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Career Ending Operation???

pro1driver said:
no, this EMG test, the doctor touched various spots on my leg and when doing so, zapped me with some voltage.

then after that, the doctor inserted needles into various spots on my leg, then sent an electrical charge to the needles.

whole testing took all of about 20 minutes.

i have not had any dye testing as of yet.
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MRI will show a lot, but the dye test is the best! Usually they do the dye test prior to deciding what exactly will need to be done before surgery, I can't believe how they have dragged this out on you!!
 
Getoverit said:
MRI will show a lot, but the dye test is the best! Usually they do the dye test prior to deciding what exactly will need to be done before surgery, I can't believe how they have dragged this out on you!!
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yeah, i can only be tested as per the court ordered IME report. as we all know, the first IME was at the INSURANCE company doctor, and they nearly NEVER approve of anymore work to be done.

So off to the court we went and my lawyer got me a court ordered IME doctor.

He only suggested an EMG testing be done, NOT the MRI, which that was ordered by MY surgeon. but the insurance lawyer refused that as it was NOT suggested by the court IME doctor.

however, as the judge "said it", he wanted to see the results of the EMG first, then decide to order up the MRI.

i can only "play ball" with how they want to test me.. i can only "suggest today to my doctor (or his P/A, whomever examines me and reads the EMG results to me) to ask for a dye test.

i think however, the judge may stick to the court IME rather than to "listen to" any other doctor's opinion on how to test me, even if that includes my own surgeon.
 
UPDATE: Dec 31, 2015

ok, my visit to my surgeon for a follow up to the EMG proves.....................






I HAVE NERVE DAMAGE..................


the damage is located at the L-5/S-1 disk area.

I was operated on the L-4/L-5 disk last year.

but the doctor had to remove the hardware from the L-3/L-4 fusion I had back in the spring of 2001, and as i had said in a posting several posts back, now all 3 are fused as one.



I told the doctor's P/A, that i feel so vindicated and GREAT that the testing proved, I was NOT faking any more back issues.

( you just gotta know the insurance company thought i was milking this out)...screw them bastards now.....!!

now next week, we go to court, and the judge just has to order up the MRI now.

my doctor's P/A said that if the MRI does not show the nerve damage, THEN he will order up the "dye test"


that's all i have for now

thanks.
 
i should have pointed out, it involves my right leg. there are times i can be walking and the leg gives out from under me.

sometimes i use a cane, other times, i do not.

i cannot take long walks, but then nearly any walking is long to me with this now diagnosed nerve damage.

the leg just goes numb when ever it feels like it wants to, there is no time frame for that to happen.
 
well i have to go to court this morning. however from an email my lawyer sent me, he did not get the copies/report from the EMG by my surgeons' office.

he went on to tell me this is a "conference" appearance..

oh joy, i get to take the bus home after sitting for all of about an hour, to hear some petitions dismissed........and/or refiled...why do i have to be there then...??? most of that crap is handled by the lawyers............

the lawyer said the reading and judgement of the EMG will take place at yet, another time....

i'll update with more (or less) later today, when i get back from court.
 
UPDATE: Jan. 7, 2016

well went to court, i got there early, like at 9:30 for a 10 AM time. Both lawyers had other cases.

at or about 11:30, judge tells me this may have to be continued over to 1:30 Pm, since both lawyers are tied up.

i tell the judge, "one is in the hall" and he says if i can find him, he will hear my case.

His court clerk came out with me to find them.

and we did..........

now, all that was done was a continuance on the EMG report that my lawyer is waiting for, and that my lawyer wants a full audit on any penalty monies due me at this time.

there is a new court date later this month. which the judge said i do not have to be there....however.......depending on the EMG report, that can change.

that's about it...nearly 2.5 hours of waiting time, for a 10 minute "conference"..

now, i had someone drop me off, i wish NOT to pay for parking....

here's why.......

the parking lot gets....$12.00 for 30 minutes.

then $15.00 for 1 hour

$18.00 for 1..5 hours...

$22.00 for 2 hours..........

if i had to wait all that time, then get hit with THAT much money, i would have flipped right out.....


so i walked as much as i could to the bus stop...........


paid $2.00 for the ride, walked home 2 blocks from that point..............
 
UPDATE: Jan 25th, 2016


Both lawyers have to go to court tomorrow (Jan 26th) and hash out the EMG report and the highly recommended MRI's.....i say MRI's as i need more than one. one with contrast, one with out.

after that, i may need a dye test, specific to the nerve damage. (the MRI'S as i was told at the doctor's office will at least confirm the nerve damage location, but not to pinpoint further damage,that a separate dye test will show).

i do not have to be there for the argument(s), as i have an appointment else where and the judge himself said that was ok.
 
