Career Ending Operation???

So basically you got a fusion at the L3-4 area. I've never heard of anyone having a complete disc removal.
Your Attorney is totally right, Regardless if you had your back repaired from a previous work injury, if your re-injury occurs while doing work than you are covered as it contributed to the injury of the already compromised area.
What I've heard is if you settle on that injury you can not ever settle again but you will only get the medical treatment.
I wonder if they pay you if you have to be off work. I never asked about that.

Good luck and hope you get your surgery before the year 3000
 
So basically you got a fusion at the L3-4 area. I've never heard of anyone having a complete disc removal.
Your Attorney is totally right, Regardless if you had your back repaired from a previous work injury, if your re-injury occurs while doing work than you are covered as it contributed to the injury of the already compromised area.
What I've heard is if you settle on that injury you can not ever settle again but you will only get the medical treatment.
I wonder if they pay you if you have to be off work.
I never asked about that.

Good luck and hope you get your surgery before the year 3000

what i bolded...i am not entirely sure what you mean to be saying.

but, for a moment, getting back to the first operation, back in 2001.

i could nearly swear that doctor i had back then said, "i go in, remove the disc, put in bone material, use rods, nuts and bolts, and it fuses together."

the very first specialist i saw (and thus the second opinion that lead me to the operation doctor), he said,, "i go in trim away the disk that is bad and fuse it, and you're good to go"

well after the second doctor (the original operating doctor) said he goes in and REMOVES the disk, of course i knew that to be the better way to go, as anyone would know, once a disk is compromised, it'll always be able to deteriorate faster, or at least, that was MY understanding.


so in all frankness and honesty, all this time, i thought the 3-4 disk have been 100% removed, bone fragments placed, and the hardware.

but as i may have mentioned, even the attorney said, no, the backbone still needs a cushion.

but yes, i am still under warranty from this second operation if as you say, it gets done before the year the world ends, in 3000.



getting back to what i bolded..??

if i settle, which i will not do for a long time yet, i'll have to ask if i get continued health care from them, but i'd (right now) i highly doubt that.

i'd be of an assumption, that once settled, it is all done and over with, i have to sign off on the employer, with a promise i cannot go back after them, that much i do know as of now.

most likely, i will have to either get on total disability till i am 65, the off that and onto regular SS at 65. i cannot collect both, i think everyone knows that.

all i can do for the time being is sit, and wait.

and update all of you, as time warrants.

but in closing i will say this much, way back when i first started this thread, someone (who's name i will not mention) made reference to healing quickly and back to work as he has done or others have done.

first, i am about 15 years OLDER than my first operation. i did not heal FAST when i was 15 years younger, took me nearly 6 months to get back to work. being OLDER has it's issues with everyone, as NO ONE ages the same. NO ONE heals at the same rate, or fully heals 100%.

i had come to the conclusion nearly the first day of my injury, my days are over with as far as driving and maybe even working ANY job, as i cannot sit, stand, or walk for any length of time.

there is a constant pain, (varying levels) a constant numbness of the right side, and (at times) the left side goes numb as well. i stumble when i walk, so much so, i have fallen. so as anyone can "see" i have my limits.

at the office visit yesterday, it was ingrained into my head for the umpteeth time, the new updated surgery may correct my back, but NO guarantee the nerve damage will heal or go away. then ANOTHER operation may have to be done, but what do i do at that point.>???

risk it..???? end up in a wheelchair..?? end up bed-ridden..?????

i wished to God Almighty, i never got hurt.

but i did.

workman's comp, as we all should know, DOES NOT pay me a full week's pay, like i used to earn...........

but i am busted man, and will remain a busted man, till something shakes the tall tree the insurance company occupies and looks down from.


but if you don't mind..???

please elaborate further on what i had bolded from you, unless i just explained it...??????
 
I'll try to explain. It might be different in some states.
1. You get a back injury at work and they pay for everything medically necessary.
2. You than settle on the case and if you are still able to work, they usually get medical added to the settlement. (For that area only)
3. You're back to work and suddenly you get re-injured in the same area. The only thing they will do is pay for what is medically necessary to treat that area. You cannot settle on that area again. I also hear that if you are off work because of the re-injury they do not pay you. I have not confirmed that part.
Gray area: You are employed at a new company and it gets re-injured. Some people have got an injury on one part of the settled area and a completely new area next to it.

