Original work · Littleton Steven Irby
In August 2023, I reported a serious finger condition to Kaiser Permanente. What followed — remote diagnosis, delayed specialist care, unanswered follow-ups, grievances, and eventually binding arbitration — changed the course of my work as an artist and my understanding of how healthcare disputes actually get resolved.
"I learned that access to justice in healthcare often depends less on the truth of what happened and more on whether you can afford to prove it."
This site is a public record of that experience — documented carefully, told professionally, and shared because the barriers I encountered are not unique to me.
Original work · Littleton Steven Irby
Based on medical records, grievance filings, arbitration documents, and written communications.
Remote diagnosis issued. In-person evaluation not performed at intake. Condition worsened within 48 hours.
Records later documented periostitis, erosive concerns, and inflammatory findings.
An undisclosed automated screening order emerged under my chart. Questions about informed consent went unanswered.
Kaiser acknowledged receipt and issued a formal denial response.
OIA Case No. 19137 / JAMS Ref. No. 1110030422. Kaiser retained outside counsel. I filed alone.
Amended demands, demurrers, summary judgment, continued filings — and this website.
Using AI tools to research, organize, and respond — and what that experience revealed about who gets access to justice in America.
Every procedural filing date organized and never missed.
Standard of care, causation, California healthcare law.
Thousands of pages structured into a coherent record.
Inconsistencies flagged across the opposing record.
The injury affected my right hand permanently. Arbitration consumed years. Art became part of how I survived it — and how I kept going.
I continued working throughout this process. The constraints changed what I made. Some of that was loss. Some of it became something else.
A middle-aged artist with no law firm, no expert budget, and no institutional backing spent years navigating one of the most procedurally difficult systems in America — using AI tools, public records, and persistence.
The structural barriers that end legitimate disputes before merits are heard.
Experts cost thousands. Contingency rarely applies. Many cases die financially, not factually.
I speak with journalists, researchers, filmmakers, and policy advocates on healthcare arbitration, AI-assisted self-representation, and the economics of access to justice.
Background materials and press FAQ available upon request. Responds within 48 hours.
Oakland, California