UPDATE: Jan. 28, 2016

ok, my lawyer got back to me.

apparently now, the EMG reports are going to be sent back to the court ordered IME doctor to see if he agree's to the EMG, which he too highly recommended in the first damn place.......!!!!!!!!!!

so this can take more time.

He (the court ordered IME), will also see that my surgeon has also recommended an MRI with and with out contrast, to locate the nerve damage.

what a bunch of BS...

but hey.............

i'm going to be continued to be paid for it too.......
so know what i say..??

BS or not..........

let that insurance paycheck keep rolling in..........

and get me closer to official retirement..........!!!!!!

this is an edited version of the lawyer's email to me..

"
Sorry for the late response, I was out sick today. The judge decided to send the EMG results and the follow up report from (your doctors) assistant back to Dr. (court ordered Dr.) who examined you on behalf of the Court in a prior petition and ask him if he agrees with the test. So no decision will be made until then."
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UPDATE: Feb 10, 2016

Here we go again, on the Merry-Go-Round of the insurance company NOT paying me. it has been now, a month since my last check. Now as i hope i had mentioned several, several posts ago, it takes (by my state law) 2 weeks for a check to be deemed late. but in all reality, it is actually 3 weeks before the lawyer can petition the courts.

my last insurance check was on Jan 16th, 2016,,,here it is (today) Feb 10th.


my lawyer was in court today, to argue for the umpteenth time, the insidious delays in them paying me.

my lawyer called me about an hour ago, and we spoke on the phone. basically what he told me was that the judge MADE the other lawyer call the insurance adjuster from the court room...!!! yes, from the FULL court room......

the other lawyer was red faced, that the judge made him do that in public.....

the insurance adjuster said (something like) opps, i forgot to pay him, and i will submit a check ASAP.

now the checks with the penalty should arrive by NEXT Wednesday when my lawyer goes back to court, to tell the judge yes, or no, that i got my money.


my lawyer says, the judge absolutely hates the insurance company...this is documented in court as ALL the other times, something like 6 times now..??????

well, this was a quickie update...

but i still WAIT for the court ordered IME to confirm another MRI for me, to determine/locate the nerve damage i have......




till next time.....
 
there are so many pages to your thread I only took time to read the first page but I wanted to say this....my daughter is a surgical nurse for a Brain/Spinal surgeon in Fort Worth. I have had several lovely occasions to hurt my back over the years and do have L2/3 L3/4 and L4/5 disc compression issues although for my age her Doc says, From my MRI's I'm in ok shape. But about 2 years ago delivering some 4 gallons jugs of bleach I slipped on some leaked bleach. I told dispatched I wrenched my back but felt ok. He says maybe accident report. I said no. Next day Saturday morning I couldn't get out of bed. I call my daughter.

This is the important part. She says dad at our office we work on all the firemen, policemen, ambulance drivers etc and all of their claims have been denied through workers comp because they say it is disc degeneration and at my age our workers comp will deny the claim....then I will be caught in between my insurance not covering the injury because I say it's work related and companies workers comp saying they aren't covering it because it's natural degeneration. I go to my own doc after ice and heat all weekend. barely able to move. I recovered mostly but I wanted to say this.

I am sorry about your back issues. I have SUFFERED through many issues with mine so I do understand your situation but your's sounds truly life changing. To those of you who have had back issues you need to know these are difficult injuries to place blame on. This man's is obviously genuine as most of us strain and injure our backs regularly. If you hurt your back report it IMMEDIATELY. Do not delay. It could be the difference between workers comp covering it or you having to deal with reporting it late and dealing with trying to sort it out. I've seen a lot of people get stuck with the doctor bills because they didn't do something immediately. I am sorry you have had multiple spine fusions. It must be very uncomfortable and painful for you to deal with. I hope for the fullest recovery possible. Sounds like it's been going on for a while so I will try to read more.
 
pro1driver said:
UPDATE: Feb 10, 2016

Here we go again, on the Merry-Go-Round of the insurance company NOT paying me. it has been now, a month since my last check. Now as i hope i had mentioned several, several posts ago, it takes (by my state law) 2 weeks for a check to be deemed late. but in all reality, it is actually 3 weeks before the lawyer can petition the courts.

my last insurance check was on Jan 16th, 2016,,,here it is (today) Feb 10th.


my lawyer was in court today, to argue for the umpteenth time, the insidious delays in them paying me.

my lawyer called me about an hour ago, and we spoke on the phone. basically what he told me was that the judge MADE the other lawyer call the insurance adjuster from the court room...!!! yes, from the FULL court room......

