:01:41
And so I have summers off. That's a perk, I guess, working in school education and but I have to go through EI in summers because we don't work there. But yet if I was still nursing or still at the hospital, like, I'd still be making money, I'd still be working, but they don't want to compensate that either, right?
Myriam Bohémier · 5:02:03
Okay, I want to go, uh, through some of your physical experience again.