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Avatar universal

can someone give me some advice please

hello out there, i was involved in an accident at work about 6 months ago. I was checking  something out and i was leaning over the bar under the dumbtruck bed, the bed was lifted up. the driver wasn;t paying attention and accidently pushed the button and dropped the bed on top of me. that was like 6000 pounds on top of me. The back was also full of concrete. I didn't have time to get out it had already grabed my left shoulder. I felt the crunch as the bed layed acrossed my back then i loss conciousness. I remeber waking up on the ground under the truck. I was then rushed to the hospital. I dont remeber how i fell or if i hit anything on the way down. I can say this , I was overly swollen especilaly my neck and head. thank the lord that I had no broken bones or any paralization.
In the hospital i started seeing workmans comp doctors. the first doctor was a neuro surgon. He
diagnosed me with cervical radiculopathy, cervical spondylosis, spurring, facet arthropathy and narrowing of the foramen for c4-c6. I left the hospital with limited ROM in my neck, weakness in my left arm, low back pain and constant headaches. The 2nd doctor was a anestigiologist (this guy was workmans comps second opinion doc for me)  He diagnosed me with cervical radiculitis, he aslo stated that i have limited ROM in my neck, limited sensation and decrese in motor strength. I saw him 1 day only Once again i got another doc after this guy, because he suposly went out of town.(ya right). The 3rd doc (pain management doc) said that im fine that there is nothing wrong with me. they did a few neck blocks on me but those didnt work. I still have limited neck range and weakness in my left arm, also my back issues. the 4th doc for me which was another neuro surgon said that my spine was unaligned so he would sugest to do IDDS on me. workmans com didnt approve of it. Now im on my 5th doc, he is a bone surgon. He says im fine , nothing wrong with me. Mind u during all of this I did do many sessions of therapy. They just released me from comp. they said that im ok.
there is nothing they can do for me nor surgery. they will give all ,my records to my family doc so she can finalize me (what is this)....? they gave me a o ppi rating. I still have not gotten my neck ROM back, my neck is stiff with pain. i get frequent headaches, i have weakness on my left side
i still have bulges in my back.... they dont want to acknoledge this... they just stoped my weekly checks..... what should i do.....? to me there is a big conflict of interest between all of these docs. Work  comp wants all docs to say im fine...... One doc says one thing and the other says another.
Its like when one doc diagnoses me with something they give me another one ........ What is this.....????  the docs did say that they cant say if im going to get better or when i will if i do.. If i never regain full ROM in my neck isnt this an impairment????? I wasnt like this before i got hurt......I lost so much weakness in my body becasue of this especially on my left side. I researched some things and i foung out that there is surgery to correct my irritated nerve....... Nobody wants to help me they say im fine. What do u think i should do about this..?As of now im no longer on comp...I feel there are lies and secrets floating around with this. they gave me no evaluation at all. .....I dont feel comfortable with my neck and all.  Can some please give me some advice . Thank you very much.///
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Avatar universal
My other responce was eaten up in cyber world, So I will paraphrase what I had typed...

First and foremost hope all is well with you and everyone else who is and has suffered an Injury and the wrath of Workers Compensation. I cannot say enough to retain an attorney, And let him/her communicate with WC, then educate yourself
on everything and anything that pertains to WC, caselaw, etc., I am not kidding it will prepare you for the unexpected and so when you know what is taking place with regards to how WC works in your state, You will be better prepared to deal with the wrath of WC. Then Please, Please, Please retain all of your paper work and envelopes that they came in, Record on paper every person you communicated with in regards to your case, Believe me I have been dealing with WC for 3 years and I have learned more from educating myself via the internet than from my own attorney, These attorneys we retain are sometimes not as smart as they appear to be, So read- up on anything and question your attorney on what, where, when ,why, and how. I know what it's like to lose your job over an injury and feel like you're alone in this fight!
But remember that every case is different and is governed under your states unique laws.

If I can be of help to anyone, fell free to ask!

Take care, Good Luck 1
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Avatar universal
7 years ago I was involved in an accident while at work. I was a paramedic of 13 years and while lifting a patient I blew out three lower disks. Long story short the first MD I saw (a sports injury doc) just loaded me with pain meds and physical threaphy saying nothing was worng, Well two months into work I could not get out of the bunk when we were called out to a 911 call. After seeking a private ortho doc to confirm this was from the same injury I was rushed to the operating room since by this time I had lost all sensation in my legs. The workers comp doc totally missed the bulged disks on the MRI.