the other lawyer was red faced, that the judge made him do that in public.....

the insurance adjuster said (something like) opps, i forgot to pay him, and i will submit a check ASAP.

now the checks with the penalty should arrive by NEXT Wednesday when my lawyer goes back to court, to tell the judge yes, or no, that i got my money.


my lawyer says, the judge absolutely hates the insurance company...this is documented in court as ALL the other times, something like 6 times now..??????

well, this was a quickie update...

but i still WAIT for the court ordered IME to confirm another MRI for me, to determine/locate the nerve damage i have......




till next time.....
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page 20 tells me you are caught in the machine. I will be paying close attention. I hope when this is all done you are able to live a somewhat normal life with no tingling in your leg and ankle and foot and are able to stand or walk for more than an hour without having to sit down an mini recover from back spasms. what a nightmare. it's an education for those who have been keeping up.
 
to "nobodysboy", i started the all important "paper trail" at the moment of injury.

i called my supervisor i was hurt and going home, he quickly called safety. safety told my supervisor to go see a doc, ASAP, which i did, but the next day as there were no hospitals nearby my injury..this gave safety enough time to locate a clinic they can send me to.

now, i know i can/could go any where's for a doctor to look at me, so i went along with going, to where my company sent me, for at least this reason:

the company can say that since i did not go where THEY SAID to go, the company can deny me anything, and say i am ok go back to work.

as it was, the company place, doctor KNEW right off, my back was injured, even telling ME the location of the disk problem.>!!

well now as i have said in an earlier posting, i have been CONTINUALLY COMPLAINING of numbness in my right leg and a pain in the same location as the operation, the L3-L4-L5 ....there are times i can only walk about 10 feet, and my leg kicks out from under me. then i cannot sit, stand for more than say 10 minutes (or less) at a time......how can anyone fake this...?????

an EMG (recommended by the court ordered IME)......CONFIRMED i have nerve damage there, just how extensive, no one knows, which is why i now need an MRI, with and with-out contrasting dye.

i felt SO GOOD, that the EMG..CONFIRMED.......I STILL HAVE A PROBLEM...THAT IS ALSO NOW ......DOCUMENTED.....again...a PAPER TRAIL...!!!!!

so now, i await the court ordered IME to tell the judge, that YES, i need that all important MRI..............!!!!!!!!!!.....(been about 3 weeks now waiting for that BS to happen..>!!!)

in the meantime, the insurance company CONTINUES to play......'Let's NOT pay this guy and bust his BALLS"...........

but it IS costing them monies, in legal fee's, penalties, etc,etc.
 
FLOUNDER said:
good, I got FIRED for filing workers comp. fedEx Freight sucks, but I would work there again if I could.
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without a doubt, some companies DO fire workers for filing.

why, i do not know. if one get;s hurt, then one MUST file, it is my belief, to ensure proper care of the injury. but i'd also HIGHLY recommend getting a lawyer well versed in W//C claims to protect the insureds rights.

yes, if there is a "settlement" at the end, then of course the lawyer takes a cut on the award. here in my state as per state law, that is 20% of the award.

during the entire process, the W/C insurance company PAYS all the lawyer's fee's, for whatever he does, so it's not like the lawyers here are working for free. i found that to be strange, that the W/C insurance company PAYS my lawyers fees'...

which is why we we have had a conference at his office, he keeps telling me to call him, email him at ANY time......!!!

he bills the insurance company...

then too, the W/C insurance pays for THEIR lawyer and ALL court costs as well.......

wouldn't it "seem" to make sense, to avoid paying out copious amounts of money, to just pay me ON TIME..???

and to approve things like the EMG, MRI, and surgeries..???

rather than to pay,out all the money to fight it..?????

in the end, here again to state law, if there IS a settlement at the end, i must then, resign from my employer and give up any and all future lawsuits against them..

so even though it has now been nearly nearly 2 full years now (since April 10th 2014) when i got injured, and even though i am not employed (on paper and otherwise, anymore) at my (now) former employer, they still have me on the books, until i officially resign.....

which i suppose is a normal thing till i sign off......

will they ever re-hire me..??

i highly doubt it.

would i ever return to work for them....

not only no...BUT HELL NO.......

it has been said by medical people, i may NEVER be able to return to ANY type of work, ever again.

and i can assure everyone, this "retirement" i am in now, suits me just fine....

i am already as of last month's birthday, so VERY CLOSE to retirement as it is.........
 
