im am a 36yr old male and at the end of april 2008 i hurt my back @ work lifting , the pains started in my neck and down to my shoulder into my arms tingling to my fingers.weak hands. i went to there doctors , and the doctor didnt know exactly was wrong ,he concluded pinched nerve? pulled muscle?, they had put me through pt were i incurred lots of pain, he then set a mri for me, the mri concluded i had a ruptured c4 and c5 disc , and forms of ddd. im still @ work on light duty and havent had any claims yet. i tell the doctors i hurt @ work, its also starting to affect my lower back , my sciatica nerve and my legs go extremely weak with low back pain. the problem i face is... the first doctor i had
before he put me through the spinal surgeon was he said i had a form of DDD "disk deteriation disease" i spoke with the companies medical and they had told me the doctor said i had ddd which is not work related.(but a strain can rupture a disc "ddd or not" ) i been with this company going on 3 years , and my accident happend after i was there 2 years. the surgeon advised me i may have to have surgery "spinal fusion", after i go through 1 more MRI. but now im a sittin duck waiting for the company to approve it. what should i do as far as this point here? the last mri approval took 2 months, and this time its looking its going to be longer.
these laws are based on tennessee's workmans comp..!
Thanks
please note (all pains is on my right side)
DDD is an ageing disease,we start getting it the day we are born it is something they like to use to deny benifits......you better visit a WC lawyer to get the ball rolling a bit faster.....those pinched nerves can become a permanant problem is not taken care of......sounds like more than one disc involved to hurt all the way down to your toes...if the pain gets to be more than you can handle go to the ER tell them its from a WC injury these people are like any other insurance and will do all they can to keep from paying...the good news is if taken care of promply full recovery is expected
if i got the wc attorney , will the company fire me? also i dont have that kind of money for an attorney, any idea how much the fees would be? or will the company have to pay for it?
If you dont get an attorney the IC will use every trick in the book to prevent paying you and the bills. In most states the lawyer is paid his fee from any awards you receive. Im from NY and your employer cant fire you for getting an attorney but can fire you if you cant go back to work within 26 weeks. Not sure what the Tennesee laws are. You should be able to get info from the Tenn workers Comp site. Sounds to me like your surgeon is being lazy and doesnt want to be bothered with WC and would prefer to file it under your reg insurance . I would get a second opinion. My son from Oregon is going thru the same thing. he hurt his back aat work and his Dr claims you cant herniate a healthy disc so it must be from the DDD ! Keep a notebook and write down any and all phone calls or info pertaining to your case.it makes it easier to relay this info to your attorney. Once you get an attorney he can file for a hearing to get appoval for any MRI's or surgeries you might need. Good luck and stand your ground .
I am not in the medical field, but I am at a loss as to how damage at the C4-C5 area can effect the S1 nerve. My guess would be that you have a serious inpingment on the spinal cord and not just one nerve. Most S1 nerve damage comes from the L4-L5, L5-S1. That is the lower back.
You may want to check your state laws and see if there is a time limit for the IC to approve or denie a medical request. What I mean by that is, In my state the IC has 72 hours (3 normal work days) to approve or denie a request. I think you do not know who is at fault for the delay ( the dr. or the IC ).
As far as a MRI, was it done with contrast???? and was it done for the lumbar area also???? Some things you may want to talk with your dr. about.
at first i went to see a nuerologist , from that point he said or guessed i had a pinched nerve or pulled muscle, as it got worse he told me to goto PT.at this point it hurt so bad i couldnt stand it. whenever i would stand in a position my neck would hurt so bad it brought tears to my eyes. he then ordered the mri which showed c4-c5 herniated disc. which then put me through to a spinal surgeon, it took 2 months to get that approved. the insurance for my company is takiing its time. the spinal surgeon said , i would need a spinal fusion "surgery" , but.. he wants another mri of my lower back and my neck area. as my pains come and go through out my whole right side its not consistent. my right hand is extremely weak. hard to grip some things tingling in my arms , etc.. my lower back problem came after my neck,shoulder,hands, started. may or may not be related, but im thinking it is since its all on my right side.. and givin that im on light duty now, when i have to climb a stair , my right leg gives out.. seeems like i been climbing all day thats how bad it gets. also when i cough, or move a certain way my lower back will hurt , with pain and my rt leg goes out. so all in all, this may be the way on how its getting worse, as far as the nerve roots and spine effect the lower back.
im gonna consult a wc attorney tommorrow to see what i can get done. w/o getting fired for doing so. all in all surgery or no surgery i still gotta deal with the ruptured disc for the rest of my life. theres always gonna be a complication , and therefore i gotta deal with the company , todo so. ODD!
Yes you could get fired if you bring legal action against the employer and their carrier; but they can terminate you after your FMLA runs out so there is not much more protection unless you are in a Union.
one way to resolve disputes and delays is to go to comp court. You can also talk to your employer about the delays; carriers often listen better to their policyholder then the worker.
the best thing you can do while waiting is to learn all you can about your work comp system and rules
http://www.state.tn.us/labor-wfd/wcomp.html
I can tell you right now that they are going to use that DDD as your problem and not want to say it is a WC injury. That DDD is used so often to cover their A&&. You sound like you do have alot of cervical and now spinal problems and if you do not get them taken care of with a good doctor now instead of a WC doctor your going to be in for a long haul of pain. First off they should of never sent you to PT when you have a disc problem. Not to mention that they really are not sure what is causing the pain. That could cause more damage.
Contacting a WC lawyer and getting a free consult will not cost you anything right now. It would not hurt to get in touch with one. How did you hurt yourself at work is my question? Were you lifting something? Did you report it right away etc? If so, you should of already filled out a injury report and WC should of contacted you by now and given you an adjuster. I got a call from my adjuster the day my accident happened and they asked me what I was doing when injured.
Make sure you DOCUMENT everything from here on out. Paperwork etc. Do not lose a thing. Keep a log of your pain, who you seen for doctors, mileage etc. You should be getting paid mileage to your appointments, PT and medication if on any . So when they do say it is a wc injury you will know exactly how many miles you have went, what money you spent on medications etc. since the date of injury.
I can tell you right now, this does not sound good that they have not even said it was a WC injury and it is already two months???Do yourself a favor and make sure you get a good doctor and not one they are sending you to. If you have a primary care doctor through your insurance co. then go there and if he feels you should be out of work then have him write a note for you to be out. WC will have to pay for you to be out. Working light duty depending on what you are doing, could only make you worse till they find out what exactly is wrong. Think of your health, as they do not care. Keep us informed on how your doing.
It might help you to know that ALL disc herniations in adults are degenerative in nature regardless of the mechanism of injury. Try explaining that bit of factual scientific evidence to an IME Dr. who is not a board certified spine surgeon though.
The lower back could be related. At least in my mind. In my case, I injured my back on a friday, the next tuesday I saw my regular dr ans was given steriods to help with the inflamed muscels. The following monday, I was in the ER and two days latter had emergency surgery.
If your job requires you to climb stairs, I would let the dr know.
I would try and handle things on my on as long as I could. With that being said, your health and well being is worth more than any job.