Anyone ever been injured at work? How to deal?

[BrewingTravisty]

So I was injured last year in October, I've had 2 surgeries and lost pretty much everything I had due to it. I am on workers comp, so I have a steady flow of money coming in which I'm thankful for, but I'm at the point now where I'm being sent back to work and I'm not ready for it. As in I'm still in a lot of pain. Also they're sending me back at a fraction of the pay and right before Christmas to add to the stress. I also don't have a car because I lost it when I took a drop in income, and have blown through any savings I had in the past year just to keep my head above water.

To be clear, I'm not looking for legal advice, I have a lawyer for that. I'm just wondering if anyone has been through anything similar and how you dealt with it. I wouldn't say I'm depressed right now but I am extremely stressed, and not sure how I'm going to make this work at the moment.

 

[KVANTAN]

That sounds terrible dude. Try to keep it positive with your employer. Let them know you want to get back but are still in the rough. Dont hide it. Attitude is everything to an employer. Had a guy get injured and he never asked the right people for help with the surgery. Once i found out i asked the CEO personally and it was an immediate yes.

 

[BrewingTravisty]

That sounds terrible dude. Try to keep it positive with your employer. Let them know you want to get back but are still in the rough. Dont hide it. Attitude is everything to an employer. Had a guy get injured and he never asked the right people for help with the surgery. Once i found out i asked the CEO personally and it was an immediate yes.

Sadly the company I work for has some really bad upper management, all the way up to the VP of the company. I was a manager so I sat in 8+ hour meetings with them on a biweekly basis lol I keep a good attitude as best I can, and when I can't I'm good at acting like it. They knew I was badly injured for almost a month and kept sending me to a doctor who's diagnose was "you hurt your back." and sent me back to work with ibuprofen. I had to get a lawyer to see a real doctor. They reported me to the insurance company for "noncompliance" because I had to leave work early for doctors appointments and physical therapy. Which almost lost me my benefits.

The lawyer has pretty much told me that they're trying to get me to make a mistake so they can end my benefits and keep me from a settlement but the thing is, I don't care about getting a settlement or anything. I just want to be able to get back to my normal life. Before I was injured I was in great shape, worked out 5 days a week and went out hiking and rock climbing. Was very active and fit, after getting injured I could barely get out of bed. It took the insurance company 6 months to approve my back surgery, and 10 months to approve my shoulder surgery. I gained 80 pounds (which I'm slowly losing now) and have been told I'll probably never rock climb again.

That's pretty much all I want, is just to be able to be active again. I'm tired of sitting around home trying to find ways to entertain myself day in and day out.

Sorry for the rant, I guess I just have some built up frustration with everything. I'm normally an extremely positive person, very optimistic and a big advocate of having a good attitude with everything you do. Sometimes I guess you just need to rant a bit lol

 

[Yooper]

I don't have any advice at all, sorry to say. But I"m thinking of you, and wanted you to know.

When I was younger, I did get hurt at work a few times but they were minor really. A broken arm, which healed just fine, for one. I was a respiratory therapist and paramedic, and never hurt my back or anything. The broken arm came from a slippery floor while I was transporting an unstable patient, but I still worked my shifts that weekend. They called me on Monday to tell me of the fracture. By then, it was better so I got by with a sling and swath since it was a simple fracture inside my elbow. There were a few minor other things, but I never missed work or anything.

I feel for you and your pain, and can't imagine what it's like going back to work still in pain.

 

[BrewingTravisty]

I don't have any advice at all, sorry to say. But I"m thinking of you, and wanted you to know.

When I was younger, I did get hurt at work a few times but they were minor really. A broken arm, which healed just fine, for one. I was a respiratory therapist and paramedic, and never hurt my back or anything. The broken arm came from a slippery floor while I was transporting an unstable patient, but I still worked my shifts that weekend. They called me on Monday to tell me of the fracture. By then, it was better so I got by with a sling and swath since it was a simple fracture inside my elbow. There were a few minor other things, but I never missed work or anything.

I feel for you and your pain, and can't imagine what it's like going back to work still in pain.

