Hurt back

[Hate 150lb Packages]

The problem is, I don't have insurance. If it gets worse I'll have no choice, but a chiropractor sounds good. I went once years ago for a sore rhomboid and they electrocuted me with some contraption and called it treatment. I've been terrified ever since. Anyone ever have any luck with just a plain massage? ... not counting the ending

 

[Cactus]

The problem is, I don't have insurance. If it gets worse I'll have no choice, but a chiropractor sounds good. I went once years ago for a sore rhomboid and they electrocuted me with some contraption and called it treatment. I've been terrified ever since. Anyone ever have any luck with just a plain massage? ... not counting the ending

Stay away from that kind of Chriopractor. It's that kind that gives the whole business a bad name.

 

[hypo hanna]

The problem is, I don't have insurance. If it gets worse I'll have no choice, but a chiropractor sounds good. I went once years ago for a sore rhomboid and they electrocuted me with some contraption and called it treatment. I've been terrified ever since. Anyone ever have any luck with just a plain massage? ... not counting the ending

​Go out on the net and find some stretching excercise a for lower back strain. I found them to help a lot. Before that you need to have a doctor look at you even if its a workers comp quack. You need to rule out slip disc etc and have it on record as an on the job injury.

 

[FUFred]

I don’t know what the workers comp laws are by you but I'd talk to a lawyer first, a free 20 min consultation is usually offered. Fedex hates this and it covers your butt. I filed a claim awhile ago, after I was fired I thought my comp case was garbage, it wasn’t. I can tell you I have no insurance, I cannot afford the cobra payment of 500 a month to keep the medical insurance so I just planned to deal with the pain. I have permanent ligament damage, and I no longer run. I called my comp lawyer and he said still keep going to the doctor, this is comp this is covered, this happen while you work for fedex. I told the doctor who I am seeing, he said not a problem, all my treatment is covered under comp.

Management will tell to work through it, deal with the pain, tell you you have to go to the doctors and you cannot go to one of your choice. This is far the truth from the truth( in the state I live it) talk to a lawyer who knows comp if thats what you plan on doing.This is your back, this is important. After I filed the paper work at fedex for my work related injury my Mgr told me I had to do this fill out this and that, another stack of papers. I said I'll take the paper work to my lawyers office and talk it over with him,.My Mgr then took the paper work back and said we can do it later, and to get better. I never filled out anything without talking it over with my lawyer. I was also told I had to go to fedex doctors first, I told Fedex, My lawyer is talking care of everything and to talk to him. I have yet to do to fedex's doctor.
Don't wait around, or try to be super courier, get it taken care of ASAP. Also keep the receipts for everything, then make copies, take down your milage, parking, anything related to what you pay out of packet going back and forth to doctors, this is all reimbursable in my state, it may be in yours.
Best of luck.

 

[MrFedEx]

I don’t know what the workers comp laws are by you but I'd talk to a lawyer first, a free 20 min consultation is usually offered. Fedex hates this and it covers your butt. I filed a claim awhile ago, after I was fired I thought my comp case was garbage, it wasn’t. I can tell you I have no insurance, I cannot afford the cobra payment of 500 a month to keep the medical insurance so I just planned to deal with the pain. I have permanent ligament damage, and I no longer run. I called my comp lawyer and he said still keep going to the doctor, this is comp this is covered, this happen while you work for fedex. I told the doctor who I am seeing, he said not a problem, all my treatment is covered under comp.

Management will tell to work through it, deal with the pain, tell you you have to go to the doctors and you cannot go to one of your choice. This is far the truth from the truth( in the state I live it) talk to a lawyer who knows comp if thats what you plan on doing.This is your back, this is important. After I filed the paper work at fedex for my work related injury my Mgr told me I had to do this fill out this and that, another stack of papers. I said I'll take the paper work to my lawyers office and talk it over with him,.My Mgr then took the paper work back and said we can do it later, and to get better. I never filled out anything without talking it over with my lawyer. I was also told I had to go to fedex doctors first, I told Fedex, My lawyer is talking care of everything and to talk to him. I have yet to do to fedex's doctor.
Don't wait around, or try to be super courier, get it taken care of ASAP. Also keep the receipts for everything, then make copies, take down your milage, parking, anything related to what you pay out of packet going back and forth to doctors, this is all reimbursable in my state, it may be in yours.
Best of luck.

