Workers' Compensation Discussion Forums

One of my best friends was injuried at work.

My friend is an works at a local hospital as a floor nurse and was injuried this summer assisting a paitent as the patient whom started to fall, my friend prevented the fall and hurt her back.

After testing my friend learned she has hernation of L4, L5, & S1.
She had 3 epidurals, physical therapy and has been in & out of the hospital several times due to complication. Thw WC treating doctors says she needs surgery now due to increased problems with her back.

WC Ins says they will not look at approving surgery for another 30 days.

The excuse they are using is my friend was a smoker and recently quit smoking and wc wants her to be smoke free for 30 days.

Today my friends shared with me she is having increased numbness
with problems with her blader.

I believe someone on this forum shared that this is a warning sign with medical attention needing provided.

Bladder problems with a back injury can be serious. Have your friend talk to her dr. I am a smoker and my dr did my surgery. I didn't have to be fused, but my dr said he doesn't think that smoking necesarily keeps surgery patients from healing. With fusion it could possibly make a difference, but I would see what the dr says about that. To me w/c shouldn't be able to make that type of decision, the dr should. Let me know what happens with your friend.

sorry bummer a lot of docs wont even do surgery till you are smoke free for 30 days......has she access to a pool to float sometimes that helps

What is the reason for smoke free, trying to understand the medical reason for this?

I'm not a smoker, never have been, never will be.

Bk, Losing bladder or bowel control is a very serious condition with back injurys, your friend should go to a er immediatly if she has these symptoms..see this site or others. scroll down to
What are the symptoms.
http://www.losethebackpain.com/condition...ddisc.html

Tuffy, that is what I told her.

She lives down the road from me and I am keeping a close watch on her.

She is worried the bill won't be paid if she goes to ER.

BK, Better the bill not being paid than her loosing her life or paralized for life, Tell the ER it is WC or use other ins and let WC and Ins co fight it out. This could be very serious. She is an RN and should know that this should not be put off.

Sorry to be so blunt, don't mean to sound that way , just concerned.

Tuffy, The hospital's ER she will be going to is where she works or worked when she was injuried.

I gave her instructions to call me if she has the problem again and I will load her up and take her to ER.

I went to the same hospital I worked at when injured, and I knew most who worked in the ER, They treated me better than the staff i worked with. One of the Hucks ( Unit clerks) came to the er to see how I was . she was the only one from the unit I worked in that did or has kept in touch with me.

No one from my job has kept in touch with me. My fromer co-workers are under orders not to talk to me.