Thanks. It's rough, and I'd rather not do it, but I guess that's part of life lol doing things you don't want to do. I do have work restrictions, so I shouldn't hurt myself worse or anything. And It is nice to be back around some of my employees, even if I'm no long acting as a manager. It's just frustrating more than anything. I got most of the rant out of my system just now lol at this point I guess I just have to just do what I have to, and hope for the best. The doctors gave me some pain meds, which help a bit but the side effects aren't exactly great when you have to operate vehicles (I work at an auto shop). I imagine working with a fracture wasn't exactly fun either though, funnily enough with all my recent injuries I've never actually broken anything besides my nose. My back was basically a blown disc and nerve damage, and then my shoulder was a rotator cuff injury. That was a bad day haha

 

[sniktaw]

Man, I hate to hear that for you. I had to leave work in 2012 due to health issues. Doctors ordered me not to work. I was 29 years old at the time and quite active as well. Things still haven't resolved and I'm still struggling to get approved for disability. All that to say, I can get where you are coming from. For me, I just have to stay positive and that's not easy. But I really don't look at it as an option because I know if I ever let it really get me down, it'll be next to impossible to get back up. Also, sometimes I just get pissed off and I have to realize that is ok. Just get it out, get over it, and move on. As far as the being active, I just have to accept the new normal. That sucks, but I just try to be thankful for what I had and not focus on what I can no longer do. Not saying any of it is easy, in fact it's pretty damn hard as I am sure you know, but it's what makes it possible to make it to the next day, and that's what matters. Good luck man.

 

[BrewingTravisty]

Man, I hate to hear that for you. I had to leave work in 2012 due to health issues. Doctors ordered me not to work. I was 29 years old at the time and quite active as well. Things still haven't resolved and I'm still struggling to get approved for disability. All that to say, I can get where you are coming from. For me, I just have to stay positive and that's not easy. But I really don't look at it as an option because I know if I ever let it really get me down, it'll be next to impossible to get back up. Also, sometimes I just get pissed off and I have to realize that is ok. Just get it out, get over it, and move on. As far as the being active, I just have to accept the new normal. That sucks, but I just try to be thankful for what I had and not focus on what I can no longer do. Not saying any of it is easy, in fact it's pretty damn hard as I am sure you know, but it's what makes it possible to make it to the next day, and that's what matters. Good luck man.

I hear you. I'm doing my best to not let it get me down. This time last year I was in bad shape from falling into a bad depression because of the injury and the events that followed because of it. It was really hard to pull myself out of that, I put myself into a clinic because of it and that helped a lot. Seeing people who had it as bad or worse than me and seeing that there wasn't anything wrong with me for feeling that way was a big help but I don't want to let myself fall into that again.

I shouldn't be kept from working completely. I will probably have limitations for the rest of my life which will probably mean a career change, but I should be able to keep working. I'm just hoping I can get back to being active again too, I don't know if I'll be able to handle not being active again. I know I won't be rock climbing again, due to my shoulder and the fact that I have nerve damage that makes my left leg completely numb. It also has a habit of randomly giving out, so not a good thing to happen when hundreds of feet off the ground hugging a cliff wall.


But you're right, I'll have to learn to just be thankful for what I had and still have and not dwell too much on what I may have lost.

Good luck on the disability, I hope they approve it soon. I know how much it sucks to be waiting on something like that.

 

[CA_Mouse]

I can empathize with you. I injured my knee on 9/30, told my bosses and finished out the workday. Went to a meeting the following morning and then filled out the injury report and went to the company workman's comp office. They, the doctor's office, have been trying everything they can to get me back to work, but the insurance keeps denying things. Finally got an MRI last week that was requested on 10/8 and an appointment with an orthopedist the first week on next month. Finally starting to see daylight, then today I get a registered letter from my benefits department stating that I need to pay them for the insurance premiums that are normally taken from my paycheck, from 10/3 to present ((nearly $1700), by January 1 or they cancel my coverage. I'm already losing over $600 a month by being on Workman's Comp and they want me to write them a check for $545 a month? I'm hoping they just say that I'm not returning to my regular employment status and I can move on to something else...

 

[BrewingTravisty]

I can empathize with you. I injured my knee on 9/30, told my bosses and finished out the workday. Went to a meeting the following morning and then filled out the injury report and went to the company workman's comp office. They, the doctor's office, have been trying everything they can to get me back to work, but the insurance keeps denying things. Finally got an MRI last week that was requested on 10/8 and an appointment with an orthopedist the first week on next month. Finally starting to see daylight, then today I get a registered letter from my benefits department stating that I need to pay them for the insurance premiums that are normally taken from my paycheck, from 10/3 to present ((nearly $1700), by January 1 or they cancel my coverage. I'm already losing over $600 a month by being on Workman's Comp and they want me to write them a check for $545 a month? I'm hoping they just say that I'm not returning to my regular employment status and I can move on to something else...

