Need Advice Please !!

[Injured in Nc]

Ok So here is what happened so far...
I had gotten hurt at work back in 2010 , since then i have seen multiple
surgeons and doctors . I have had 2 surgeries on my shoulder and back .
I had a biceps tendon resecured ( tendonesis i think ). I had some clean up work done in there as well , Then i had a clean up done behind my shoulder blade . I forgot what its called . Now i have reached MMI and was told there is nothing more they can do . I am still in the same amount of pain , my back still grinds and pops. So nothing had solved the problem . after all this i was rated at 15% for shoulder and back ! wth ?? Now that being said i am a 38 year old male who has an 11th grade education and ive been in construction all my life and now im being told i cant do that anymore . I dont feel the settlement is anywhere near enough to sustain me . I have to be on pain control meds for the rest of my life. whos going to pay for that? my med insurance shouldnt be paying for that! i was also told there are other surgeries that could be done but the doctors felt it would be too invasive , but heres the thing , im still young and if theres even a slight chance i could have my life back , why wouldnt i want that ? Please give me any advice you can ! i need to know what i should do from here . i am being respresented but i feel like im not being fought for as hard i could be . im just not sure things are going right . WHAT SHOULD I DO ??

[1171]

for your peace of mind you should talk to other attys.
if you can find one that believes they can provide a better alternative, you can switch at any time.

North Carolina comp can use potential loss of earnings as a measurement of the extent of your disability and not just an impairment rating.
for someone that has not been able to return to work that could be a substantial improvement in additional disability payments.

[bronco54501]

(02-23-2012 12:04 PM)Injured in Nc Wrote:  Ok So here is what happened so far...
I had gotten hurt at work back in 2010 , since then i have seen multiple
surgeons and doctors . I have had 2 surgeries on my shoulder and back .
I had a biceps tendon resecured ( tendonesis i think ). I had some clean up work done in there as well , Then i had a clean up done behind my shoulder blade . I forgot what its called . Now i have reached MMI and was told there is nothing more they can do . I am still in the same amount of pain , my back still grinds and pops. So nothing had solved the problem . after all this i was rated at 15% for shoulder and back ! wth ?? Now that being said i am a 38 year old male who has an 11th grade education and ive been in construction all my life and now im being told i cant do that anymore . I dont feel the settlement is anywhere near enough to sustain me . I have to be on pain control meds for the rest of my life. whos going to pay for that? my med insurance shouldnt be paying for that! i was also told there are other surgeries that could be done but the doctors felt it would be too invasive , but heres the thing , im still young and if theres even a slight chance i could have my life back , why wouldnt i want that ? Please give me any advice you can ! i need to know what i should do from here . i am being respresented but i feel like im not being fought for as hard i could be . im just not sure things are going right . WHAT SHOULD I DO ??

I was also injured at the age of 38, multi injuries. And like you I felt there was more they could do to get my life back.. My accident left me in a wheel chair for almost 6 months, I pushed and pushed my self and was released to return to work with restrictions.. It was realy against my lawyers advice and one of my drs, I should have listened.. I reinjured my self and have been off work for almost 2 years, and the last year has been without ttd and paying for my meds.. I have declined the 2 level fusion because the surgeon warned me that it wont help with my back pain but would help with leg nerve pain..

IMO, maybe consult with a few different attorneys, also get another oppinion on surgery.. Like 1171 said, there may be more of a settlement for loss of earning capacity..

[Injured in Nc]

Thank you for your replies,
So far im ok with the way things have been with the comp carrier , they have been paying my benefits with out a problem but now that im released, their at some point going to stop and i dont feel like i have been treated to MMI . I still have all the same problems and as i said , 2 of the docs said that there was more that could be done but they feel that it may make things worse . But heres the thing , im already out of work almost 2 years , ive lost my job and i have restrictions that no employer in their right mind would be able to accomodate . So whats the harm in trying to get the most improvement? Im already in pain for the rest of my life , so if theres even a slight chance to fix this crap , let do it ! lol . But i do think if this layer doesnt get on the ball and start fighting for me , i may have to find another one , i hate it because i like them. Anyway , thanks for the support and i hope i can get something more done . And Bronco ... I hope things get better for you too , Good luck !

[1171]

be careful of trying too much for what may not be there.
the down side is you could end up a lot worse.
read more posts; trust the testimonies of those that are so much worse off then when they started.
you might see the tragedy in pushing for too much treatment.
there are doctors out there who will give you that extra surgery you want without regard for the negative results.

if past surgeries aren't working, it's not realistic to think more will.
you maybe better off with one less surgery then one too many.

[Injured in Nc]

I totally respect that . but what i dont understand is that , my back is still cracking and popping when ever i use my right shoulder and loud enough to be recorded on my phone . The human body is not supposed to make noises like that , i can understand a noise or 2 with no pain but when you have pain with the noise theres a problem , now tell me .... why cant some of the best docs in nc find the problem ? they already know there is a buldging disc , they claim its not causeing the pain , still a possibility non the less, they also admit there are more things that could technically work but may not . its like they all admit theres a problem but for whatever reason wont fix it . i just cant wrap my mind around this reasoning. I should be thankful that im not worse of than i am , And i am VERY thankful . Im just concerned that if i settle on all of this and just live with it , that it may get worse later and now its on me to use my own medical ins to fix it .. Thats not cool , I dont think it should be thta easy for a co to push money at someone and just be able to drop it . They should be responsible for any future medical due to this problem . If it never comes back or gets worse then fine but if it does i dont think its right that they can just wash their hands of it . Same with my medication , I should not have to rely on my ins for medication i have to take becuase of my job . Especially when i gets to a point where i have to cover the expenses not carried my the insurance . Im not unreasonable im just like anyone else and just want to be fixed or at least make every possible attempt to repair the damage . If they made every attampt there shouldnt be the same amount of pain as in the beginning . So now i have more scar tissue , permenancy , and anchor in my bone , and the same amount of pain ? there got to be more to it right?

