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Career Ending Operation???

UPDATE March 16,2015:

:woohoo1:


Well I got the mileage reimbursement for the IME visit............!!

A whopping $5.40...!!!!...............:smilie93c peelout:


Considering that my car gets "up to" 34 mpg's, and I probably burned less than 1/2 a gallon, I'm good with it.

Both checks came in today's mail, my regular w/c check, and this gasoline check.

Lawyers gal asked me if the IME report had come in as well, I said no.
 
UPDATE March 17, 2015

Got to go to W/C court Wednesday afternoon (March 18th), regarding the scar on my back. Was cancelled from 2 weeks ago due to severe snow storm. Don't know how much I'll get for this scarring, but in my state, "up to" $45,000, is the max.

Yeah, we all know I ain't gonna see that much. I'll let you all know how much, as if I hadn't been telling you just about everything now.

Still nothing regarding the IME report, and the needed revised operation.
 
UPDATE March 18,2015:

Ok went to W/C court.

the opposing lawyer did not want to pay for scarring, as he said I was scheduled for another operation. Which is NOT true, as my lawyer said he petitioned the courts to get the insurance company to pay, and we have no operation date.

The opposing lawyer said he knew I had already had anther operation and did not want to pay for that scarring, which they will not be.

The opposing lawyer said he wants to know the exact location of the new operation, as if it is over the same scar, he doesn't want to pay twice.

I told my lawyer,, this new operation will be on my side, and then the doctor goes into the area, so I will have a brand new location.

So the opposing lawyer wants a letter from the doctor explaining the exact location of this new operation.

the judge "granted" a continuance?? till the 9th of April, for the doctor to provide some documention.

my lawyer said this is actually good.

the opposing lawyer said to my lawyer in front of me, "Carl, If you can get something from the doctor, I'll work with you".

IN the end, the employer's insurance will now pay for 2 scars not one.

I was told by my lawyer after these proceedings closed, that we also have to go to the same court on April 7th. in front of yet another judge, who he petitioned to, saying that I need another operation, my lawyer said that this judge SIGNS orders for operations. Now the insurance company has only until April 7th (up to whatever hour) to confirm or deny the operation, otherwise as explained to me, the judge WILL SIGN that order.

Now, If the insurance company denies the operation due to the IME, then THAT judge assigns me to another IME by the courts, then we go from there.

Either way I look at it, I still get those weekly w/c checks, so muck with me all you want, you still gotta pay me!!!!!!!!

more updates as needed.
 
Things are obviously in your favor. All this unnecessary back and forth while you sit and wait seems silly.
In the end, you get the surgery, you get a settlement and you move on.
I have a feeling your work comp insurance carrier already has the IME results. I doubt work comp will appeal the judges ruling of having a revision surgery. It will only cause them to pay out more if they decide to appeal and end up losing more money. It's technically a no win situation for them.
Seems like the WC lawyer is just waiting for your doctors input and than your lawyer and Work comp lawyer will than get everyone else on the same page and proceed forward.

Be aware of your surroundings and good luck
 
well frankly, from what i was a witness to yesterday, the opposing lawyer saying (right there in front of me) that he will work with my lawyer in the scarring issue. today, i will go in person to the doctors office, and hand deliver a letter to the nurse/doctor asking them to fax off to my attorney what exactly needs to be done, location of the incision, days in hospital and p/t.

my lawyer said to me yesterday that if i do this and HE does this, the doctors office gets it at both ends to hurry up and fax the needed information, as April 7th ain't too far away for the judges ruling on the operation, and on the 9th I go back again, for the scarring issue.

i will also drop off a copy of this letter to my lawyer's office. God damn, that folder he has on me is about a foot thick....!!

i'd venture to say that all the copies of this and that and pics i have provided him, certainly filled that baby up.
 
on another note, just before me, was a gal and her hubby. she worked for wally-world. she hurt her back, and was on comp apparently for a long time. yesterday was her "lump sum" payment day. she was awarded $25,000 which then by court order, the lawyer she had, get's $5,000. she had to resign from wally world and in so doing, gave up any more compensation, and any future suit against wally.

she was asked if she was on SS or disability or unemployment, which she said no.

tell you what though, i want to cash out LONG before the payment gets that low!
 
