Previous Injured Worker.. need advice

[Still in Limbo]

If this Dr.'d Decision is Different from Your Dr.'s, Your Attorney will File a Petition to Review Medical Evidence, both Dr.'s will be Deposed, there will be a Hearing that Your Attorney May want You to Testify at, and the Judge will Make the Decision of which Dr, They feel is More Credible. If the Ins. Co. Sends You a Letter Stating "Petition for Request for Superceadeus", that Means they are trying to Stop Your Payments while the Hearings Process goes On, it's Usually a Standard Practice, and Your Attorney will have to File a Petition Requesting Superceadeus be Denied, and Usually it is, and You get Your w/c Payments during the Hearings Process! That's just the Beginning! Now if the Two Dr.'s Report about the Same, the Ins. Co. May not take these Steps, and May Possibly allow Either Surgery, or More Testing. You won't know Anything until the Dr.'s Report, and how the Ins. Co. acts, it's Usually 60 Days or So before the IME Dr. Issues His Report. Trust Me, I'm from Pa., been Fighting and Winning for almost 5 Years Now, and have been to 13, and My 14th Hearing is this Month!!! Just try and be Patient, and Make Sure You Contact Your Attorney with ANY Correspondence You Receive Either from Your Employer, the Pa. Dept. of Labor and Industry, or the Ins. Co. For some Reason in Pa. the w/c System seems to go this Way with Really Injured Persons, I have been Deemed Disabled by the Fed. Gov't., the Pa. State Gov't., My Dr. who was Found More Credible in My Hearings, and the W/C Judge who Made the Decision in My Case, and they Are STILL Fighting Me!! Yours May Never get this Far, but what I'm Telling You May Happen, just be Prepared, and Stay in Contact with Your Attorney!! Best of Luck!!

[jilly23]

Thank you so much for all of the advice. The last time I seen this IME he agreed with everything my doctor said. I don't know what he'll say this time, only because I couldn't make my wrist 'pop.' I thought maybe he'd say it doesn't pop seeing how he didnt feel it. However, there's a certain test they do to feel for DRUJ Instability. My doctor did it, he made it pop easily. I told the IME this, but he still did not perform it. The doctor just puts his thumbs on top of my wrist and kinda shifts the radius and ulna himself so it feels. Anyway, I've been off work again since feb 17th ..because my doctor wanted surgery done. I have been without checks since, but I have a hearing about it for may 18th. It's hard being 20 without money, lol.. I never created many bills for myself but I do have one credit card. How do you guys get by whenever they refuse to pay?

[sparkey]

What I am confused about is I still do not understand why they are not paying you if your work has no light duty for you, and you are injured and hurt on the job. I do not see why they are NOT paying you and why you would be any different than anyone else that is injured and sent home because of no light duty. Does not make sense to me. I think they should be paying you.

[Still in Limbo]

Welcome to the Pa. w/c System Sparkey!! You are Absolutely Correct, when She was taken Off by Her Dr., a Report should have been Sent to the Ins. Co., and W/c and Her Benefits should of Been Automatically Re-Instated! But if the Injured Worker in this State doesn't Stay on Top of things and Fight for what's Theirs, they Won't get it!! Just Think of this, as I'm in Pa, just as She is and this is what I'm Going Through: I have been to 13 Hearings, 12 Regular in which I Won 11 1/2 out of 12 Petitions, and One Penalty Petition since for Non Payment of Medicines, and an Appeals Hearing to Argue My TTD Amount, which I Won a Portion of, and it was Remanded Back to the w/c Judge for Reconsideration and Change. This has taken a Little Over 3 1/2 Years Now and Here's the Kicker: I am Deemed Totally Disabled by the Federal Government, the Pa. State Government, and My PM Dr, was Found More Credible, and in the Judges 52 Page Decision on My Case They Have Printed In THEIR Own Words that I am Considered in Their Eyes to be Totally Disabled, which is Very Rare for a Pa. w/c Judge to Say!! They are Still Fighting Me, have Sent Me for another IME when they Lost Their Case and Appeal, and that IME Dr, Agreed with The Ins. Co,'s Original IME Dr., Who was found Non-Credible in the First Case!! And they know I'm Disabled, that's Very Clear, and they have not even Made a Settlement Offer to Me, and After this Hearing this Month, We can Finally Leave the W/c Merry-Go-Round and Appeal to the Commonwealth of Pa. Appeals Court. We have every Confidence of a Win there also, (It's still over My Average Weekly Wage and How They Calculated it) and when I do Win, the Retro Money is Going to be like a Settlement in Itself!! But If My Attorney and I hadn't kept on Top of this at Every Step, the Loop Holes in this State would have Swallowed Me Up Years ago!! This State is not as Bad as Some, Not the Best, but You Surely have to Keep an Eye on Every Move Made, Miss One Dr. Appt. or Form, and You are Out!!!!

