Hi, l'm writing for my son as he doesnt have a comp. He's a carpenter 35 yrs old. Nov. 10, 2008 he was on a 2nd floor of the house they were building. He fell 12 ft. through a opening to the ground and landed on his back. He's lucky to be alive. Didnt hit his head...thank God. lts a small contracter he works for and W.C. was notified right away. He finally started getting a weekly paycheck from them just last week.
Now a little over a month later his WC Dr. said he could go back to work light duty. Still has pain in his hip but is much better. The problem is that he's been having horrible headaches with neck pain and his WC Dr. told him that wouldnt have anything to do with his fall. My son asked if he'd refer him to see a chiropracter and he told him no and that he thought he could go back to work fulltime. His Dr. also told him if he wanted to see a chiropracter his boss had to refer him. ls this true, does anyone know.??
He has a wonderful boss and has been very good through all of this and has given him light duty but my son isnt ready to get back up on a roof again. He bruised his whole body inside as well as outside. His kidneys were bruised and bleeding. Spent 4 days in hosp.
He did call a advisor with WC today and she said he can get a 2nd opinion by sending a letter in writing to them. He's really been getting the run around and has been having a very hard time with no money coming in till now.
Does anyone know if his WC Dr. says back to work, do they stop the WC right away??? l mentioned lawyer to him but he likes his boss too well. Doesnt my son have to sign off for the WC to stop.
Thanks to anyone who can help. This is all new to us. He lives in Arkansas. Thats where the accident happened.
Lois...........A concerned mom
redloi2,
Hang in there I'm sure someone will be here to help you. If not tonight check back in the morning. Im sure the comp checks will stop if there is work for him but not until he returns. I would seriously think about checking with lawyer just to see your options. He could have future problems and you just dont know it yet.
I am unfamilar with your state laws and rules. From what I have just read, the issue is one of medical decision. I think the best move would be to get a second oppinion.
I think all states have one thing in common. Once an individual has been released to work full duty. The monitary benifits will stop.
Take Care
First off I am sorry to hear about your son. I also would say that he should look into a lawyer for information on his rights. He does not have to let his boss know that he is getting a consultation. There is lawyers that will give him a free consultation and give him an idea of what his rights are. This has only been a month since his injury and when he fell he could have hurt something in his neck that is causing these headaches etc. Has he had any testing?
The boss is not the one to recommend a chiropractor. It seems like this doctor does not want to get involved in WC and that he should really go see another doctor. He needs tests run to see what is causing his head ache. There could be much more wrong with him. Such as a cervical problem.
Yes they can send him back to work light duty and now that the doctor said he can he would need to find another doctor that says he cannot in order to still collect if the doctor chooses to keep him out of work. The money will stop now without having any doctor to keep hiim out. Unfortunatly WC likes to play games and no matter how much he likes his boss he needs to think of his own health. If not he could have many problems down the road with his health and his boss will not be the one suffering like him. Good luck and read up on WC at the top of this page. There is many questions and answers that will be very helpful. Get a second opinion and soon!!!
Definately get a lawyer. I Wrecked my truck and went to the emergency room and had a cat scan and xray they didnt find anything and sent me home. I wrecked (rolled over 3x) on thursday and went to w/c dr. on monday who sent me back to work that day. I was still in alot of pain and advised him my neck and back was hurting. Thank God for friends who advised me to get an attorney..I finally got an mri done and found that i had hyrniated my c5 in my neck and had to have an fusion of c5 and c6. Although this may not be the case for your son but he definately needs a second opinion. I agree with the others it is nothing personal with his employer but your son is the one who will have to live with the pain not the employer. Good luck.
He may be experiencing headaches from post -concussion syndrome if there was a contra-coup type injury to the brain which does not require a direct blow to the head, he may have significant unrecognized neck injury with what are called cervicogenic headaches or jsut the strain to the neck muscles of trying to hold his head off the ground in the fall may have caused cervical strain injuries and now getting muscle tension headaches.
In short, his Dr sounds like a dangerous ass who is putting himself in harms way by not running his patients complaints down or at the very least covering his ass with a neurology consult for headaches etc etc.
Second opinion.is warranted, Change Drs.
arkansas is one of the states where there arent many WC lawyers......just no money in it for them but they do have a great group of ombudsman for wc that will help you thru it....If his neck is still hurting with headaches and such he will most lkely need a discogram to find the bad one as most WC docs like to blame neck injuries on DDD.
Please have your son seek additional medical help (2nd opinion). He could be severly injured, and further hurt himself by returning to work. RTW he must at least try though...or he'll be deemed "non compliant" and they'll cut him off ANY future WC benefits. Either get a lawyer, or try the ombudsman for your State like Jayne suggested. He's going to need protection.
Good luck, Lilly
Arkansas has a Legal Advisor Department that assists injured workers: Legal Advisor Direct 1-800-250-2511
Your son needs to get a second opinion. I had a claim once where the employee injured his knee. The doctor sent him back to work full duty without even an MRI. I sent him for a second opinion, MRI was done. He had a torn meniscus which would have been made severely worse had he returned to his work (construction)
Keep in mind, if the doctor says he can go to work and he does not, his benefits may be cut off. You state his employer is a good guy. Your son should explain to him that he is continuing to have problems and is requesting a second opinion. Hopefully the boss will take that into consideration and make sure that whatever he is doing is not harming him. Its to his advantage not to put someone with severe headaches up on a roof!
Thanks to all of you for such quick reply's. Neither one of us know squat about WC except that their slow to act. l will be talking to my son this morning and will read him the letters. l live in kentucky and he's in Arkansas. l am going to read up on the laws more.
The advisor he talked to told him he has to send WC a letter saying he wants a 2nd opinion and she advised him to see a nuerosugeon. When he was in the hospital he had so many tests run. Cat scan, MRI, xrays. Was seen by a bone specialist, nuerosurgeon, kidney specialist,. They all looked at his tests and said he's bruised very bad.
His Dr. said the worse back bruise he's ever seen. When he fell he landed on his back and some of his left side, At first they thought his hip was broke.
Scott has been working light duty . He loves his job and his boss is a good friend of his. lts small, l think maybe 10 employees. He's had to lay some off cuz he's not getting any houses to build. So he cant put Scott back to work fulltime cuz of no work. So he's in between a rock and a hard place.
He's still considering seeing a chiropracter as his 2nd Dr. With a fall like that he has to have everything out of place. Any ideas on that??
Will write more later. Thanks again