UPDATE March 31,2015:

So I get a letter in the mail from the lawyer's office. I have to go to W/C court on the 9th of April. But here's the rub.

I have 3 cases on going for that day.

1) the scarring issue, which was postponed from a few weeks ago due to this new operation I need
2) the IME report and to hopefully get a court appointed IME doctor
3) the push for the needed operation

now, i have 2 of those for 9 Am, same judge.

then i have the final case with another judge at 2 PM.

I may have to stay there all day, as parking (if I can find it for less than $15.00 per day) is like trying to find a needle in a haystack.

or bus fare, and the buses may not run on time, like my last court appearance. It'll cost me at the very least $12.00 for all the buses that I will need on this day (if I have to go home after the 9 AM court, then return for the 2 PM, then go home again)

So I don't think it would be a good idea to leave after the 9 AM appearance. parking is non-existent in a downtown area. If I leave after the 9 AM court, it may not be possible to find parking later.

But the lawyer called me to say that he is going to try and get all 3 cases at the same time of 9, as he has another case In MASS to get to. Worst case scenario, the PM court gets rescheduled, but I do not know what the PM court is for. ALL the court documents say is, "pre-trial hearing", and nothing specific.

In today's mail, I also got back from my surgeon, my CD of my back x-ray. That actually shocked me, as I had to leave it at the docs office back in January as the nurse said the doc will need it for the surgery. So I go there in person and ask, if he gave up on my second operation, the gal said no, they have to mail them back as they have no extra room to hold them, plus I may very well need an updated on later anyhow.

that's about it for now.
 
UPDATE APRIL 8, 2015


Got W/C court in the morning, 3 cases to be heard. 2 at 9 AM, one at 2 PM. lawyer is going to try to get all three done at the 9 AM court, if the other lawyer (for my employer) has time. Otherwise, I will be sitting around there till the 2 PM showing.

Still in back pain, in fact, it is actually getting worse. I need that second operation, but now I fear it may be more involved this time, than what my doctor had previously told me. The doctor told me he would need to get in there as soon as possible to fix it. This was back in January. I fear the disk above the top fused bone is now damaged from all this time waiting, and the useless therapy that may have made it worse. I am getting no feeling (numbness) in my right leg at times, just like before any operation had taken place. I hope not, I hope it is not damaged anymore than the x-ray showed.

The surgeon and I will meet again, if this second operation is cleared for a go, from the court tomorrow, and I will have him order up an MRI as well as x-rays.

More updates as they come up.
 
UPDATE April 9,2015

As I had update previously, I had w/c court today. 3 cases in all. 2 at 9 AM one at 2 PM. I stayed there the entire time, was cheaper to do this than to pay for a total of 8 buses, or parking.

Anyhow, as for the IME portion of it, I have to go back yet again. The other side and my side did not get a proper IME report, and my lawyer is pushing for another court appointed IME doctor as well as I told him I want this revised operation.

I got paid for the long scar on my back. FINALLY. the other side at first did not want to pay, because I have this new operation pending, and where do you determine the new scar? Well, this next operation, supposedly, the doctor will be going into my left side.

I had to of course go into the judges office, and lift up my shirt, for my lawyer, the other side lawyer and the judge to view the long scar. My lawyer says that they determine the amount for compensation on a "weeks scale"? So suffice it to say, I did ok. the max in my state for scarring is $45,000. Well I did not get that much, but a tidy amount, all for me, tax free. the lawyer was awarded a fee from the insurance company. I should be getting the check in 2 weeks, if not, lawyer said to call him.

I thought for sure that the first judge would sign an order for the operation (this is what I had been told), but the other side wants the IME report, which I thought for sure they already had? So as a result, we go back to court.

In fact, that first judge??? he was having a very hard time with another case. the plaintiff lawyer needed to do an "interlock", what ever that means in law talk, the defendant's lawyer went ape shyte. judge had him (the lawyer) removed!!! but then as he was leaving, the judge said, if you have something to say, be nice, say you're sorry, and i'll listen.

funny shyte. but i could see that first judge and then the second judge, seems more for the injured worker than any insurance company. Thank God.

anyway's that's about as much an update as I have right now.
 