In your situation, it seems like you cannot come back to work regardless of the surgery outcome. If you settle they want you out and will not add medical. Ever think of asking your lawyer to take it to trial for a bigger settlement? Only because you have been jacked around for quite some time with their stall tactics.


I'm sure you already know from experience but for others:
Fusion is when they remove the herniated disc, shave or remove part of the vertebra bone, add screws and rods to keep the spine/vertebra in proper alignment, add bone marrow (Yours or a cadaver) into a titanium cage and insert it into the spongy disc area where it starts to grow and fuse to the upper and lower vertebra forming one solid mass of bone.
 
I'll try to explain. It might be different in some states.
1. You get a back injury at work and they pay for everything medically necessary.
2. You than settle on the case and if you are still able to work, they usually get medical added to the settlement. (For that area only)
3. You're back to work and suddenly you get re-injured in the same area. The only thing they will do is pay for what is medically necessary to treat that area. You cannot settle on that area again. I also hear that if you are off work because of the re-injury they do not pay you. I have not confirmed that part.
Gray area: You are employed at a new company and it gets re-injured. Some people have got an injury on one part of the settled area and a completely new area next to it.

4) In your situation, it seems like you cannot come back to work regardless of the surgery outcome. If you settle they want you out and will not add medical. Ever think of asking your lawyer to take it to trial for a bigger settlement? Only because you have been jacked around for quite some time with their stall tactics.

1) as it stands now, everything is paid 100% by the insurance company for me. i'll even get "milage money" going to and from the IME, but that'll be book miles, NOT actual miles, so last time, i lost some money, i expect to be paid again this time, but at least, i got some money for the gas.

2) can't say, if i settle, it''s a done deal as far as i know it to be.

3) again can't say except to say, i am "damaged goods", i cannot see anyone wanting to hire a risky employee now, would YOU take a chance on another injury to me.>???

4) in my situation, there is no such thing as "higher settlement". at the beginning, my claim had a "value" set by the insurance company. say for instance, it was $300,000...this is for the 6 years i can collect that money each week.

each check, gets deducted from that $300,000......

if i were to "settle" first, i'd have to sign a resignation form, releasing me from employment, and from any more responsibility from the employer AND insurance company.

then i'd get "the balance" of what's left from that original $300,000.

this is how it works here in my state. there is no more that what is the balance.....

i cannot sue the warehouse i got injured at, as my company was insured. i cannot ask for a million dollars, as the law says what is there (balance of the "value of the claim") is all that there is there.

I'm sure you already know from experience but for others:
Fusion is when they remove the herniated disc, shave or remove part of the vertebra bone, add screws and rods to keep the spine/vertebra in proper alignment, add bone marrow (Yours or a cadaver) into a titanium cage and insert it into the spongy disc area where it starts to grow and fuse to the upper and lower vertebra forming one solid mass of bone.
yes, now i really know this, but i really thought i had heard the original first surgeon back in 2000 (operation was done in spring of 2001), that he removes the entire disk. my bone came from a donation bank, otherwise, some have a portion of the hip removed for this, i was told.
 
UPDATE: Sept 28, 2016

well tomorrow, (the 29th) i go to the insurance quack doctor for the all important IME exam/report.

as per my very first visit to him, i and my attorney, fully expect me to be denied anymore operations.

this is ok, as i may have said in previous posts. this just means more time for me to collect those checks and go back to court to argue for me to go to a court doctor, for HIS opinion, based on the facts. and those facts ARE the EMG and the MRI, which CLEARLY shows i still have a problem, due to my injury.

oh well, gonna be a bit o' rain today, and tomorrow as well......!!!!!!!!
 
UPDATE: Sept. 29, 2016

ok, so i arrived a few minutes before my appointment. all of about 1.5 hours later, i get to see the doctor. (the insurance doctor, for the IME exam)

seemed he had a "change of tune", regarding another operation.

as he walked into the exam room, he said (paraphrasing), "the last time i saw you, i did not approve another operation, as i did not have any reports, like the EMG, and the MRI"..

i told him, i had no control over any of that. he knows, he said.

he examined me, and he had a student doctor there as well.

he said that he will make out his report and send it in.

he actually had a smile on his face this time, maybe because the student doctor, maybe because he had good news for me.

as he exited the exam room, he did say..."good luck to you"...

last time, he had no such words.....

i see my surgeon again in late December, so if i get the "go ahead" for this surgery, i'll, like it to be done in late January/early February.


i will update this, as soon as i get my information, whenever that comes in.
 
