Indiana-Claim for back strain

[mrader]

My husband worked in indiana for a company based in Alablama. His job was to drive all over the state and make repairs to telecommunications equipment for contracted companies. In April 2008 he got up and went to work without pain. By 9:30am he had a back problem that exhibited itself during the performance of an activity requiring the lifting of a printer under a desk which was repeated several times that morning.

Problems we encountered to date are:
1) the company didn't have independent physicians in the indiana state to tell him to go to for treatment. They suggested his regular physician.
2) The xray was interpreted incorrectly stating that my husband had compression fractures which the nurse practitioner couldn't decide was caused by the job he was performing.
3) Follow up MRI's found no trace of compression deformity but the insurance agent denied his claim outright stating that compression fractures couldn't have been caused by his job and "standing up from installing a printer on the floor"
4) Physical therapy would not schedule my husband for care until we got a workman's compensation claim number, or a case denial which took several weeks. They would not accept our regular insurance for a work injury. So his problem got worse and not better.
5) Upon denial of the initial claim, we sought help from an attorney. He recommended that we accept the short-term disability and use our regular insurance to cover physical therapy and hope it was a minor condition.
6) we got rear-ended in a car accident. That caused my husbands condition to worsen again. Since benefits for physical therapy are limited under our plan, we only had 30 visit maximum which was exceeded. He isn't better.
7) After short-term benefits were ended, so was employment for my husband. He was terminated from his position because he was not allowed to return to driving for the company on Hydrocodone and lifting restrictions weren't allowed.
8) My husband was referred to a different doctor who stated that the original injury had caused scar tissue to form in the muscles in my husband's back. He needed more physical therapy which we had no more benefits for.
9) I lost my own job and now we're living on my unemployment. We've lost our house and had a vehicle repossessed already. We're living in a basement in a relatives home.

I have just received interrogatories from the defendent's attorney. They are asking for impairment ratings and functional assessments. They want current doctor records (when I lost my job we lost our insurance neither of us can afford to be seen at a doctors office). We've had to move from our home in Indiana to live with family in Maryland. He doesn't have a doctor here.

None of this would have been necessary had the company owned up and put him in Physical therapy immediately. The way this system operates is criminal.

I'm open to suggestions on what would be best to do. We've been trying to keep good attitudes but it is wearing thin.

Thank you for any information you can provide which may be helpful.

[1171]

whether your husband has residule injury & symptoms from the lifting incident at work or they are the result of the auto accident will depend on medical evidence i.e. opinion of a doctor.
if you wish to pursue the Indiana claim you should seek another comp atty familiar with Indiana comp laws who can bring the matter before the Indiana work comp board for a decision.
contact a county bar assn in indiana for workers comp specialist
http://www.inbar.org/LocalBars/tabid/56/Default.aspx