I'm going to do an extensive post on this later, but for now suffice it to say that management is going to do whatever it can to blame the injury on you and deny treatment and/or payment. If you have any outside activities that "might" be an alternative source for the injury, they will definitely go there and try to get the company off-the-hook.

Let's say you wrench your back trying to team lift a "150 lb" crate which actually weighs 300 pounds. Happens all the time when customers lie about weights and then the package moves through the regular system instead of going over to AGFS Heavyweight. Of course, it is "your fault", even if the package was incorrectly labeled, and the onus will be on you to prove otherwise, even though it's obvious what happened.

Let's also say you play in a soccer league after work, and management knows it. They will try and say in many cases that your injury actually resulted from playing soccer. Think I'm kidding? Think again. I have overheard conference calls where managers try and reach concurrence on how they can blame an injury outside of the company. Again, YOU will need to prove otherwise, which isn't as easy as it sounds.

Back in the 1990's FedEx came out with new injury policies which basically said "It's the employee's fault...always". The injury rate dropped overnight, and FedEx began charging "preventable" (everything) injuries against the employee on the Performance Review, resulting in a lower score, and less pay. Win-win for Fred. There was no effort to make the work environment any safer, only a program that changed the way injuries were reported and handled. In other words, they administratively "reduced" injuries by penalizing workers for claiming an injury and then declaring it "preventable"...even if it wasn't. As usual, the sheep took this directly in the butt without a whimper. In short, upper management re-designed the injury policy to ensure that there would be fewer of them...on paper.

Ever since, it's been about the same, and getting a lawyer on Day 1 of a work-related injury is sage advice. I've known plenty of people that have gone up against FedEx and it's associated brethren of evil (Aetna, Sedgwick, FedEx Legal, HR, HCMP etc). None of these folks are on your side.

 

[DontThrowPackages]

This driver is really into gardening, roses and other small flowers. Driver and manager would always talk about how the garden is coming along. Wouldn't you know, driver got a back injury and that SAME manager, in the fact finding meeting, suggested the back injury happened while gardening......no BS. Don't think their small talk is just in passing. They take note of your activities and store them to be used later against you. And to add, come to work in a brand new European car(back when times were good) and you will have security on your arse next to your truck asking you questions like, " How's the weather?" Or "What did you think of the game last night?". MFE is dead on.

 

[FUFred]

I've known plenty of people that have gone up against FedEx and it's associated brethren of evil (Aetna, Sedgwick, FedEx Legal, HR, HCMP etc). None of these folks are on your side.

I second that. NONE of these people will help you.

There is a place in Hell for Sedgwick, they are worse then management. The paper work that I was sent, the questions they wanted answered, what sports I played, what outdoor activities I did, anything that was related or could be related to my injury they wanted and they never got that info thanks to the lawyer. If I went about this on my own, it would have been a preventable and I would have gotten a letter, I'm sure. The information Sedgwick wanted was to build a case against me, to put full blame on me, to say it was all my fault and all preventable. When they called me, and they will I just said you will have to call my lawyer and gave them the number.

 

[MrFedEx]

I second that. NONE of these people will help you.

There is a place in Hell for Sedgwick, they are worse then management. The paper work that I was sent, the questions they wanted answered, what sports I played, what outdoor activities I did, anything that was related or could be related to my injury they wanted and they never got that info thanks to the lawyer. If I went about this on my own, it would have been a preventable and I would have gotten a letter, I'm sure. The information Sedgwick wanted was to build a case against me, to put full blame on me, to say it was all my fault and all preventable. When they called me, and they will I just said you will have to call my lawyer and gave them the number.

Here's the deal. FedEx knows full well that the kind of work we do results in injuries...lots of them. Slips and falls, hitting your head with the pull-down door, repetitive stress injuries, vehicle accidents, and on and on. It comes with the job, but they don't want to acknowledge any of that. If something goes wrong, it's YOUR fault, and they don't want to take any responsibility for it. The injury directive I spoke of in an earlier post made it clear to management that they had better start blaming employees for everything or it would be their (management's) ass on the line because their "injury rate" was too high and not in conformance with corporate standards.