[jayne]

well hell I might as well try here also...WC does not think of you as a human but as a case number remember that first and formost.
Stay away from any back surgery you dont have to have to keep you upright and walking especially if you make to much scar tissue...thats asking for membership in the wheelchair club....
No one is ever going to cover the injury you have now ever remember that before you sign off on it.It will always be a pre existing injury.period
you can settle and keep medical open it isnt easy but it can be done.....
I didnt let them mess with my back I am a red head and produce way to much scartissue to let them open my back for any thing other than life or death

[Injured in Nc]

(02-23-2012 04:34 PM)jayne Wrote:  well hell I might as well try here also...WC does not think of you as a human but as a case number remember that first and formost.
Stay away from any back surgery you dont have to have to keep you upright and walking especially if you make to much scar tissue...thats asking for membership in the wheelchair club....
No one is ever going to cover the injury you have now ever remember that before you sign off on it.It will always be a pre existing injury.period
you can settle and keep medical open it isnt easy but it can be done.....
I didnt let them mess with my back I am a red head and produce way to much scartissue to let them open my back for any thing other than life or death

Lol , They did go in my back once already to clean out behind my shoulder blade, but that was it , Most of the work was dont to my shoulder which is still jacked up . my Right side is somehow out of whack and causing some rubbing and grinding which is in turn going to cause more tissue and muscle damage in the future ( i assume ) .

[Bernie57]

I know nothing about back injuries, However I am very familiar with Shoulder Injuries. Tearing of the bicept is a big painful deal. It takes on average over one year of substancial physical therapy to lessen the pain. Physical therapy should also work on the popping noise you are hearing. Because I had a large rotator cuff tear and surgical failure I still can hear and feel the popping after a 2005 injury.
If I continue to use the bands correctly it will lessen the poping a lot.
But it hurts like the devil while you are doing the bands. Its the tendon
rolling over the bone, or so they tell me. If it were up to me, I would have another MRI done to check for current damage and signs of healing.
It is safer than opening the area and taking a look see. Best of Luck, Bernie

[simbaned123]

I have been injured in NC as well.
I tripped and fell hurting my tailbone and back. I have been out of work going on a month now. I have yet to receive a WC check. I have only seen a PA and NP. I have had an x-ray of the tailbone and back, both show no fracture. But I also know from experience x-rays don't always show everything. Sometimes you need a MRI. I am having quite a bit of pain in my back, left hip and tailbone. I pretty much have to take pain pills non-stop. I am quite concerned because I have popping in both hips and my back as well. I have had surgery previously on my lower back for a Cyst, and have had Total Knee Replacements on both knees, one was done 5 years ago, the other over 10 years ago. I was told by the Orthopedic Surgeon to always be careful not to fall. I can't stand for more than an hour without back pain. I can't sit down except in certain padded chairs and not for long. I can't sleep well because I usually sleep on my left side and have left side hip pain.
I finally heard from the Insurance Adjuster Friday about my case. I do not know anything about WC so had left messages on her voice mail asking if she had received the PA's request for an Ortho consult. She called back after my third message. She said she just received my paperwork Thursday the 15th. I mentioned I know the paperwork had been faxed to HR at my place of work on the 5th, so not sure why she was just receiving paperwork .A Nurse has been assigned to me and will contact me supposedly about an appointment with an Orthopedic Doctor next week. I can only hope.
The Insurance adjuster asked questions about previous surgeries and conditions. The PA said when they did the back x-ray they saw a lot of Arthritis, that does not surprise me since I have a history of that. But my back and hip and tailbone did not bother me at all until after the fall. I am just hoping they do not try and say it is from a previous condition because I worked harder, walked faster than many 20 year old people at my job place. Can they use prior conditions against you?
Also my employer sent me a FMLA Letter as well. Which I guess is standard. But to tell you the truth, after not one bit of help from my employer through any of this, I'm not sure I want to go back. Its disheartening. If I had not called people I would still be sitting here wandering what was going on, the insurance adjuster only had one paper on me and that was the incident report on the fall.
I guess I just needed to vent. I'm a little scared of this whole process and worried they will say I am just fine when I know my body and I know I am not fine. Something is wrong and I do not want to have to be on pain killers for the rest of my life to function.

(02-23-2012 12:04 PM)Injured in Nc Wrote:  Ok So here is what happened so far...
I had gotten hurt at work back in 2010 , since then i have seen multiple
surgeons and doctors . I have had 2 surgeries on my shoulder and back .
I had a biceps tendon resecured ( tendonesis i think ). I had some clean up work done in there as well , Then i had a clean up done behind my shoulder blade . I forgot what its called . Now i have reached MMI and was told there is nothing more they can do . I am still in the same amount of pain , my back still grinds and pops. So nothing had solved the problem . after all this i was rated at 15% for shoulder and back ! wth ?? Now that being said i am a 38 year old male who has an 11th grade education and ive been in construction all my life and now im being told i cant do that anymore . I dont feel the settlement is anywhere near enough to sustain me . I have to be on pain control meds for the rest of my life. whos going to pay for that? my med insurance shouldnt be paying for that! i was also told there are other surgeries that could be done but the doctors felt it would be too invasive , but heres the thing , im still young and if theres even a slight chance i could have my life back , why wouldnt i want that ? Please give me any advice you can ! i need to know what i should do from here . i am being respresented but i feel like im not being fought for as hard i could be . im just not sure things are going right . WHAT SHOULD I DO ??