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You are right, the judge or arbitrator tend to be on the injured workers side. It's pretty hard to fake something when you have medical proof.
The workers comp people try to skate through this and pay out as little as possible. Most lawyers get rich this way. It's easy money to go to court for the honest injured worker as they win 99% of the time.
IME? Are they now fishing for the report that will down play your injury? Hopefully you get a real Independent doctor.
 
Dockworker said:
You are right, the judge or arbitrator tend to be on the injured workers side. It's pretty hard to fake something when you have medical proof.
The workers comp people try to skate through this and pay out as little as possible. Most lawyers get rich this way. It's easy money to go to court for the honest injured worker as they win 99% of the time.
IME? Are they now fishing for the report that will down play your injury? Hopefully you get a real Independent doctor.
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By state law? here, the lawyers get 20% of any settlement. The w/c insurance actually also pays their salary, to represent us. As far as the first IME, why the report was not presented at the time of the pre-trial is beyond me, all the defense could say was that i was scheduled to have another operation, which may lead me at least, to think the first IME doctor may have actually given an opinion to the insurance company to go ahead for the new operation?

But then, if that were so, I have never been contacted by the doctors office for a date. so now, does this mean that the first IME doctor simply did NOT send in his report to the insurance company? I think this is the scenario.

SO yeah, if we go up to the judge in 2 weeks from now, and still no IME, I can only hope that then, the judge will give the ok to proceed. If not, then we ask for the court to appoint one.

Now, when i was in court, there was someone that needed an independent IME from the court. I specifically heard the judge tell that person, "you will get a letter in the mail, telling you where to go for your IME, from this court", (and) "to go there, have the IME done, then we set yet another date to read/decide that report for you".

So as I have been saying all along, they can "muck" with me all they want, they still gotta pay me!!!!

It has now been 1 full year as of today's date 4/10/2015 (but on a Thursday night) that i got hurt. All documented.
 
HILLBILLY said:
I am doing arbitration with my old employer at the beginning of May. This is for my back.
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Yeah, I have a ways to go before I get to that point myself. In my state and I think long ago I had mentioned it, I can be on comp for 6 years. That will most certainly take me to retirement for sure,get a settlement, then start SS. but I was told by the lawyer, most insurance companies don't let it get that far, yet, seems to me, they dilly-dally all the way, so WTF is the difference........?????

instead of putting a person thru x-rays and an MRI or CAT scan right away, they pull your chain spending stupid monies. Then at the same time, there comes a point when they think you're faking it, well dammit,DO the x-rays/MRI UPFRONT to weed out the fakes........!!

Here I am, fully documented I HAD a real problem from the get go, and STILL HAVE a problem, which IS DOCUMENTED again......!!!!!!!

Jesus H. Christ, stop the effing bullshyte, and get the job done, and hey, here's a novel thought, maybe actually SAVE MONEY in the long run...........??????? So when they (the insurance companies) pay out tens of millions dollars a year for fake injuries or "malingering", us real hurt people get treated the same way......???? MAKE it a point to get the injured worker into x-rays/MRI/CAT scan right away, properly diagnose the problem THEN send them off to therapy or surgery?

Putting an injured person into therapy from the get go, WITH OUT film to back it up, ONLY HURTS and possibly makes the injury worse.......!!

God knows I had more pain and more paralysis, that they finally "decided" to give me an MRI......!!!!!!! (the treating quack clinic I was sent to)


OH well, I CAN TAKE several more years of this, really I can. I have been getting a "taste" of retirement, and frankly, it feels SOOOOOO GOOOOOD........!!!!!

I look forward to dumping my CDL.
 
I've heard of some workers getting vocational training as long as it's in the transportation sector. (LOL...dispatcher, supervisor, dock supervisor!)
I've also seen some settle with medical for life on the injury.
I've seen differential in pay adjustment if they can no longer drive along with their settlement. (possibly being bought out due to being injury prone)
Example: Your top pay is 27.00 an hour when you get injured. You can no longer drive with CDL and get a job that is less than that ....say 13.00 an hour. They were paid 14.00 per hour differential because of the terms of the settlement agreement.