That doesn't sound right. You shouldn't have to pay anything for workers compensation. If you haven't already, I highly advise getting an attorney. Things go much smoother once you get one, and it's almost guaranteed that you'll get screwed without one. I'm losing roughly $800 a month from this, so I definitely feel you on that part.

 

[hunter_le five]

That doesn't sound right. You shouldn't have to pay anything for workers compensation. If you haven't already, I highly advise getting an attorney. Things go much smoother once you get one, and it's almost guaranteed that you'll get screwed without one. I'm losing roughly $800 a month from this, so I definitely feel you on that part.

You don't have to pay for workers compensation, but if you are participating in a company-sponsored health insurance plan, you still have to keep paying your premiums if you want to keep your coverage. That insurance is completely unrelated to work comp.

 

[CA_Mouse]

That doesn't sound right. You shouldn't have to pay anything for workers compensation. If you haven't already, I highly advise getting an attorney. Things go much smoother once you get one, and it's almost guaranteed that you'll get screwed without one. I'm losing roughly $800 a month from this, so I definitely feel you on that part.

I'm not being required to pay for the Workman's Comp insurance, that is paid for by the company since I was injured while at work.

You don't have to pay for workers compensation, but if you are participating in a company-sponsored health insurance plan, you still have to keep paying your premiums if you want to keep your coverage. That insurance is completely unrelated to work comp.

hunter is correct. I'm not paying for the company sponsored insurance while I'm on WCI, so they expect for me to pay out of pocket for it. That is pretty much just kicking me while I'm down. Can't work because they cannot accommodate my restrictions, so I'm losing money by being on WCI, they aren't deducting my health insurance premiums since *they* aren't paying me and requiring me to pay them for the coverage I can't use because I'm on WCI.

 

[BrewingTravisty]

You don't have to pay for workers compensation, but if you are participating in a company-sponsored health insurance plan, you still have to keep paying your premiums if you want to keep your coverage. That insurance is completely unrelated to work comp.

Oh gotcha, I misunderstood. I thought you meant they threatened to cancel your workers comp. In that case, you might just want to shop around for different health insurance.

 

[BrewingTravisty]

I'm not being required to pay for the Workman's Comp insurance, that is paid for by the company since I was injured while at work.



hunter is correct. I'm not paying for the company sponsored insurance while I'm on WCI, so they expect for me to pay out of pocket for it. That is pretty much just kicking me while I'm down. Can't work because they cannot accommodate my restrictions, so I'm losing money by being on WCI, they aren't deducting my health insurance premiums since *they* aren't paying me and requiring me to pay them for the coverage I can't use because I'm on WCI.

Gotcha, I just misread or misunderstood your post I guess. I ran into the same problem and had to give up my health insurance. I've been shopping for something cheaper. But I've never needed it before and all of my current issues are covered under workers comp so I'm not in a huge hurry.

 

[bkboiler]

dude, that's rough...I had an anxiety attack at my job a few months back as I work at a highly stressful job and I ended up going to see an MD that was the chief of occupational medicine. worth the expense to have a professional on your side when you talk with your manager or HR.
also highly recommend talking to an attorney since it sounds like work caused it and you will be out for a while. most attorneys like that are no cost to you as they take their premium from the settlement net (after your medical bills are paid).

 

[TriggerHappy]

I got injured at work and the slimeballs downtown denied my claim(there is a special place in hell for them). The city may have screwed me over, but the brothers I work with were a tremendous help, covering shifts for me and helping out around the house. It is great that you understand all that you have to be thankful for, cause we really do have a lot. The big thing I have to say is know how to ask for help. If you got chores that you can't do, ask for help. Especially if you are feeling down, I got way low when I was injured and work a very macho job, but we got to know when to ask for help with the depression aspect, even if it is just having a buddy come over and letting you vent a bit. Depression is not a fun fight, lost a few friends to it, but it is easier with help. This is a good funny site to check out. http://mantherapy.org . Hang in there buddy.

