[Bummer Knees]

The attorney is working on a settlement demand with the auto accident which happened last year.

Dennis and I were in the truck north bound on the interstate in the outside lane. A mini-van was in the inside lane beside us and decided to change lanes sending out truck airborne and off the road.

I was tossed around and Cody took a good whack to the head.

It had been months of treatment and now I am at MMI and working thru the settlement process.

What blows me away is the difference in settlement between a personal injury case and work comp.

In Kansas with work comp the most an injured worker is paid is $100,000. (that amount happens only if they are severely disabled and in a wheel chair) which includes wage loss paid by TTD. This is a very low amount compared to other states. Open or closed medical doesn't change the amount.

With a personal injury case the injured can collect $250,000. in pain and suffering. Payment for other items are figured separately.

My attorney is working on a dollar amount but is planning on the full amount for pain and suffering.

Mine is the thoracic spine injury, severe muscle spasms with the t-9 twisting and rotating putting pressure on the diaphragm causing issues with breathing. Simple stuff like raising my arms to fix my hair is a trigger.

There is no surgery to fix this with treatment being physical therapy, tens unit, and massage to help manage the pain.

[1171]

yes. when the liability is all on one party like a negligence or tort claims all the costs are born by that party.
while comp is "no fault" and the costs are shared between the worker and the employer.
the workers "share" is made up by having them get a reduced payout.
carrier still picks up wage loss benefits as well as medical which can be quite substantial and the worker only sees a "small" amount for impairment directly to them.

one coverage is shared the other isn't.



work injuries used to be lumped in with all the other tort actions. wasn't a problem when there were few employers and most worked for themselves in their own business or on the farm.
only when industry took off did it become a huge problem. clogging up the courts and many years delay for the simplest of claims.

hope that makes sense.

[Manley2]

Makes sense but it sure doesn't make you feel better if your on the WC side of it. If things were truly an accident but like in my case when i filled out all the paper work and tried to fix the problem 2 weeks before my injury happened. When you report a safety hazard and they do nothing to fix it and because of that you get injured seems like there should be something extra for that. Now I do understand in my case there is nothing more going to happen but now they look like they are not going to settle my case along with another persons that has been in a fight with them for longer then me. If this is the case I get to put up with this until I die. Only thing I can do is pray I live to be 120

[Bummer Knees]

I was in a teaching position when I was injured working with early childhood special needs students.

With this type of job there is a lot of lifting of students; from the floor, from the chairs, from the cots and other positions.

About six months before I was injured I noticed young teachers bending to pickup students from the floor with straight legs which puts pressure on the back. I continued to observe other teachers do the same.

I went to the building principal and requested an in-service on the correct lifting techniques and explained what I had seen and the fear of one of the young teachers injuring their back. I explained one of the physical therapist who work with the building could present the in-service as they were of no cost to the school.

My request was denied and I was told it was not needed as teachers watched a video when they were first hired and that was all that was needed.

I was injured the following years, bilateral knees lifting a child. I was the 2nd of four teachers injured within a 4 month time frame. Two of the injuries were backs, one a head injury and mine being the knees.------------------

With the auto accident I expect a battle from the insurance company and expect my work comp injuries will be used against me.

[1171]

are you both saying you'd like to go back and try to win a court case on whose fault the injury was so you'd have a chance at bigger $$$?
maybe you'd win on your safety issue but maybe the employer would win that you didn't follow instructions. it's a risk for both sides.
or maybe there is another way. a way where nether side has to be in the wrong.

of course, everyone thinks they are the exception. it's difficult to be objective unless you have to find a solution for a whole group.
there are probably just as many incidents where the employer can "blame" the worker for performing a task improperly.
each side has their own complaints where their case wasn't fair.

legislators, law makers, civic leaders, union bosses, governors, mayors, have to be responsible for a group result not a few cases. as difficult as it can be, they have to be more rational then emotional. that's difficult when you are not the one injured.
there will always be exceptions. they are looking to improving the results for a whole not just the few.

most states and the federal government thought work comp was a better solution and that's why the settlements are different.

[Bummer Knees]

1171 you are wrong, I have no desire to reopen the work comp case for more money.

My concern is teachers who work in the school without training on the correct way to lift a child or an object.

I am the parent of 5 children, 4 with special needs.

The secondary disability for a family with a child with a disability is back injury of the caregiver. This is a fact and studies have been done.

The same applies with a teacher or nurses being the caregiver, back injuries are high in both professions.

When my daughter was 8 yrs. old the physical therapist observed me lifting my daughter from her wheelchair. The physical therapist announced, "Today I will not be working with your daughter, I will be working with you and showing you the correct ways to lift to prevent a back injury from happening"

When I was injured in the classroom I was using those techniques to prevent a back injury while lifting a child, and had the knees bent. What I did not count on was injuring the knees.

[Manley2]

I understand why it is like it is. I'd just like them to settle so I could be done with them. As it is looks like I will be with this forever if they don't want to settle.
The one thing that I'd like to find out more on is when I noticed a bill that WC should have paid being sent to medicare I checked into it thinking this is fraud on the hospitals part. So when I called medicare was very interested in why they were getting billed. They looked into it and said they had agreed to pay for now and collect during the settlement. Well if they don't settle with me then medicare is going to be stuck with those bills. Right now I know of more the $30,000 they have been billed for that WC should be paying.

[1171]

BUM:
yours was a legitimate question and I tried to supply a reasonable reply.
I know there are many others who will read these posts and will appreciate the explanation even if you can't.

[Bummer Knees]

Watch out injured workers 1171 is attacking members of this forum again.


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(07-28-2013, 01:11 AM)1171 Wrote: BUM:
yours was a legitimate question and I tried to supply a reasonable reply.
I know there are many others who will read these posts and will appreciate the explanation even if you can't.

[jayne]

Turkey buzzard