[rdbradleyjr]

I recieved a back injury in July of lost year when a co-worker dropped a hot water heater down a flight of stairs on me. The hot water heater slammed me against a steel frame and electrical panel, that was on a Friday, I gave my back till Monday to see if my back would feel any better. On Monday morning it took me forever to get out of bed and even bend over to tie my shoes. I went to work that morning and told my boss the problem with my back. I filled out the proper paper work and they sent me to their doctor. He thought maybe I had a pulled muscle or something and put me on light duty. This went on for 3 weeks before he decided to have an MRI done. The MRI came back showing a herniated disk in the L4 region. He gave me several options. (1) A shot in the back to stop the pain, (2) Medication to stop the inflamation (2) Something called the Axium bed where they lay you on a bed and stretch you for 30 minutes a day in hopes to pull everything back into place. He recommended the bed so I agreed. It seemed the least evasive and a possible permanent solution where the other only would mask the pain. Well first of all it took almost 3 weeks to get in touch of with the adjuster and get the procedure. And when he finally did approve the procedure he would only approve 6 treatments at a time which according to the doctor was not enough to do any good. So we did six treatments....called the adjuster waited another week for him to approve the next 6. Keeping in mind all this time I am on light duty. However, my boss is making me do things that were not light duty and jobs I shouldn't be doing. It was at this time I found a workers comp lawyer. Shortly after this (September) My boss comes into my office and advises me he has to send me home because they no longer have and jobs that would fit my physical limitations. So not knowing what to do I went in search of a job that would fit the limitations the doctor gave me. I found one that was pretty much clerical and required no physical exertion. It was only for a fraction of what I was making but I didn't want to not be working. I was raised on the idea of self worth. After the Axium bed treatments the pain was still there. The workers comp doctor advised I get a second opinion. He asked if I had a preference of a doctor. I advised him I heard good things about the Southeastern Spine Institute who also did surgery on my lawyers wife. The new doctor took one look at my MRI and did some test with my feet and reflexes and ordered another MRI. HE WANTED IT DONE TODAY!!! I advised him they would be lucky to get approval from the WC adjuster because he usually takes a week or so to get a hold of. I told him I didn't want anything done without his approval. He said he would get it. At this time I am freaking out because I am wondering what he saw on that MRI that wanted him to get another one ASAP. The next day I recieved a phone call the Doctor's nurse and told me I had to be at the MRI place that days no ifs, ands, or buts. Once I was done with the MRI I was to take the films to the doctor that same day no matter what time...he would fit me in. (Now I am really freaking out) So we did the MRI only this time they injected me with a dye. I took the films to the doctor.... he looked at them....looked at me and said I want you to have surgery this week. After I picked myself up off the floor I asked why? He said the herniation in my back was higher up on my back. At this location it is pressing on the nerves that control my bladder and my legs. If surgery was not proformed it would only be a matter of time before I started wetting my pants and i was already having deminished nerve function in my legs. That would explain why I was tripping and stumbling all the time. He adviced me that their is no way I could go back to doing the job I was doing before. They were going to do a diskectomy to remove the portion of the disk that is doing the damage to the nerves to my bladder and legs. He wanted to do surgery that Friday.....it was Wendsday. Once again I told him I could not until he had approval from the adjuster. It took 3 weeks before the adjuster approved the surgery. Durring this time I got a phone call at my new job from my old boss. He was requesting the company phone and uniforms that I still had. I had the surgery on November 21 and have been out of work since. My new job is being understanding but I don't know for how much longer. I want to go back to work so bad i can taste it. I go to physical therapy twice a week, and have made minimal improvements. The surgeon said he could not guarantee that I would get any of my nerve function back. I want to work but the insurance company is saying sense I quit my job they wouldn't have to pay partial dissability. I DID NOT quit my job they sent me home. I thought I was saving the insurance company money by finding some kind of work to do so they wouldn't have to pay as much. Now I don't know what to do?? I meet the doctor again on the Feb 1st. I'm afraid if he doesn't release me I will lose this new job with a great company. I have no medical benefits at the moment. Advise anyone? Am I intitled to settlement?? I just want it over with. Of course I'll never be able to make the income I was making before with this company without a college degree of somekind. Has anyone ever heard of tuition assistants as part of a settlement? Am I still able to get a settlement even after i had the surgery? How do they determine the settlement amount? Does anyone know where I can look any of this up. Otherwise I am just going to get more depressed and do something stupid. Any advice would be helpful. Will there be a court hearing?? More doctors? I've accepted the fact that I will not get any better I just want to settle and get on with my life. Go back to college and make a life for myself. Someone please help!!

[Mr. Knowitall]

Can you provide a short version of that, or at least break it into paragraphs? Thanks.