 

[Rhetorik]

I work for worker's compensation in the eligibility department. I can't speak as to how it works in your area, as each state/provincial/whatever organization is different, but if there are still barriers in regards to your return to work (RTW) and/or recovery, that is something you will want to discuss with your health care provider - be it physician, physiotherapist, chiropractic, etc. Similarly, if you are on short-term/long-term disability with worker's comp, and if you have a case manager/contact at the worker's comp board, you will want to discuss your concerns with that individual. Maintaining contact and dialogue is key with worker's comp claims. On a further note, at least at the board where I work, when you return to work the expectation/requirement is that you return to your pre-accident earnings as well. We even provide training/education for workers that need to switch vocations if they are unable to RTW in their pre-accident capacity. IE, if a plumber has a severe injury and can no longer do manual labour, we will provide workplace re-integration training so they can learn new skills.

I don't want to get into details, because I don't like talking online about my job much. People working in workers' comp get a **** ton of flack online etc which I don't want to get involved in. If you have any comp-specific questions that I might be able to assist with though, shoot me a PM and I'll be glad to chat.

Cheers

 

[Stillraining]

Sadly the company I work for has some really bad upper management, all the way up to the VP of the company. I was a manager so I sat in 8+ hour meetings with them on a biweekly basis lol I keep a good attitude as best I can, and when I can't I'm good at acting like it. They knew I was badly injured for almost a month and kept sending me to a doctor who's diagnose was "you hurt your back." and sent me back to work with ibuprofen. I had to get a lawyer to see a real doctor. They reported me to the insurance company for "noncompliance" because I had to leave work early for doctors appointments and physical therapy. Which almost lost me my benefits.

The lawyer has pretty much told me that they're trying to get me to make a mistake so they can end my benefits and keep me from a settlement but the thing is, I don't care about getting a settlement or anything. I just want to be able to get back to my normal life. Before I was injured I was in great shape, worked out 5 days a week and went out hiking and rock climbing. Was very active and fit, after getting injured I could barely get out of bed. It took the insurance company 6 months to approve my back surgery, and 10 months to approve my shoulder surgery. I gained 80 pounds (which I'm slowly losing now) and have been told I'll probably never rock climb again.

That's pretty much all I want, is just to be able to be active again. I'm tired of sitting around home trying to find ways to entertain myself day in and day out.

Sorry for the rant, I guess I just have some built up frustration with everything. I'm normally an extremely positive person, very optimistic and a big advocate of having a good attitude with everything you do. Sometimes I guess you just need to rant a bit lol

OK first off I blew my back out at 26 back in 1986 on the North Slope of Alaska drilling for oil.. Second I never have been able to regain my all my old activities and you probably will not either so here is my advice.

You say you only want your health back..sadly that probably will never happen...God made us to work one way, once broken we don't work as well as intended..

1) Go after and take the lump sum settlement from L&I .
2) Use the money to go into business for yourself in something you both want to do and physically can do.

I did these two things and never looked back.. I now run heavy equipment for a living...I very rarely make the yearly income I use to per year anymore but I'm happy and we do OK.


Sure I still hurt and have bad days but I get over then and you will too. The one thing a settlement will do for you is after its awarded L&I can ot tell you what to do with your life and or try to follow you around and get pictures of you doing something they feel you should not be able to do. Your settlement will not be that big...Mine was only 45K and I was making 80K per year.

But it lets you get on with your life.

 

[BrewingTravisty]

I got injured at work and the slimeballs downtown denied my claim(there is a special place in hell for them). The city may have screwed me over, but the brothers I work with were a tremendous help, covering shifts for me and helping out around the house. It is great that you understand all that you have to be thankful for, cause we really do have a lot. The big thing I have to say is know how to ask for help. If you got chores that you can't do, ask for help. Especially if you are feeling down, I got way low when I was injured and work a very macho job, but we got to know when to ask for help with the depression aspect, even if it is just having a buddy come over and letting you vent a bit. Depression is not a fun fight, lost a few friends to it, but it is easier with help. This is a good funny site to check out. http://mantherapy.org . Hang in there buddy.

I get help where I can. My sister has been help, though grudgingly. She has let me move in here for a couple months after my most recent surgery and I pay half the bills. She's been hinting that it's time I leave though, so that's one more thing for me to stress about. I try not to over think these things though and just take them one at a time. Just be thankful I have a roof over my head today lol and worry about tomorrow, tomorrow. I have a couple friends out of state that I talk to on occasion but I don't like to complain often I guess.

