right shoulder injury

[cd9852]

hello to all. i live in alabama and work for a large steel manufacturing company. i was injured last year while at work that resulted in an injury to my right shoulder. the first doctor that i saw was at our medical center that we have on site. the one and only doctor at the medical center said that all i had was a pulled muscle and told me to take it easy. i didnt trust her so i went to see my personal dr. who after only a few minutes told me it was more than a pulled muscle and stated that since i was hurt on the job that i had to go through the company dr. and workmans comp. when i went back to see her weeks later she said it was still a pulled muscle and to give it some more time. not being able stand the pain any longer i went to my union president and asked for help. it wasnt long after that that i got a phone call to go have an mri of my shoulder. i went and had the mri and as soon as the dr. got the results back she immediately sent me to an orthopedic specialist. i went to see the specialist and he read the test results and wanted to be sure that they were right which stated that i had a torn ligament, so i had to have a second mri with contrast which really sucked. they also did one of my neck the same day. the next day when the specialist got those results he wanted me to have surgery the next day. now all this so far has gone on for 2 full months with no pain meds at all. so i go in and have the surgery and go thru 12 different physical therapy sessions over the next couple of months, and i end up with the same problem that i started with but also felt worse. so the dr told me to do more physical therapy, so i went 12 more times and still no improvement. so he tells me there is nothing else he can do and refers me to another dr. the company gave me a panel of 4 and i choose a dr. i went to see the new dr. and while seeing him for the first time he was reading my records from the last dr. and i overheard that the mri of my neck showed a compression between c4 and c5 in my neck. during that visit he says he want to give me a shot of cotisone in my sholuder to see if it helps. well two weeks later i go back and tell him it didnt help. then just to rule out the neck he sent me to another dr that specializes in spine care. i went to this dr. and all he did was have nurse take one xray of my neck the walks in for less than 20 seconds and says that my neck is fine and i dont need neck surgery and walks out. so i go back the dr that referred me and he says that he wants to do shoulder surgery again to get a look inside at the problem and fix whatever is wrong. so i had surgery again and now i am going thru physical therapy again. now only after having surgery 2 week ago my employer calls me and sasys to come in for an evaluation from the same quack that said all i had was a pulled muscle. i went to see her and she said i can work with some limitations and all i can do is driving around the plant, but while i am at work i am not allowed to take anything the dr. prescribed me to take for pain. thats were i am at right now and still not sure yet if i will need neck surgery. i have to wait until i am fully recovered from this surgery to determine if it helped. if anyone has any advice or any comments to relate to this i would sure be gratefull. thanks

[Cycler]

Is there a question ? Seems a reasonable alternate duty job.

[cd9852]

i have never been through this before. how long does workmans comp claims usually drag out? how do they determine your settlement? also it took two months after my injury before i recieved the first ttd payment. do they have go back and pay me for those two months? does my companys on site doctor have the right to say i am able to work and not allowed to take pain meds that the doctor that done my surgery 2 weeks ago prescribed me. is it right for her to say that i have to work in constant pain.

[Cycler]

I'm sure your atty. can give state specific answers to most of those questions. HAve you asked your Dr. for pain meds that are not impairing so you can work in a little more comfort. Certainly medications such as Tramadol and even naproxen or Motrin are fine to use at work.

[cd9852]

i tried to discuss this with the on site doctor and she said that only something over the counter medicine is ok. but after going so long in pain and finally being able to have some thing that helps even a little is nice. i have taken so much tylenol and motrin in between surgeries that it has started to affect my stomach. the company that i work for has such strict policies and rules that if you stump your toe they do drug tests and breathilizer tests and put you off work pending an investigation and thats no joke. the medicine i am taking for pain is not that strong to begin with and in no way hinders my judgement or driving. like any other major corporation they only care about themselves and not the employees.

[1171]

there is no set time for length of any claim. generally they don't publish data publicly that would allow you to calculate an average time for a claim.
Alabama has lifetime benefits for the most serious injuries.
alabama uses an impairment rating system.
yes they can make retroactive payments. whether they will in your case depends on the issues.
any doctor can give an opinion that constitutes medical evidence of disability or not.

there is not a list of what is right or wrong anyplace.
there are laws as to what is legal or not.
visit alabama's state site for more information on your rights and benefits
http://dir.alabama.gov/wc/