06-26-2007, 05:40 PM
I really hope you can help. It's been over a year since I was injured on the job. I tore my rotator cuff and a couple other things. At first, everything was fine. WC accepted the claim, paid for the surgery and pt, paid time loss, no problems. I was out from late May until the Dr finally released me for light duty in Jan. My employer said there was no light duty so I remained on time loss. In March he released me with no restrictions but my employer said they had filled my position (understandable I guess) and there wasn't anything available so I was out of a job. I applied for some jobs but no one would touch me because although the Dr said no restrictions I knew I couldn't do the lifting, carrying and reaching that would be required in retail, which is the only thing I've ever done. I can't even carry in a bag of dog food from the car. I can't do the heavy cleaning, I have little endurance or strength in that shoulder and I still have daily pain. I'm scared to death of reinjuring it. So I've stayed at home and we've relied on my husbands income hoping things would get better but it hasn't. The claim is still open for medical only.
It's becoming obvious that either something is very wrong or this is never going to get any better. My dr doesn't listen to anything I say, he just shrugs his shoulders and says these things take a long time and sometimes they never get better. No lawyer wants my case because a part time retail job isn't going to land me a big settlement. I have no idea what I'm supposed to be doing. The laws and procedures here in VA are completely different than where I lived before. I only learned yesterday that all the proper paperwork had NOT been filed with the state. I can't pay an attorney out of pocket so how do I at least get help navigating the system? If I lose I lose but I don't even know at this point if I can/should pursue this. The state WC commision only said I didn't have a claim filed with them and that they would send me the paperwork. She didn't seem to know what I was talking about when I asked if they had an advocate on staff. The IC sure isn't going to help me so without a lawyer who is?
It's becoming obvious that either something is very wrong or this is never going to get any better. My dr doesn't listen to anything I say, he just shrugs his shoulders and says these things take a long time and sometimes they never get better. No lawyer wants my case because a part time retail job isn't going to land me a big settlement. I have no idea what I'm supposed to be doing. The laws and procedures here in VA are completely different than where I lived before. I only learned yesterday that all the proper paperwork had NOT been filed with the state. I can't pay an attorney out of pocket so how do I at least get help navigating the system? If I lose I lose but I don't even know at this point if I can/should pursue this. The state WC commision only said I didn't have a claim filed with them and that they would send me the paperwork. She didn't seem to know what I was talking about when I asked if they had an advocate on staff. The IC sure isn't going to help me so without a lawyer who is?