 

[BrewingTravisty]

dude, that's rough...I had an anxiety attack at my job a few months back as I work at a highly stressful job and I ended up going to see an MD that was the chief of occupational medicine. worth the expense to have a professional on your side when you talk with your manager or HR.
also highly recommend talking to an attorney since it sounds like work caused it and you will be out for a while. most attorneys like that are no cost to you as they take their premium from the settlement net (after your medical bills are paid).

I have an attorney, I had to get one to actually get a real doctor. They kept sending me to urgent care, where the doctor did absolutely nothing.

 

[BrewingTravisty]

OK first off I blew my back out at 26 back in 1986 on the North Slope of Alaska drilling for oil.. Second I never have been able to regain my all my old activities and you probably will not either so here is my advice.

You say you only want your health back..sadly that probably will never happen...God made us to work one way, once broken we don't work as well as intended..

1) Go after and take the lump sum settlement from L&I .
2) Use the money to go into business for yourself in something you both want to do and physically can do.

I did these two things and never looked back.. I now run heavy equipment for a living...I very rarely make the yearly income I use to per year anymore but I'm happy and we do OK.


Sure I still hurt and have bad days but I get over then and you will too. The one thing a settlement will do for you is after its awarded L&I can ot tell you what to do with your life and or try to follow you around and get pictures of you doing something they feel you should not be able to do. Your settlement will not be that big...Mine was only 45K and I was making 80K per year.

But it lets you get on with your life.

That's what I've thought about doing if I get a settlement... I just don't know what kind of business I would start. At least not with that kind of start up money. I really don't have any particular skills that I excel at. I've been decent at pretty much everything I've ever tried my hand at, outside of singing and drawing haha

But I am definitely ready to just get on with my life. I'm tired of playing this game with the insurance company.

 

[BrewingTravisty]

I work for worker's compensation in the eligibility department. I can't speak as to how it works in your area, as each state/provincial/whatever organization is different, but if there are still barriers in regards to your return to work (RTW) and/or recovery, that is something you will want to discuss with your health care provider - be it physician, physiotherapist, chiropractic, etc. Similarly, if you are on short-term/long-term disability with worker's comp, and if you have a case manager/contact at the worker's comp board, you will want to discuss your concerns with that individual. Maintaining contact and dialogue is key with worker's comp claims. On a further note, at least at the board where I work, when you return to work the expectation/requirement is that you return to your pre-accident earnings as well. We even provide training/education for workers that need to switch vocations if they are unable to RTW in their pre-accident capacity. IE, if a plumber has a severe injury and can no longer do manual labour, we will provide workplace re-integration training so they can learn new skills.

I don't want to get into details, because I don't like talking online about my job much. People working in workers' comp get a **** ton of flack online etc which I don't want to get involved in. If you have any comp-specific questions that I might be able to assist with though, shoot me a PM and I'll be glad to chat.

Cheers

Thanks for that, and yeah I understand. I've worked in jobs before that people get flack for lol sometimes best to just not talk about it. Right now I'm back to work on light duty. The work basically made up a job for me to do, being paid well under half of what I was making before. I've heard about the vocational rehab, and have thought about bringing up a career change with my doctor and seeing if he could recommend it so that I could get the retraining.

 

[CA_Mouse]

People working in workers' comp get a **** ton of flack online etc which I don't want to get involved in.Cheers

I am not faulting the WCI, they are actually working within their specifics of their contract. The doctors that I've seen have all been exceptional as well and are trying to get things fixed so that I can return to work. My beef is with the company I work for, not the doctors or the WCI group.

 

[wallybangbang]

Workers comp is one of the most convoluted azz backward industries. I really feel for you OP. I had a friend who was hurt seriously when he was crushed by a forklift. We really don't do a good job of taking care of people who are hurt on the job in this country. I work as a manager in Ems , and also in California . The problem is that so many people abuse the system that it ruins it for all of the people who are actually hurt. Work comp fraud is a billion dollar industry in California alone, that's the reason their is so much scrutiny. I'm not in any way saying what has happened to you is invalid or a bogus claim. It's sucks that you aren't getting the help you need. Fake claims are pretty easy to spot. It seems like they are giving you the run around and shouldn't be. I have had to take care of a few legit claims as a manager, our employees are like family, if they get hurt they get the care they need. I've also had to deal with quite a few ridiculous ones. I always tell my employees to just call out sick if they want a day off, don't ever claim an injury because it will open up a whole Pandora's box of bs. If you have any specific questions throw them out there and maybe I can help. As I said I've dealt with a lot of comp claims. FYI, to echo another members advise take the settlement and run. Something like this will ruin the employer / employee relationship permanently, especially since it sounds like your bosses are D bags anyway.