Upon returning home a week later I received a call that said the workers comp doc said I was only 5% disabled. All checks stopped and I was in no postion to fight them. I had to get a lawyer which was the best thing I ever did.
You should get a lawyer, make sure you keep copies of every paper given to you even discharge ones. Also Get copies of all MRI, CT, and xray films. They seem to be missing when you mention legal. Do not settle on what workers comp says. You have the right to go to a doctor or your choice for an additional opinion. But you must fill out workers comp' form or it is considered not valid. When I obtained my lawyer they not only got my checks started back up but they were able to get reinbursments for gas ect since I lived outside the city. They also got all toll bridge, and med monies back for me that I had to pay out of pocket. Workers comp is an insurance company, and they have a staff doctor that reads over all the claims submitted.

In your case you need a lawyer for two reasons, negligence on your employers part if you were following company SOP, and also to get your checks started back up. You will also be able to all the monies back from when the checks stopped but only if you know what to file so a lawyer is the only way to go. They can only take 21% of your checks and not a penny more. They should not require an up front payment since they get paid from your (workers comp) group.

Just do not sign any papers till you get a lawer.... Good luck and I hope everything works out for you.
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Avatar universal
GET AN LAWYER if not you will be**** an i am not playing workman comp they dont care as long as the dr say you are okay that it.An god was with you .
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Avatar universal
yes this is pretty funny, my lawyer said the same thing. the whole time i was on wc they gave me the run around and told me different all the time. i hope u feel better soon to, mad101    
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Avatar universal
WOW what the heck are they trying to do to you? Sounds pretty funny to me. I would be extremely upset. It seems everyday they tell you something different or they want you to do something that just don't seem right. I bet your lawyer will have something to say about this. No second opinion. Why what are they afraid of? You really have to keep me posted now. Sounds like it is getting very interesting. Feel better.
Chadry
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Avatar universal
about that letter i told u about.   I just recieved another letter and this one stated that wc recieved word from my last doc(pain managemnet), that he gave me a ppi and that they want to offer me some money if i waive my right to a second opinion. (can u believe that). wc terminated me and i never ever got a ppi evaluation from anyone.  My very last doc gave me a 0 PPi ???How can i be given a ppi degree all of a suden if i never got a evaluation???? can they just estemate how much of a percentage to give in their head.???? well talk to u later. Hope u get better soon as well.   ...........     because now im very upset, someone is just trying to give some hush up money.......  
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Avatar universal
I never had to sign anything because I was never officially put out of work by WC. They would give me a few days here and there but my employer paid me for those days not WC. I received a few letters stating that I was MMI but I never had to sing anything. They sent me statements saying what bills they paid. But like I said I did not receive any money from them. I wonder what will happen if you mark that you disagree. Your lawyer will tell you what you should mark and remember that you really do not consider yourself better yet so you may have to mark that you disagree. I am sure that you will probably have to sign that one way or another. That is just my opinion. Your lawyer will knwow what to do about. Just wait until you hear from him. It's always something isn't it. It is not bad enough that you are not feeling well but then there is all kinds of paperwork you do not know what to do with. I was always wondering what I was supposed to do exacltly and everyone would rell me to just play their game because they are going to make it as hard as possible for you so you will give up and just walk away and not go to the doctorsr quit your job so they can be relased from your injury.
Best of luck and keep me posted as to what your lawyer tells you to do about it.
Chadry
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Avatar universal
? i dont know if u know of this?? , but i recieved a letter from wc to sign. The letter is  a form about my benifets paid to me. it states why i have been terminated.  The answer on the form is that becasue (i am able to return to work)..... they want me to sign and date it if i agree or disagree.  
my employer also has to sign this form. did u ever get one of these forms to sign? if so did u have to sign it or did your lawyer tell u different. I also have a certain amount of time to send it back . i havent been able to get a hold of my lawyer right yet because it is the weekend. but if u can let me know if u know anything about this i would really appreciate it. Thanks.