FLOUNDER said:
are you on "WorkersComp" ?
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My former TM was a real jackass when anyone got injured. As far as he is concerned freight men are the laziest comp artists in the world. We, and only we, get injured at home on the weekends ya know, then go and claim we did it at work. But thanks to him I got more money than I should have and I not only didn't feel bad about it, it felt good. Now, here in PA we are eligible for comp until we return to work at our pre-injury earnings, including OT. If we were to get fired for filing a claim we could be eligible for comp 'til the cows come home (and cows don't come home here). Comp laws are best in favor or workers in CA and are horrible in other states. PA sits in the middle, it's fair for the worker...almost.
 
pro1driver said:
to "nobodysboy", i started the all important "paper trail" at the moment of injury.

i called my supervisor i was hurt and going home, he quickly called safety. safety told my supervisor to go see a doc, ASAP, which i did, but the next day as there were no hospitals nearby my injury..this gave safety enough time to locate a clinic they can send me to.

now, i know i can/could go any where's for a doctor to look at me, so i went along with going, to where my company sent me, for at least this reason:

the company can say that since i did not go where THEY SAID to go, the company can deny me anything, and say i am ok go back to work.

as it was, the company place, doctor KNEW right off, my back was injured, even telling ME the location of the disk problem.>!!

well now as i have said in an earlier posting, i have been CONTINUALLY COMPLAINING of numbness in my right leg and a pain in the same location as the operation, the L3-L4-L5 ....there are times i can only walk about 10 feet, and my leg kicks out from under me. then i cannot sit, stand for more than say 10 minutes (or less) at a time......how can anyone fake this...?????

an EMG (recommended by the court ordered IME)......CONFIRMED i have nerve damage there, just how extensive, no one knows, which is why i now need an MRI, with and with-out contrasting dye.

i felt SO GOOD, that the EMG..CONFIRMED.......I STILL HAVE A PROBLEM...THAT IS ALSO NOW ......DOCUMENTED.....again...a PAPER TRAIL...!!!!!

so now, i await the court ordered IME to tell the judge, that YES, i need that all important MRI..............!!!!!!!!!!.....(been about 3 weeks now waiting for that BS to happen..>!!!)

in the meantime, the insurance company CONTINUES to play......'Let's NOT pay this guy and bust his BALLS"...........

but it IS costing them monies, in legal fee's, penalties, etc,etc.
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I am glad you were prompt to file the injury report immediately. Many of us really believe we will be fine"Tomorrow". When that doesn't happen then we are caught up in the politics of not reporting an injury immediately. Eventually, I hope, You case will be resolved. Financially anyway. Although you will then fight the disability machine when you go on Disability SSI. I'm sure you wish it had not happened. I will take some time to look all your updates over the weekend if I am able. Sounds like you have a lot of downtime these day. It's a lesson in what can happen if we pay attention. Lots of thing go wrong in the process. I will catch up. Will check back tomorrow.
 
nobodysboy said:
I am glad you were prompt to file the injury report immediately. Many of us really believe we will be fine"Tomorrow". When that doesn't happen then we are caught up in the politics of not reporting an injury immediately. Eventually, I hope, You case will be resolved. Financially anyway. Although you will then fight the disability machine when you go on Disability SSI. I'm sure you wish it had not happened. I will take some time to look all your updates over the weekend if I am able. Sounds like you have a lot of downtime these day. It's a lesson in what can happen if we pay attention. Lots of thing go wrong in the process. I will catch up. Will check back tomorrow.
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this is the primary reason for my thread, to update everyone on the ups and certainly the downs of being injured, needing one (if not more now) operations and the BS one goes through, even WITH a lawyer.

i surmise to guess what would have happened to me, had i not acquired a lawyer for this. can we fight the insurance companies on our own..?? maybe perhaps, but let's face the facts, as much as many of us HATE the legal profession, they DO protect us as well.

the lawyers defend/protect our rights, and they know how to finesse things in court. as only one example, does anyone know that a W/C claim, after an operation (if one took place) there is payment for a scar on the body..??


well yes there is, i reported that here, several months ago. we had to go into the judges chambers, and remove my shirt, BOTH lawyers AND the judge viewed my scarring. of course, the "other lawyer" put up an argument, but that was quickly squashed.

but BEFORE all this happened, soon after my operation i provided pics of my back, and scar, (which i still had staples in me) to my lawyer, with a measuring tape next to the scar..(again, that is in my thread, as well). (scar is long)

i documented nearly everything, leaving what i hope to be, the worlds largest paper trail.....

i save ALL my emails to and from my lawyer as well.......

so to help others here, i update as often as i can, and please believe me, (everyone please believe me), I HIGHLY APPRECIATE that no one has or had, derailed this thread.

as much information can (hopefully) be used by others in the future if need be...

thanks all.....!!!!!
 
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