 

[Rhetorik]

Thanks for that, and yeah I understand. I've worked in jobs before that people get flack for lol sometimes best to just not talk about it.

Well, considering I used to work in tax collection and also pharmaceutical regulation.... It's familiar territory for me haha

Right now I'm back to work on light duty. The work basically made up a job for me to do, being paid well under half of what I was making before. I've heard about the vocational rehab, and have thought about bringing up a career change with my doctor and seeing if he could recommend it so that I could get the retraining.

Again, regarding RTW at reduce earnings - where I am we have systems/policy/regulation in place to prevent that kind of situation. I feel for your situation, and hope that it improves sooner rather than later.

In regards to working at workers' comp... I can say that the people that work here are NOT trying to "deny people their claims" as it is commonly misconceived. It is quite the opposite, actually. We work our hardest to ALLOW claims as is permissible within our regulatory abilities. It's very frustrating when a worker can quite possibly have been hurt at work, but we cannot prove as such because of things like they worked for weeks without telling anyone of the accident until they realize it isn't getting better, or they wait weeks to see a doctor, etc.

For example, if you say you got hurt on (random dates) Jan 1, 2015, but continued to work your regular job without telling anyone until Jan 25, 2015, and then only saw a doctor on Feb 2, 2015... how are we supposed to confirm that a doctor's visit on Feb 2 is related to an injury no-one knew about from Jan 1?

From a worker's perspective, the MOST IMPORTANT thing to do if you get injured at work is TELL SOMEONE IMMEDIATELY and SEEK MEDICAL ATTENTION IMMEDIATELY. Hell, even if you delay in seeing a doctor, keep your co-workers/supervisor/manager/etc updated and aware that you were injured and have not fully healed. In those cases, we will contact the people in question to get a statement to confirm their awareness of your ongoing injury, and proof of accident is thus established.

 

[BrewingTravisty]

Workers comp is one of the most convoluted azz backward industries. I really feel for you OP. I had a friend who was hurt seriously when he was crushed by a forklift. We really don't do a good job of taking care of people who are hurt on the job in this country. I work as a manager in Ems , and also in California . The problem is that so many people abuse the system that it ruins it for all of the people who are actually hurt. Work comp fraud is a billion dollar industry in California alone, that's the reason their is so much scrutiny. I'm not in any way saying what has happened to you is invalid or a bogus claim. It's sucks that you aren't getting the help you need. Fake claims are pretty easy to spot. It seems like they are giving you the run around and shouldn't be. I have had to take care of a few legit claims as a manager, our employees are like family, if they get hurt they get the care they need. I've also had to deal with quite a few ridiculous ones. I always tell my employees to just call out sick if they want a day off, don't ever claim an injury because it will open up a whole Pandora's box of bs. If you have any specific questions throw them out there and maybe I can help. As I said I've dealt with a lot of comp claims. FYI, to echo another members advise take the settlement and run. Something like this will ruin the employer / employee relationship permanently, especially since it sounds like your bosses are D bags anyway.

You're right, we really don't take good care of our injured workers here. Sadly it's not completely the fault of the system like you said, there are a lot of people that game the system. In fact I know a person who did. What blows my mind is that he had less trouble than I have gotten lol

And I always told my employees that if they didn't want to come to work, call me. I'd rather cover for an employee than to have one come in not on his or her A game. Especially if they were in a bad mood for whatever reason. I pride myself and my store on having the best customer service in the company, so that was important. And none of my employees would have faked an injury on my watch, the company may have been rotten everywhere else but I had amazing employees and I treated them right. So they showed me the respect due. In fact almost all of my employees went on to better jobs as soon as it didn't look like I was coming back lol

If I can get them to settle, I'm just going to take y'alls advice and take it and run. They're not wanting to settle right now though, they got their own lawyer that's playing hard ball.