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Avatar universal
I have been through so many different doctors from WC. I have been to ortho. and spine specialist and also pain mangement docotrs. I have done PT and work conditioning. In the end they declared me MMI. They did this a few times but I would just reinjure myself and I could rither not walk again for the pain for my neck would go out and I could not move my neck. I filed a claim in the very begining when I could see that I was just getting a run around and no one was taking me seriously. Oh yeah I would hear it is muscles spasms and it is nerves. You will have to learn tolive with it and just keep on working because there is nothinbg else we can do. Before you casr goes to court you have yo have your percentages from at least 2 different doctors. The doctor your lawyer finds for you and a doctor from WC. They will give you percentages. Your doctor should be higher than WC. They will give you a low percentage. Then when it comes time to settle a middle ground is found and that is what is decided on. So apparently you have limitations because you are not even back to full duties which would mean that you can not preform your job as before. That is a limitation. Do you know when your lawyer filed a claim for you with the WC courts? Like I said here in my state I had 2 years from the time of the injury to file. My lawyer was right on when they declared me MMI. I do not think you can be getting any kind of WC treatment when you are getting ready to settle. You have to be done treatment. Talk to your lawyer about that one because I am not sure about all the details. This last time I was declared MMI he filed my papers right away. I believe it goes up before the courts within 6 months or so. It is a very timely manner. An emg is a very important tool for the doctors to use to figure out what nerves are involved. Of course WC don't want this if they can avoid it because it would show problems if they are there. They would rather have you in the dark and hope you do not persue it. WC makes everthing as difficult as possible so that they hope you will just say forget it and walk away so that they are no longer responsible. I had the WC doctors tell me flat out thatI should quit my job. Can you believe it. Quit my job and walk away from it all. If I needed to quit my job then I think they should  have put me out of work but they would not. I was not about to walk away from my job voluntarily. You may have to get that emg done on your own as a tool for your side. You can talk to your lawyer and family doc about whether or not this test should be done. Do not wait for WC to do it. This might have some answers for your problem. Talk to your family doc about it. The more you have gathered on your side the better. Something is not right with the way you are felling. I worry about my neck all the time. I worry about the future and my neck. I was having problems with my low back and my neck and then one day something just popped in my neck and I could not move it. The WC doc said I was faking. I had to goto my family doc for help. I refused to see that WC doc again and they had to send me to another one who was a spine specialist. He finally ordered my MRI and my problems finally showed up. Xrays do not find these things. I have been through all kinds of **** from these so called doctors. Lets face it they are just in it for the money. I have cried so many times over the way I was being treated.
Hang in there, don't sign anything and do not quit your job. If your job lets you go then that is one more thing your lawyer can use. If you can not preform your duties and your job lets you go then apparently there is something wrong. Another thing WC is not going to approve alot of things. Some of this you will have to get on your own. The docotrs from my lawyer I had to pay for and they were not cheap but they are highly respected docotrs in their profession. I will be able to get reimbursed in the end if everything goes ok. So any thing you do out of pocket check with yourl awyer and find out if you can add that to any settlement.
Take care and I hope you are feeling a little better.
Chadry
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Avatar universal
yes i do believe my lawyer is setting me up with his doctors. For the emgs my last doc said that they dont mean anything to him personaly ( This doc was a pain management doc). My very first doc was a neuro surgon,  Wc then gave me a second opinion doc, this doc i believe should of been the same right (neuro surgon)???    my sec opinion doc was a pain management doc, he is the one that released me on modified duty (MMI)..and also gave me a 0 PPI. I was supposed to go back to my original doc to get a PPI but to see how i improved but wc did not approve. WC just took what this pain mang.  doc said which is crapppppp...... so in reality i never got a sec opinion doc??????       oh my very first doc is the one that had me on modified duty first.. well talk to u later and good luck in what u do as well....  