During my long career, I have seen people struck by vehicles, rolling containers, pinned by dollies, fall out of trucks with spilled oil on the steps, blow-out knees, break bones and a hundred other types of injuries...all THEIR fault, at least per FedEx. And then the real fun begins.

If you EVER get hurt on the job at FedEx, talk with an attorney...ASAP. Do not believe one single word of "concern" or "hurry back" or any of it. They are only interested in paying out as little as possible, and terminating you if they determine it is in the best interests of the company. FUFred is exactly right...all Sedgwick wants is something they can use to blame you. The same goes for HR, HCMP, CIGNA and Aetna etc...close the claim as quickly as possible with as little payout as they can while establishing it was somehow YOUR fault. "You weren't wearing your tinfoil hat", you didn't perform a Code 48 Stretch and Flex", or "you had a pre-existing pimple on your ass in 1996". It used to be "you weren't wearing your backbelt". If and when you get an attorney, don't even talk with any of these FedEx affiliates. Have them speak to your lawyer. If you don't believe me, ask someone in your station who has been seriously injured and then check back and see if I'm right, OK?

I'm lucky, and have never had to go this route, but I know plenty of others who have and the one consistent characteristic among all of them is that they wish they had a lawyer, as early in the process as possible. One individual was hurt very badly, and it was obviously not at fault, and was permanently disabled. Even with a lawyer, FedEx stalled, obfuscated, tarried, and jacked this person around for several years, hoping to starve them out. First, they offered an accommodation, and then withdrew it, then a settlement, which was also withdrawn. Game after game after game, all in the hope that ""Bill" would dry-up and go away dead broke. And I know of dozens more "Bills" out there, some of whom didn't get an attorney and were railroaded straight into loss of their job, bankruptcy, or dire financial peril.

Never believe anything a manager says when you get hurt, nor any statement made by any company that represents FedEx. They understand only one thing...equal or greater legal force applied in their direction.

 

[SmithBarney]

Chiropractor will be very helpful, usually not too expensive(without insurance) he/she can also teach you some important
stretches that will help you. I've had a back susceptible to injury since Junior High (fell down an icy stairway eek)
proper stretching and lifting will keep you safer (after you heal).

EDIT: Just saw your concern about chiropractors, there are a few different techniques used out there, I prefer full manual adjustments(opposed to mechanical adjustments) Go to(or call) a DC and ask what techniques they use, they are use to these questions, so you won't offend them.

One of my fav stretches is laying flat on back and pulling knees to chest, and you can add rocking back and forth on your back as you get
more comfortable. Some people use tennis balls, but I have a product called Miracle Balls. They are soft balls you use to stretch and lay on.
in reality you could use any children's small play ball, but the book that comes with them is more valuable.

 

[Route 66]

There is a questionaire you have to fill out once you report a work injury to FedEx. It's quite simple and actually consists of only one question:
Was the injury in question incurred during your employment with FedEx? If you answered "yes" the injury was your fault and you are covered for absolutely nothing.

 

[MrFedEx]

There is a questionaire you have to fill out once you report a work injury to FedEx. It's quite simple and actually consists of only one question:
Was the injury in question incurred during your employment with FedEx? If you answered "yes" the injury was your fault and you are covered for absolutely nothing.

Here's another real life example of how the process works. "Betty" was a handler whom I hadn't seen in awhile. When I asked her where she'd been, she said she had a hernia operation. This woman is completely fit, and runs and works out every day...not an ounce of fat on her. Even though she could pinpoint the injury to the exact time and place (an AMJ, lifting a 60# box that really weighed 85#), guess where Sedgwick went for "cause"? To the workouts, of course, even though she never lifts more than 50#, and most of her training is swimming and biking. No history of hernia, and she was blamed for a "preventable" injury. When I asked her why she didn't fight it, she replied that she was afraid of retaliation and getting fired. Mission Accomplished, Sedgwick.