back to work

[ru4outoo]

I was injured in Oklahoma.

I had rotator cuff surgery July 7th and I got a letter from the workers comp people stating they want me to go back to work tuesday with restrictions, I have been going to PT 3 times a week for 3 weeks now and they said I am not ready to go back to work period, they havent even started on strength excersizes yet. I am going to my doctor tomorrow and I am going to show him the letter. I am still in great pain and everything I have read and heard rotator cuff surgery takes a long time to heal, originally we thaught they would scope me but the tear or damage was alot worse so I have a nice 4 inch scar now.

Can they do this?

[Manley2]

Yep they can. Just follow the restrictions the doctor gives you to the letter. Don't let them get you to do anything else. This is a trick they do from time to time. Talk to your doctor when you see him. Is he the one putting restrictions on you or a company doctor?

[ru4outoo]

Manley2 Wrote:Yep they can. Just follow the restrictions the doctor gives you to the letter. Don't let them get you to do anything else. This is a trick they do from time to time. Talk to your doctor when you see him. Is he the one putting restrictions on you or a company doctor?

from my undertanding it is the workers comp people, not my doctor.

[UndercovrAngel]

Your adjustor can NOT make you go back to work. The only one that can return you to work is your treating Dr. If he feels that the position that your employer is offering you will work with any restrictions he might have you on, he may agree to you going back light duty. But that is his decision. It sounds like you may need to contact an attorney, as WC adjustor is starting with the games.

Angel ^j^

[Manley2]

True but if they tell you to come back to work with restrictions and you don't go they can cut any pay they are giving you until they are forced to pay you. In my case they have not been paying me under WC now since April 2007 and yes I have a good lawyer working on it

[ru4outoo]

But if my doctor says I cant go back then the wc people cant force me too?

[postman]

ru4outoo Wrote:But if my doctor says I cant go back then the wc people cant force me too?

Your employment application is basically an affadavit that your are physically fit to perform the duties you are being hired. During the course of your employment should you be rendered incapable of performing those duties, then you provider becomes the announcer. WC has only the luxury of contesting his affadavit and the evidence that supports it. Therefore they cannot place you in a capacity that contradicts his conclusions without PROOF to the contrary. I.E. lifting 10 lbs. In fact it is illegal to coerse you to violate the limitations. It becomes a matter of your employer staging events that would defeat your claim. Essentially FRAUD.

[Manley2]

No they can't force to to go back to work but they can cut off you pay while off. Doesn't mean you will not get it back but it may take a hearing or two and some time. And if your doctor says you can't work you can't file for unemployment because your doc say you can't work. It's just one of the games they use to get you to settle fast or just decide to move on. My employer cut my pay back in April 2007 and then in claimed my injury was not a WC injury. This started my fight with them and then in Jan 2008 they decided they didn't have a job for me within my restrictions so they put me off work on disablity. Which pays less the WC would. I've had two hearings over this. The first one awarded me all my back pay, peniltys and placed this all back as WC, but my employer appealed this so we had a second hearing. Still waiting on an answer from that so who knows how long I will have to wait. What you need to do is find yourself a good lawyer and do what he tells you to do. It's all a game to WC and they don't care if you are getting paid for a long time or not. LIke I said before you may get all the money in the end but they hope loss of money now means you will just give in and go back to work and shut up or go away and forget about them. The other piece of advise is to just tell the truth to everybody. Most people don't have too many problems with WC but for what ever reason some just get put thru the wringer. Hope you get help and make it out okay

[MJC]

I guess anything is possible with WC but the norm from I have heard and experienced is WC cannot make you return to work if you doctor states that you are not ready to return. Now when the doc feels you might be ready he will most likely allow you to return but with restrictions. If so, you follow those restrictions and do not do anything the restrictions state that you cannot do. Your employer wil most likely try to get you to work out of your restrictions and that is a common things with employers. If this happens then you need to refer back to your doctor, attorney (if you have one) or discuss this with your wc case manager or adjuster. First off, working outside your restrictions can cause you to re-injure yourself and that is most important. Wishing you the best and keep us posted.

Cajun Hugsssssssss,
MJC

[Lilly]

WC cannot make you return to work. Only the treating doctor can release you back to work. If your doc sends you back to work with restrictions...you AND your employer must follow to a tee what he says. Don't let your workplace or bosses tell you otherwise!
Good Luck w/ doc appmnt, let us know what he had to say about WC's BS, ok?

Lilly