 

[BrewingTravisty]

Also just wanted to say thanks to everyone that's given me support and advice in this thread. This is one reason that I love this community and I'm glad I found it.

 

[Stillraining]

Thanks for that, and yeah I understand. I've worked in jobs before that people get flack for lol sometimes best to just not talk about it. Right now I'm back to work on light duty. The work basically made up a job for me to do, being paid well under half of what I was making before. I've heard about the vocational rehab, and have thought about bringing up a career change with my doctor and seeing if he could recommend it so that I could get the retraining.

Ya, well let me shed some light on those "career changes"...They tried to put me through several ..Installing security systems, precision sheet metal. They even lied to me about that one.. graduated top of the class and was told from the beginning Id be making 14 to 15 right out of school...they placed me in a 7:50 per hour job upon graduating ...best offer they could find in Seattle)
What ever "Career Change" they sent me too paid about 8.00 per hour I was making 24.00 back in the early 80's when injured.


I'm telling you Forget that crap!...Go after a settlement what ever it is..it is, and get on with your life. I'm adamant about this because I put up with their crap fro 2 1/2 years and finally had my fill.
You will learn where the line in the sand is as far as what your able to do physically... In the beginning Id screw up and try to do to much...a couple times I ended up in bed for a couple weeks straight with so much pain I could not even get up to pee, so had to pee in a can lying in bed. L&I insist there to take pictures of that !! Screw them!!

Its your life dude and you only get a go at it once. make it count don't give in, get mad, or motivated to move on or something.

FWIW..Your body will heal to a point eventually that allows you do do some of the things you did, albeit at a less skillful level...OK maybe hanging off a rock wall wont be one of them but that's not the end of the world now is it. I cant do flips on snow skies anymore but who cares.


You mentioned 45k wasn't enough to start a business...well that was back in 1986...And I did and Im still running it today and love it....... I'm sure you'ed get more today...and with twice that much you could start a micro brewery. Just saying your options are unlimited. Buck up and get acertive about your future with these people. Your Lawyer included!

Carry On

 

[BrewingTravisty]

Ya, well let me shed some light on those "career changes"...They tried to put me through several ..Installing security systems, precision sheet metal. They even lied to me about that one.. graduated top of the class and was told from the beginning Id be making 14 to 15 right out of school...they placed me in a 7:50 per hour job upon graduating ...best offer they could find in Seattle)
What ever "Career Change" they sent me too paid about 8.00 per hour I was making 24.00 back in the early 80's when injured.


I'm telling you Forget that crap!...Go after a settlement what ever it is..it is, and get on with your life. I'm adamant about this because I put up with their crap fro 2 1/2 years and finally had my fill.
You will learn where the line in the sand is as far as what your able to do physically... In the beginning Id screw up and try to do to much...a couple times I ended up in bed for a couple weeks straight with so much pain I could not even get up to pee, so had to pee in a can lying in bed. L&I insist there to take pictures of that !! Screw them!!

Its your life dude and you only get a go at it once. make it count don't give in, get mad, or motivated to move on or something.

FWIW..Your body will heal to a point eventually that allows you do do some of the things you did, albeit at a less skillful level...OK maybe hanging off a rock wall wont be one of them but that's not the end of the world now is it. I cant do flips on snow skies anymore but who cares.


You mentioned 45k wasn't enough to start a business...well that was back in 1986...And I did and Im still running it today and love it....... I'm sure you'ed get more today...and with twice that much you could start a micro brewery. Just saying your options are unlimited. Buck up and get acertive about your future with these people. Your Lawyer included!

Carry On

Thanks for the advice, I'll definitely go for the settlement. I'm just ready for this to be over honestly... Sorry it took so long to answer. I reinjured myself about a week ago. I was walking into the office and my leg gave out on me (I have nerve damage that affects my left leg). I had to have an ambulance bring me to the E.R. to make sure I didn't worsen my injuries.

They gave me 3 days off, but I've been in so much pain that I can only get out of bed for a few minutes at a time. If I'm up for more than 10 minutes I start to get spasms in my back. I'm worried that since I wasn't able to go to work after those 3 days were up that they may try to cancel my benefits.

I'm about to call my doctor in a bit, and set up a schedule to see him. Hopefully he'll take me out of work for longer, and let me heal up. The workers comp lawyer has been hounding my doctors to send me back to work though, so I don't know if he'll give me more time or not.