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Avatar universal
hello, thank u for your opinion. My boss is the owner of the dumbtruck. It was my coworker that dropped in on top of me.. I say the samething myself about moving wrong (this makes me nervous just thinking that any moment i can turn or fall and maybe paralyze myself. (i take it, this will be my falt  ) good luck in what ever u do,. thanks  
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Avatar universal
I am not sure about your state but here in jersey you have 2 years to fike a claim. I had to go to 2 doctors that my lawyer set up and then I had to go to WC doctors to get a percentage of my impairment. Did you dothe same thing? If your lawyer is not setting these things up and filing a claim then consider getting a different lawyer. You apparently have problems and these can be presented before a judge that works with WC cases. Please look into the guidelines and different things in the state you live in. You have residual damage that no one knows the outcome to that and if these WC doctors can tell you that it will heal in time is a bunch of bull. You need a few different docotrs from both sides to give you a rating. Wc declare people MMI even though they are not better. Believe me I know this all too well. I still ahve problems and I have nerve issues myself. Did they order an EMG done on you to see about nerve damage? If they didn't maybe you should have it done on your own to see what is going on. Your family doc can help with that. That is the way to tell about your nerves. I have nerve issues in my right leg. I should have one done for my left arm but they did not even address that. My doctor wants me to have one done on my arms but I lost my insurance and can not afford one at this time, regardless of this fact they can tell by my reflexes that there is aslo problems there. Gather whatever info you can and get some help from a lawyer. These issues have to be addressed in a timely manner.WC is hoping you go along with what they say but you have a voice in this matter. Find someone who will be behind you and fight for whatever they can for you. Make some phone calls and ask questions about what can be doen. By any chance are you in a union? If so contact them because that is how I got my lawyer. IF not call  call and call some more until you get someone willing to help you. Don't take this **** from WC.
Sorry I get so aggravated with WC and the bull they try to pull. I have a tentative court date sometime in dec. I am so anxious about what WC is going to say. I already know what my doctors have to say and the ratings I got from them. I am waiting on some papaerwork that my lawyer is sending me with all the reports so I have them if I need them to file a disability claim. Have you tried that? Looking into some kind of disabilty? I think I will be looking into it because of my nerve problems that have not healed yet and I have given them time. I feel so bad when I hear about the **** these doctors try to pull. Waht ever happened to doctors that considered you their first responsiblity. These doctors should not be doing this to people and messing with their lives the way they do. Granted there are som people out there who have taken advantage of these situations but we are all not like that. I would love to be back to myself again and do all the things I miss doing. People think that because you are home all day you are out having fun or something. I wish. Most of us do a very little bit and they have to lay down and recuperate from something so simple. It is no fun at all. Write back and let me know what else is going on and if there is anything else I can think of I will post it.
Chadry
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Avatar universal
Hi there, you should get another lawyer and get this taken care of. Don't sign anything saying they are not responsible,THEY ARE!
What if you move wrong and are paralyzed or something?
Who owned the dump truck?
They are totally responsible for the accident and all your pain and suffering!
Good luck to you! I wish you all the best!
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Avatar universal
im not feeling to great, especially my neck and back. I dont have full ROM in my neck, i have back issues (severe pain) i get horrible headaches all the time. my left side is still highly weak, i get numbness at times on my left side from head down. wc did say i was MMI. they also gave me a o PPI. they said i dont qualify for one. they told me that i have nerve irritation and that it will heal on its own, no telling how long it will take. ? If i never regain myself back because of my nerves wouldnt that be considered an impairment?    well i hope u feel better also...
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Avatar universal
I do not understand how they can drop you if they did not declare you MMI. Maximum Medical Improvment. If you are still on modified work then you are not well enough to go back to regular duties. Talk to your lawyer and find out what else you can do with WC to either declare you MMI or still cover you. As far as your boss is concerned he does not want to be responsible for you anymore. Just by asking you to sign that release before shows you that he knows you are not better. Please talk to your lawyer. MY job got rid of me as soon as they legally could. They could not wait for me to go. Good luck. I really can not deal with WC and they bull they do to people. How are you felling anyway?
Chadry
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Avatar universal
Can u believe now my boss does not want me to come back to work unless im on full release.  WC dropped me and left (modified  work ) on my release paper. Now im really messed up if u know what i mean....l
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Avatar universal
thank u also for your opinion on this ****.
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Avatar universal
thank u for your opinion, u take care of yourself also.
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315862 tn?1208802998
don't sign a waiver.  I'm not a lawyer.  Just another bad back person but If that form is not presented to every employee before employment I would think it would be discrimination.  Alll you have to do is lift a box wrong.  I was told to lift no more than 5lbs.  I am female but if the doctors believe that 5lbs can hurt a person, you could be sweeping and turn wrong.  Please don't sign it (or at least check with a lawyer first.)