[jilly23]

Thanks for all of the advice..

This may sound goofy to most, but in all sincerity.. I've never broken my wrist or any bone in my body, yet I've had 17 casts on this hand so far from this injury. Due to these surgeries and numerous times they just wanted to, 'immobilize' it. Now I'm all for this next surgery they're supposed to perform, but afterwards I'll be in various casts for quite some time. (They're drilling holes in my wrist, possible screw.. for DRUJ Instability) Anyway, towards my 14th cast.. I began to feel claustrophobic so to speak. It always bothered me when they'd open my cast and if I just seen something as harmless as a gnat ..I'd be very bothered. I know this sounds silly, but I had a dream about this surgery and I'm terrified now not of the surgery, but the whole fact of going back into a cast for 8-10wks. So claustrophic feeling that it makes me not even want the surgery. Does anyone know, do they do anything different.. can you be in just a brace.. or they can't do anything about this. I'm really scared about the whole ordeal and like, I don't know how to explain it. Other than, I literally had 17 casts on my wrist from this injury.. each cast being on at least 3wks. at a time, so take that times 17..51 weeks, that's 1 week shy of a year. So you might as well say I was in a cast for a year of my life. I'm normally not this paranoid and I know this isn't a 'comp' question.. but if anyone can give me any advice, boy im sure looking for it. I know I can't 'deny' a surgery..or workers comp wont do anymore for me, plus I know it needs to be done. I'm just so afraid.

[jayne]

when they did my Husbands arm surgery they put a cast on it....I had to take him back the next day he just couldnt take the feeling of having something on HE couldnt take off..he was older and they explained the need for it not to move....they put a half cast on and told him he shouldnt take it off and he knew that, but because he could(the difference in half cast and the rest wrap) he never removed it till the doc did but knowing he could made all the difference...does that make any sense at all to you......He never did remove it but knowing he could eased his mind enough to wear it....talk to you Doc

[Lilly]

Jilly,

I also had a friend that broke her arm...and returned to the ER in a panic a week later to have it removed...because of a claustrophobic panic attack. They removed it and put her in a removable cast....and like Janye said it eased her mind enough to just "Know" the fact that she could take it off. Maybe you need to speak w/ doc about your feelings ...I'm sure they can help you out with something!
Take care, relax & chill out! Lilly

[comp trash]

(04-05-2009 01:56 PM)jilly23 Wrote:  Thanks for your respones ..I greatly appreciate it. Although I've been at this since 2006, I've never been to court or anything like that. I dont know why they're sending me to their same comp doctor if he agreed with my doctor last time. I'm fortunate, however, some things I read people claim that it doesn't happen frequently.have all your dr's reports with you. the comp dr works for thier insurance company they are paid to lie. you need to get the precentage of your dissability from all doctors. i had three dr's stating 100% dissabled and the comp dr had it at 50. so i had to settle at 75% dissabled. that reflects on your weekly workers comp amount. you need a good lawyer.