 

[m00ps]

I got injured on the way to work, does that count?

But seriously, I completely understand. Jan 16th will be my anniversary of the day I work up in a hospital 3 days later, 2 states over, with both lungs collapsed, a fractured pelvis, a broken collarbone, broken ribs, broken hand, lots of internal bleeding, and what they called "likely anoxic brain damage". Also, for some reason, my appendix is now gone. Didnt find out about that until like 5 months ago. It wasnt until late Feb that I was transported out of the hospital and not till April that I was first able to stand again. Rehab was a bitch but I made it through.

It sounds dumb, but looking forward to being able to brew again is seriously one of the main driving factors that kept me going. Getting back to work was scary, it will take time to readjust. But youll be ok man. It sounds like your continuing problems are harder to deal with than mine. All Ive got left to deal with is periodic checks on my now mostly-metal lower spine (airports are a blast now) and the ridiculous amount of debt from what the ambulance helicopter company charged me. Luckily, it looks like contacting the BBB and Attorney General actually did the trick.

But yeah, if you arent feeling like +90% before you go back to work, its only going to stress you out more. And if your company/coworkers dont understand that, then thats not a place which I would want to work in

 

[Rhetorik]

Thanks for the advice, I'll definitely go for the settlement. I'm just ready for this to be over honestly... Sorry it took so long to answer. I reinjured myself about a week ago. I was walking into the office and my leg gave out on me (I have nerve damage that affects my left leg). I had to have an ambulance bring me to the E.R. to make sure I didn't worsen my injuries.

They gave me 3 days off, but I've been in so much pain that I can only get out of bed for a few minutes at a time. If I'm up for more than 10 minutes I start to get spasms in my back. I'm worried that since I wasn't able to go to work after those 3 days were up that they may try to cancel my benefits.

I'm about to call my doctor in a bit, and set up a schedule to see him. Hopefully he'll take me out of work for longer, and let me heal up. The workers comp lawyer has been hounding my doctors to send me back to work though, so I don't know if he'll give me more time or not.

If your symptoms are as severe as you're describing, either see your doctor immediately or, if he isn't available today or tomorrow, go to a clinic or emergency department. You want/need immediate objective medical information to support a delayed return to work. Worker's comp is all about IMMEDIATES and CONTINUITY - immediate reporting and immediate medical, and continuity of reporting and continuity of medical. Applying medical information retroactively (eg, it is considerably more difficult with a doctor's report dated 09JAN2016 to prove you were unable to work the week prior than a doctor's report dated 02JAN2016 that stated you should be off for one week)

I got injured on the way to work, does that count?

Sometimes. Depends on a number of factors

But seriously, I completely understand. Jan 16th will be my anniversary of the day I work up in a hospital 3 days later, 2 states over, with both lungs collapsed, a fractured pelvis, a broken collarbone, broken ribs, broken hand, lots of internal bleeding, and what they called "likely anoxic brain damage". Also, for some reason, my appendix is now gone. Didnt find out about that until like 5 months ago. It wasnt until late Feb that I was transported out of the hospital and not till April that I was first able to stand again. Rehab was a bitch but I made it through.

It sounds dumb, but looking forward to being able to brew again is seriously one of the main driving factors that kept me going. Getting back to work was scary, it will take time to readjust. But youll be ok man. It sounds like your continuing problems are harder to deal with than mine. All Ive got left to deal with is periodic checks on my now mostly-metal lower spine (airports are a blast now) and the ridiculous amount of debt from what the ambulance helicopter company charged me. Luckily, it looks like contacting the BBB and Attorney General actually did the trick.

But yeah, if you arent feeling like +90% before you go back to work, its only going to stress you out more. And if your company/coworkers dont understand that, then thats not a place which I would want to work in

I'm fortunate to be in a workplace that allowed me to stay on short-term disability until I felt well enough to return, and they did not pressure me to return earlier than I was comfortable with. I'm also looking forward to my next airport visit, as I'm lugging around a 6" metal plate and 9 bolts in my right ankle now. Similarly, being able to start brewing again is a motivating factor for me (though not as much as riding my motorcycle and playing sports!)

BT - best of luck with everything. Stay in touch with your worker's comp contact and keep them informed of your condition.