[rdbradleyjr]

Short Version. I injured my back on the job. After being on light duty for a month my employer sent me home saying they had no more light duty and do not return until I was released with no limitations.
After I was sent home I didn't know what to do. I went out and found a job that met my physical limitations. Durring this time the WC doctor feferred me to the Southestern Spinal Institute. The surgeon there ran a test and ordered another MRI. After seeing that MRI he wanted to do surgery right away. Something to do with the nerves to my legs and my bladder. I had my surgery on Nov 21 and have not yet been released by my doctor. The doctor has told me that I will never be able to go back to my old job (where I was injured) because of the physical aspects of it. The WC adjuster is saying they will not pat PPD because I quit my the job. I did not quit...I was sent home. I have bills to pay and needed cash...so I found a light job to get help make ends meet. Can they refuse to pay PPD? If the doctor doesn't release me this week I will probably lose my other job to. He says I will probably never regain all the feeling back in my legs. How does a settlement work? How long does this process take? I just want to get on with my life and not have to worry about the insurance companies dictating my life. I've read some of the horror stories on here and I must say it doesn't look good for me. How do they determine how disabled you are and how does that affect payment/ settlement. I went from making 14.00 and hour to 10.00 when I was working. Thank you

[Mr. Knowitall]

You have a complicated situation, and you really should consult a worker's compensation lawyer in your state for assistance.

[rdbradleyjr]

I know, I do have a workers compensation lawyer. He is telling me that he cannot do anything until the doctor determines my disability. But BEFORE I took this second job I asked my lawyer if it was ok to do so. He said yes as long as it met my physical requirments. It did so I took the job. It's a great company they just don't pay as much starting out. I thought the workers compensation board would like to see that I was trying to work and not live off the insurance. ( I was also told this by my lawyer) However, since the surgery the doctor has not released me to work. They are now paying TTD while I am out. It is my thinking that I should be due some kind of settlement or payments since I can't go back to my old job and this new job, should i ever get it back, pays much less. Was I wrong in taking the other job??

[lwpat]

No, you were not wrong. Disability is determined by the board based on a schedule. In SC this is very liberal and it is very unlikely your claim will be denied.

[rdbradleyjr]

Thank you for your replies. It just seems that when you try to do the right thing you always end up getting....well you know. My lawyer did advise me that the SC WC laws favored the employer not the employee which kinda has me worried. While I will say the insurance company did approve the surgery and physical therapy it takes forever to get the adjuster to do so. I am not sure if it's just a stalling tactic or what. While my my mind is so ready to go back to work I still have the shooting pain down my legs and back. So we will see. I am glad to hear that the WC laws are liberal and hope that it comes to a quick conclusion. I want to go back to work and college so I can advance in this career.
I do have one more question. I currently have no medical benefits, is that something I can get workers comp to cover or is that wishful thinking? How about vocational training?? Also I've tried to look up the SC workers comp laws on-line but all I get is adds for lawyers. Can anyone tell me the official web site? Thank you in advance.
Look it's in paragraphs and much shorter too!

[aaron]

Here you go. You may also want to check out the Workers Compensation Insurance . com Forum.

[rdbradleyjr]

Thanks for the link aaron. With all the medication the doctors have me on it's sometimes hard to thing straight. I've read the information....can't say that I understand it but I've read it. Pretty vague on some things..or maybe I am just missing something. Do all cases go to court even if both parties agree to a settlement?? If W/C already allowed the doctors to do the surgery will they still send in another doctor?? I'm not worried if they do it's just that I think I read that I may have to pay for it. I'm not even making enough to support myself yet alone doctors bills!!! Thanks again for your help everyone!!

[sc_brit_chick]

I, too, live in South Carolina and got hurt on the job. November 27, 2005, I went to sit down in a chair at work (I worked in customer service telephone tech support) and the seat of the chair fell through and I fell hard on the leg of the chair (office chair) so hard that I couldn't move my legs for about 1-2 minutes.

Long story short, I tried restricted movement/activities, drugs, an epidural injection on my back and nothing worked. My legs gave out because they'd gotten so weak and I fell again in my home and ended up being transferred to a hospital in Columbia (since I lived close to Columbia) and had surgery...FIVE MONTHS after my initial fall and was told by the neurosurgeon if I'd have had that surgery even 2 months after the surgery, it wouldn't have been as bad as it was. Ultimately I had a double decompressive lumbar laminectomy/discectomy at L4-L5 and L5-S1. I got better for around 6 weeks but then I got worse...much worse. I am in constant pain in my back and down my legs. I can't sit up for long. I have trouble walking...in fact I had to rent a wheelchair because I can't walk around stores. I can't drive. And I'm suffering from horrible depression. I live on Percocet and my anti-depressants.

And I got hurt 3 days after my 27th birthday.

I've had to change worker's comp lawyers and my new lawyer is amazing!! You should be entitled to a settlement. I'm not sure how the settlement amount is figured out. I do know, thanks to my lawyer, that the settlement is mainly monetary. From the sounds of it, you might want to think about switching lawyers. If both parties agree, the odds of having to go to an actual hearing is unlikely but it's still a possibility if for nothing else than just to have worker's comp approve the settlement. And yes, W/C can and probably will send you for an independant medical evaluation just to see where you are in your recovery. I had one. It's a little intimidating but no biggie. Just be honest with the independant doctor and be nice. And W/C will pay for that.

As far as medical coverage from W/C, they are paying your medical bills as pertains to your injury yes? Because they should be. Now, as far as the settlement, medical coverage beyond the settlement (called lifetime medical) is RARE, according to my lawyer, and is generally only granted when a W/C commissioner orders it after a hearing. And your case won't go to court but to a commissioner with the SC Worker's Compensation commission.

I hope I've been of some help. If I can be of any more help or you'd just like to talk about stuff, my email address is visible in my profile. I live on my computer since this is basically all I can do.