Workers' Compensation Discussion Forums

Hello Everyone:

First let me say that this is my first post. I have read some of the other threads and I must say that the answers are given with compassion and non-judgmental.

Now for my scenario, I have recently had an injury at work causing herniated disks, to the lumbar L4-L5. Causing sever pain down both legs and numbness.
I have had back problems in the past witch started back in the 90s. With another workers comp injury. That seemed to heal and went back to work. I have always worked manual labor and trained as a bodybuilder. About two years ago. I started have bad sciatica problems due to consistent tighten of the back muscles. I saw my PCP they thought it may be a herniated disk but the MRI came back normal, had an EMG and it was inconclusive. My PCP and he put me on pain killers allowing me to return to work and I was fine until this accident. Now I am in sever pain all the time. I had a nasty call from a nurse from WC telling me that how my doctor should be treating me and I have to go to PT and comply with WC rules in order to keep receiving WC. Really but that is a different story altogether. My main question is can WC get medical records from the past two years trying to say that it is not a WC injury or am I protected by HIPPA or some other laws. Sorry for not saying I do live in NY.

Wish I could answer all your question for you but I can't. Somebody will help soon. But the one thing I can say is that you will need to follow WC rules to get paid most of the time. Not sure of the rules in your state but you will need to find them out so you can follow them. Talking to a lawyer is normally not a bad thing. I wish you the best of luck in getting the help you need to get pain free. My problems are in the L4, L5 and S1 area so I understand.

No, Hippa makes an exception for workers compensation. If there are non-industrial factors to your disability and condition then that has to be taken into account. An aggravation is considered a new injury so the claim can't be denied outright. these are medical questions that will be decided by doctors opinions when the time comes.

You need a lawyer.

In my Opinion, your Past Medical Records could be a Blessing to you. Since you stated you had a MRI that didn't show a Herniated Disc, and now one shows up.