help with back injury question

tkmac

Member
7 months ago, on a friday, I was having some pain in my back. I figured it was muscle painso i went on home. Come Sunday i was in a lot of pain and went to the ER. Monday i called my supe and he said i should've reported it on friday so i went to my own doc. So, I went to my own doc and ended up seeing a nueroligist and had back surgery. After two weeks the pain was back and now i am recovering from yet another surgery (this one more serious). It is clearly due to the job. This makes thre back surgerys since i worked for UPS the first was 10 years ago. Since my supe advised me not to file work comp i used my insureance and now my loss of time has ran out and I have no help from the job that caused all this. Is it to late to file worl comp?
 

DS

Fenderbender
Your sup was right that you should've reported it the day it happened.
If you are lucky,and your doctor says this was a work related injury you may be able to get comp,and if you have a good relationship with your management team,they may agree to class it as one.
Having a messed up back may not be compatible with ups.
good luck.
 

massbrown

Member
I went out with a back injury 26 months ago. The day I injured it I thought i would be okay to go back to work the next day. I was wrong. I called my center manager the next day, told him what happened, and he hung up on me. After that I called my teamsters local, they recomended a lawyer. After I contacted him my center manager called back with an apology and everything has gone through the lawyer since then.
I have had 7 epidoral injections and 1 surgery since my injury and look to return in May or June. All I can say is get a good worker's compensation lawyer. It has not cost me anything.
 

feeder53

ADKtrails
I would never take a chance of not being able to file a WC claim, I would tell them as soon as I felt the injury. I have seen a lot of people try to work it off and get stuck with the problems. The the company can still claim you are not fit for the job and you lose more.
 

UpstateNYUPSer(Ret)

Well-Known Member
There are several threads of a similar nature on today's Recent Threads. They all deal with on the job injuries which were not reported in a timely manner and the possible consequences of this failure to report. Two of the threads relate how the employee "felt something" but thought that he could work through it and therefore did not report it to mgt but woke up the next morning in worse shape than the night before and now have to call in and start the injury reporting process after the fact. I think that the lesson to be learned by reading these threads is to report all injuries, no matter how "insignificant", just to be on the safe side.

As far as the employee going through his insurance rather than workers comp, I went that route myself when I had ulnar nerve release surgery on both of my elbows in Jan. 07. My thought process was that because there was no specific injury date (it was the result of repetitive motion over the course of my 18 yrs) that comp would not come in to play. Well, we went back and filed it as a comp claim and I received nearly $1,000 for the time that I was out recovering from surgery and it is now on record should there be any future issues involving my elbows. This payment was in addition to the payment that I received from Combined, which is my supplemental insurance company. I guess my point is that the employee who opted not to go through comp should revisit this as it may be in his favor to do so not only for the comp payment but for the fact that his injury will be documented in case future issues arise.

Report all injuries in a timely manner, regardless of severity.
 
I agree, but there are sometimes when (especially younger) people get a small insignificant injury that is gone the next day and never another problem. I think we have all done that and sometimes it comes back to haunt us. It's much easier to notify at the time of an injury, even if it is minor. If for no other reason to get it on the books if it becomes prolonged or a later problem arises. Hopefully we all learn from our mistakes and start doing things as they need to be done.
 

Johney

Well-Known Member
if you have a good relationship with your management team,they may agree to class it as one.
Unfortuneatly his managment team really has no say whether UPS will cover it or not it is up to the insurance company. Seek out a good comp attorney that is your best and only advice you need to hear.
 

tkmac

Member
Thank you everyone for your comments. I really appreciate your advice. If anyone else wants to comment on the situation from their own ( or someone they know) experience let me know. I check back often.
 

tkmac

Member
I have another question. Since I used my insurance instead of comp what happens then if i file a comp claim? I just had no idea it was going to end like this. If i knew now what i didn't know then... I just wish I knew my rights a little more then.
 

Bad Gas!

Well-Known Member
You have to get your doctor to say it was work related in writing for one thing..Then..seek advice from a comp lawyer..Don't wait on the doctor thing...asap or your window of opportunity closes fast..
 

Johney

Well-Known Member
Talk to a w/c att. now about the comp laws in your state, some states vary. You may want to keep this in mind. Being a back injury you are most likely on restricted duty correct? If yes then if you get denied and decide to fight you may be out of work until your case gets to trial.UPS only gives 29 days of TAW you won't make it to trial before that is up. Also as far as I know(at least here)our health insurance will not cover a work related injury unless it's more than 5 years old and not covered under a w/c claim.
 

dannyboy

From the promised LAND
First off, you are worried about insurance. You need to worry about you right now. Let the insurance companies fix the mess, they have a lot of people that have the time and skills to screw each other over. So let them at it.

Get the lawyer. Without good legal advice, you are dead in the water. You could very well have shot yourself in the leg already. Only a good lawyer would be able to tell you if you are really screwed or not. But time is not your friend right now, please understand that.

The problem with going back 6 months later and claiming it was comp makes it a real logistical nightmare. Had you done it the next day, you would never have had a problem. But 6++ months?????? A bit late to check on it dont you think?

One thing I can see happening is that since you are not claiming it was comp, your insurance company could stop paying your medical bills. And since the companies liability isurance company is not going to fall all over you to make sure you are taken care of, there could now be a time where things get really tight, both in compensation to you, and getting your medical bills paid in a timely manner.

I would not hold my breath on getting any back comp payments.

d
 

UpstateNYUPSer(Ret)

Well-Known Member
One of the main problems with going through the insurance first and then filing it as a comp case is that the insurace company is going to want their money back from comp. which can become a real headache for everyone involved.
 

dannyboy

From the promised LAND
Upstate, agreed, but that is not his problem. As long as someone pays the bills, they can fight it out among themselves. The problem with all this that affects the driver is that the insurance company now no longer will be willing to pay the bills, and the comp insurance will postpone it as long as they can.

If I were a betting man, I would suggest that you drop the comp claim, and continue with filing on your insurance. I only see problems with now claiming that this injury is really comp instead of an off the job injury which it is classified as now.

So I would shut my mouth as to what I am claiming until I have talked to a really good comp lawyer, so you have at least an idea of what your rights are at this point. Running your mouth without representation is only going to come back to bite you later. Trust me on that one.

BTW, one thing you have not mentioned in any of the posts you made: Is there any documentation besides your phone call that monday stating that this was an injury that occured on the job that friday. I know you said it now. But is there anything documenting it? Like records at the ER that sunday night? Or your records of the first visit to your doctor for this injury? If there are none, I think you are pretty much screwed.

d
 
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