UPDATE: Sept. 29, 2016

seemed he had a "change of tune", regarding another operation.

as he walked into the exam room, he said (paraphrasing), "the last time i saw you, i did not approve another operation, as i did not have any reports, like the EMG, and the MRI"..

he actually had a smile on his face this time, maybe because he had good news for me.

as he exited the exam room, he did say..."good luck to you"...

last time, he had no such words.....

i see my surgeon again in late December, so if i get the "go ahead" for this surgery, i'll, like it to be done in late January/early February.

i will update this, as soon as i get my information, whenever that comes in.
Hopefully for you, your preferred (as approved) operation time will manifest in '17 without additional (or excessive) "exams before approval".
As you're able, pardon the clee-shay, keep your chin up.
 
Hopefully for you, your preferred (as approved) operation time will manifest in '17 without additional (or excessive) "exams before approval".
As you're able, pardon the clee-shay, keep your chin up.
i hope so as well. i cannot say how long the report will circulate, then yet, be approved by the insurance company. just because thier doctor (may finally agree) that i need this new operation, is certainly no guarantee they will go ahead with it right away. they have a way of prolonging things, as i have reported so many times previously.

it would "be best" for me, if this can take place in 2017. but then who knows, they (the insurance) may also say, "do it now, or never".....then i'd have no choice.
 
UPDATE: October 12, 2016

we were supposed to have gone to court yesterday (the 11th) but the insurance IME doctor's report, had not been completed and ready for that. so it was canceled.

so we go again in 2 weeks.

tell you what too, i was ready to leave at 9:15, for the 10 AM court time, as i need a ride there. lucky for me, i checked my answering machine, the lawyer's office called at 9:05........!!!!
 
UPDATE: October 24, 2016

Ok, off to court we go, as the first time IME doctor refused another operation, this time he refuses again.

Both attorneys are to write up a report of sorts for the Judge, and he will send those in for yet another request for a court ordered doctor to perform yet another independent IME on me....(the reports are from my lawyer saying why i need this operation, and a report from the insurance company lawyer saying why they are against it)

the court ordered IME doctor, will be the very same one that rendered his decision in my favor, the first time the insurance doctor refused.

so now they attorney reports will be filed with the judge on the 7th of November, then i have to await an appointment with the court's IME doctor....

this is where it stands as of now.
 
oh yeah. i gave my attorney the miles to and from the insurance IME doctors office.

i was paid a whopping 48¢ per mile..>!!!!!!!!!!
 
UPDATE: Nov. 10, 2016

well both attorneys went to court Monday (Nov. 7th) and presented thier arguments as to why i need (or the other side saying, i don;t need) another operation.

looking forward now to the letter coming in from the court IME doctor's office for his appointment when he gets to exam me again, as well as view the EMG and MRI proof.
 
UPDATE: Nov. 21, 2016

so ok, i get in today's mail, 2 letters from my attorney.

1) telling me of my court ordered IME, (which i knew about, and actually gave him a copy of the appointment from the doctor)

2) the court date in January when we read the report and get the judge's decision on another operation or not.

i'm hoping that if it is approved, my next operation may be in February..????


keeping my fingers crossed.
 
UPDATE: Dec. 8, 2016


2 weeks to go, till my court ordered IME, with the same doctor, that approved the EMG and MRI.

then back to court in mid January for the judges decision.

still just passing time, or passing gas, seems to be the same thing, only one stinks more than the other.


i can say that i miss work. it's not like i was already at retirement age, and could have easily retired.

having to "retire" long before your time, takes some getting used to.

i like it on the one hand, that i can do some easy/light things around the house. simple painting for instance. or some light gardening, or running the daily errands.

but then on the other hand, not too much i can do, that requires brute strength or repetitive motions without pain. (bending, stooping, leaning back, twisting sideways, carrying the laundry from my apartment down to the basement, then back up again, etc). so i have to split my laundry days, as to not have to carry too much weight.

i am still pretty much in the range of 18 to 25 pound weight limits, some days, 0 weight........


it stinks, it sucks, but i am stuck in this merry-go-round of insurance issues, attorneys, courts, all the while the pain does NOT GO AWAY.....

nor my limits/range of motions.

i know i have to face the inevitable of going on disability for life, (or so i have been told by many), but the real "problem" is the limits i have to adhere to, so as not to continue to destroy my already, destroyed back...
 