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Avatar universal
Please do not sign anything until you have talked to your lawyer. I am not sure how bad you need this job . I am not trying to tell you what to do but I just know from my experience that I reinjured myself quite a few times when I was working very easily. You are not even better yet from the first accident  reagrdless of what WC says. I am sorry that you have to put up with bull. They must know that you are not better yet and the chances of you reinjuring yourself is pretty high. Talk to your lawyer and see what he has to say. WC is responsible for you if you get hurt on the job and signing that waiver releases them from any responsiblity whatever it may be. Just think about it very seriously before you sign. I think you boss has alot of guts asking this of you.That is alot to ask of a person. I was always pushed to work and it did more harm than good in the long run, but if I reinjured myself they had to send me back to the doctors and take responsibilty for it.
Take care and remember this is just my opinion. I am not in your shoes and I wish you luck with whatever you decide.
Chadry
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Avatar universal
thank u as well for listening to me. I did speak with my boss the other day.  Would u think it is right for my boss to tell me i will have to sign a waiver before i come back?????. the waiver will be ( so that they are not responsible for me if im injured again...    well u take care of yourself as well, talk to u later....
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Avatar universal
I agree with you. My union tried to get may job back but they said I would have to go up in front of an arbetration (spelling) board. The people on the board can ask me any medical problems they want and I have to answer them  to the best of knowledge. I do not think I am going to do this and put myself through that. If I would get my job back they would have to pay me all the money since they relaeased me from my job. What do you think the chances are that they will do that. Slim to none. I am allowed to apply for another positon and they would consider me. Well I did  apply to another a few weeks ago and of course I didi not hear anything. At least your boss is letting you come back even though the pay is different. We get punished for getting hurt. Insult to injury. The pain and suffering isn't enough so they have to screw us any way they can. Yeah eventually I should get some kind of award because as of right now I am not sure what kind of job I can get. I have both low back and neck issues. It kind of limits what I can do. I can not walk, sit, stand to long without pain. I can not do alot of bending and I can not lift anything with any kind of weight. Trying to find a job around that is pretty hard. I got the percentages from my doctors and now I am just waitin got hear what the WC doc has to say. I know it will be a lot lower so they have to find a happy medium. At least when they let me go from my job they did not put for medical reasons because they would have really screwed them  so I was able to colllect unemloyment. That is not going to last much longer though. I have been trying to find something part time. This has screwed my family big time because I was the one with medical insurance. Now my husband and I have no insurance but my kids will get it in Dec. So I can not even go the doctors now if  I ahve to because I could not afford it. Not unless it was an emergency.
Hopefully your lawyer will be able to do something for you, anything, you know what I mean. I hate to hear about other people going through the same thing. I think maybe alot of it has to do with the people who have abused the system. I think they think we are all putting on an act or something so it has made things so difficult for people that are truly hurt.
Take care of yourself and I am here to sound off to if you need. Thanks for listening to me also.
Chadry
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Avatar universal
sorry to hear that u had to go through this **** to. god bless u...well i did get a lawyer. my personal doc is supposed to take care of me now.... i hear u said something about an award.   Me i doubt i will get anything . the lawyer seems to be doing what he can do.. but in this world the losers loose. Im trying to get my old job back, my boss seems to be ok with that.. he will be changing my duties and probably my pay  (which sucks bad)..    wc is not fair at all.....
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Avatar universal
Get a lawyer. I had too. I have been through everything you are going through for almost 2 years now. They kept sending me back to work and then they would declare me MMI. I have reinjured myself quite a few times. I had to get a lawyer. I was not being treating properly. The last time I was declared MMi I was still in alot of pain in my neck and low back. I too have some weakness in my left arm. Anyway I was finally able to use my own insurance since W.C. would not cover anything anymore. My doctor kept me out of work for 4 weeks so I could recuperate. Needless to say I lost my job. It was OK with them that WC would send me back not any better but they did not like when my second opinion was different. In the meantime I have been to 3 different doctors now for my award so I think my case is coming close to t he end. I feel for you. WC is not out to help you but to do what is best for your employer. If you have your own insurance maybe you can see a doctor on your own to help get some answers, I know this is not fair but nothing is when it comes to WC. It took me along time to get that through my head. I am now taking a health and wellness class and my teaher is a PT. He showed me some stretches to do and believe it or not my arm is starting to feel a little better. My low back is bothering me today though. I know I was not much help but I know how you feel and I know the injustice of the WC system. Good luck and Ihope you feel better.
On a brighter note thank god you were not hurt more seriously because that sounds like a horrible accident.
Chadry
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