Good Luck to both of you. Pro's spine is going to look like a twisty winding road that he once drove on if he doesn't get his surgery soon.
 
Dockworker said:
I've heard of some workers getting vocational training as long as it's in the transportation sector. (LOL...dispatcher, supervisor, dock supervisor!)
I've also seen some settle with medical for life on the injury.
I've seen differential in pay adjustment if they can no longer drive along with their settlement. (possibly being bought out due to being injury prone)
Example: Your top pay is 27.00 an hour when you get injured. You can no longer drive with CDL and get a job that is less than that ....say 13.00 an hour. They were paid 14.00 per hour differential because of the terms of the settlement agreement.

Good Luck to both of you. Pro's spine is going to look like a twisty winding road that he once drove on if he doesn't get his surgery soon.
Click to expand...

I'd rather be retired. Like so many others here, I started working at a very young age, and I have had it.

Oh yeah, me a dispatcher.

Or a supervisor.

I gotta see how all this plays out, can only hope it works out the best for me.

So if my back ends up all twisty and windy, does that mean if I get a new motorcycle some day, the roads will be straight........??????

If I were to get another motorbike, it would have to be a nice decked out trike. But then, at nearly $40 grand.....I'd be better off buying Buick.
 
The only reason mine moved on so quickly (if I can call it that) is the Dr. released me as "medical maximum improvement" at that point I lost full time employment also. I think he released me because I was wanting a surgery that he wasn't qualified to do and that I was wanting a second opinion. I hurt mine in 2012 and the the Dr. released me August of 2013 and since then the attorneys have taken charge. My old companies attorney has tried to pull every medical record they could find with a name that was close to mine.

I was probably 2 months into it before they decided to do an MRI or X-Ray. I had to bring an attorney into it because they weren't doing anything other than PT that even the therapist was saying "it was obvious I was getting worse". One Dr. literally grabbed my legs and started twisting and pulling on my legs, even as I was just shy of screaming in pain and still treated me as though I was faking it and pill seeking even though I had refused pain pills. Even staff members were apologizing for his actions.
 
wow........just wow.......

did you tell your attorney as to the quack's treatment of you......?? or any medical review board.......??

did you hire an under age girl to scream ****.....??

Ok, that's way out there, but payback can be a biotch.......
 
UPDATE April 16, 2015:

Ok, I have a need for some advice/opinions.

I just sent an email to my attorney, but I want to fly this by some of you.

My DOT physical is due in June. Now as we all know if it is not renewed before the expiration date, it will be down graded.

I really do not know my future. I still am waiting for the much needed second operation. I really do not know if I will be able to drive again, or not, and go on disability.

If I will be able to drive again, of course I need that updated DOT card.

I have tried calling my DMV (useless) to get answers regarding what steps I'd have to go thru to get my CDL back, if the DOT card expires. But if I know my state, and they being cash strapped, they may very well require a road test, and whatever else to get the CDL back again.

I could go in person, but for ID purposes, they ask to see your license, giving them time to enter my number into the data base.

Now, my lawyer responded to my email a while ago, saying he thinks there should be no problem in getting my DOT physical, but he is not sure that I will be medically qualified. Just not to be a hero and tell the doctor my back is fine, as that can work against me later in court.

SO now too, if the DOT exam deems me disqualified from driving, will that go a long way to get disability?


So can anyone see my situation?

DOT card will be expiring

I may/may not pass

My CDL will be down graded

I know not my future regarding work, disability, etc.


What are some of your thoughts?
 
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I am wondering if i can self certify as an intrastate exempted driver. (no DOT card needed), till all this non-sense with my back get's sorted out?
 
Why couldn't you self certify as a intrastate driver? That's what people who have CDLs, but don't have them downgraded do. My dad has a CDL hasn't driven in 20 years he just certifies as basically a non medical card carrying CDL holder. Of course I think the writing on the wall with that is, one of those if you don't use it you lose it type deals and I bet in the next couple of years it will either be you have a medical card or you don't and if you don't you're CDL is done.
 
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