The other obstacle I see you may have is comp.,insurance investigators.
I worked with a trucker that was getting company checks on comp.
Well don't you know as none of us or he knew there was a guy following him around.

So one day he was out fishing in his small boat & pulled the outboard motor up after docking the boat & Wham-o he was busted.
Which got him cut-off from receiving anymore comp money.
I know he went & got another trucking job but I lost track of him after that.

However I doubt you are playing the system like some do,but you do have to be careful with your activities in public.

I do hope everything works out for you pro.
 
The other obstacle I see you may have is comp.,insurance investigators.
I worked with a trucker that was getting company checks on comp.
Well don't you know as none of us or he knew there was a guy following him around.

So one day he was out fishing in his small boat & pulled the outboard motor up after docking the boat & Wham-o he was busted.
Which got him cut-off from receiving anymore comp money.
I know he went & got another trucking job but I lost track of him after that.

However I doubt you are playing the system like some do,but you do have to be careful with your activities in public.

I do hope everything works out for you pro.
yeah, thanks.

i have everything documented to the hilt. there must be a parer trail from here to MArs and back.

my Attorney's file on me, must weigh a ton, and is about 4" thick

x-rays, EMG, MRI. all show my continued problem.

it IS easy to play the system, which is what makes it tough on those of us, that are really damaged.

at first, when i complained about my continued pains after my operation, i was getting the "feeling" no one believed i was still having troubles.

the EMG, x-rays, and MRI..put an end to anyone who thought i was "playing the system"....

now of course, the insurance is trying to NOT pay for another operation. so right there, goes to show, they too know i ain't screwing around, just to continue collecting.
 
I just thought I'd throw that out about the trucker I knew that got caught cheating the system.
So you wouldn't meet the same fait of somebody following you around to get you cut off from any benefits you have coming.
I really wasn't trying to accuse you of anything,I was only looking out for your interest.
As I know very well that insurance don't mind receiving payments,but when it comes to paying benefits they can be very crafty.
 
I just thought I'd throw that out about the trucker I knew that got caught cheating the system.
So you wouldn't meet the same fait of somebody following you around to get you cut off from any benefits you have coming.
I really wasn't trying to accuse you of anything,I was only looking out for your interest.
As I know very well that insurance don't mind receiving payments,but when it comes to paying benefits they can be very crafty.
i didn't take what you said in any other way, no worries.
 
UPDATE: December 23, 2016

so yesterday afternoon, i had my court ordered IME, with the same doctor, the court sent me to last year.

he had my file(s). He looked at my x-ray CD, then the MRI CD. he said the 2-3 lower disk is what shows up, he asked me a few questions and said..."so you're basically the same as if you never even had this last operation"?

i said..yes.

he said he will get off his report asap. i am not sure if he knows we go back to court in January.

by the way..

i did arrive at the very least 45 minutes early, i am always early, in anything i do. (i even have standing orders, for my funeral, I MUST BE EARLY)

it was about 12:15 PM when i arrived, thier lunch time, but the gals are still working checking in patients..my appointment was for 1 PM, but the doctor did not see me till 1:45.....why appointments then..????? i don't mind waiting, till it's MY time to see the doctor. then "let's go"

i am hoping for better results from this guy, then the insurance IME quack.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

anyway, some young gal walked in. she had told the gal behind the desk that she was trying to call but only the answering service would take the call, and just told her "to get there".

she tried, she had a flat tire, and was waiting for help.

well she too was a workman's comp case.

since she did not show up on time, and no one at the office answered the phones, she was docked as a "no show" and as such, her appointment was cancelled.

now, i was told that if i did not show up, that's a $200. charge, that i'd have to pay...

i can only imagine, that if she can convince her attorney, and he talks with the judge, maybe her out of pocket "no show" fine, will be dismissed.


moral to this is....always leave early, as it's best to wait IN THE OFFICE, rather than by the side of the road.
 
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