Return to work?

[nursedina]

Ok I'll try to make this as quick and painless as possible.

I'm a 42 year old registered nurse in PA. I hurt my back at work and subsequently had three surgeries : L4/l5 fusion, l5-s1 360 fusion and spinal cord stimulation implant. I I take narcotics for the pain. This all happened almost two years ago.

I am doing fairly well and my surgeon has released me to go back to work wih many restrictions. I can do no patient care, can not lift, push or pull more than 10 lbs, have to change position every 30 minutes, and it must be sedentary work.

Good news is that they founf me a job and I really want to do it.

Bad thing is salary is half of what I made before my injury. I know INS company will pay 2/3 the difference. But i am wondering if insurance company will still want to settle for the difference they will still have to pay me?

I am hoping i can do the job, and desperately want to go back to work, i am going to give it my all.

I guess I am wondering if there might still be a smaller settlement since they will still be paying me half of what they have been for the past two years.

I noticed some people get checks after they return to work. Do i have to accept it if they give me a check? I'm not working door half pay and then have them close it out with a check for 10,000.

I have two bars, 6 screws, a spinal cord stimulator ( cords on my spine anx battery pack in my read end) i also have a permanent drop foot.

Any advice would be appreciated.

Thanks

Dina

[jayne]

they (WC) could care less about your pain...do you have a lawyer? Timothy Belt is on here he is a Pa.WC lawyer he could answer you better than anyone else

[1171]

Pennsylvania is a wage loss state so those that have loss less wages would receive less compensation.
no, you don't have to accept ;you can reject any additional payments.

[nursedina]

1171 what does wage loss state mean? I'm not sure im following you. Will they not pay me 2/3 of the difference?

[1171]

In Pennsylvania payments are not based on impairment ratings like many other states.
yes, if you are working and receiving wages you get less then if you are not working.

[Timothy Belt]

In PA if you return to work at less than your time of injury average weekly wage you as a result of your work injury, you are entitled to 2/3 of the difference between your average weekly wage and your actual gross earnings for up to 500 weeks. Settlement is voluntary and the insurance carrier can not just send you a lump sum you did not agree to and close out your file. However, in my personal opinion settlement of your case is unlikely without a resignation from your employment. The truth of the matter is that you are now damaged goods and the risk of re injury is too high for the IC to agree to a settlement and also keep you on as an employee.

[nursedina]

Thanks for the replies everyone. Im still waiting to see if i got the job they are proposing for me. I really want to go back to work but am afraid whether or not i can do it. As I am now, i have good days, and bad days. I worry about what will happen on my bad days,

My near surgeon released me back to work at me request and he is no longer my doctor (actively) I will still need to see him if my stimulator isn't working or if there are any problems. Hopefully in will stay well. Can't wait to get back to work! My family thinks I am pushing it but mynlawyer also said it was a good idea to go back.

What happens if my pain is bad and I can't do it? I am the one who requested to go back to work but i also worry about the future.