My knee still hurts

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ronnie

Guest
Last Wednesday (10/29/03), I banged my left knee very hard. And so I received a nice cut on my knee cap and put some bandaids on it. And I continued to work through it, and before I left I told my part-time supervisor about my injury, but I did not want to report it. I showed up for work on Thursday & Friday and worked both days(loading). But, my knee is still bothering me. I basically have to walk with a limp because it hurts to bend my knee. It only hurts when I bend it. I can still work through it if I want to, but I will probably tell my part-time supervisor that my knee is still sore and not really showing any improvement. I might need medical attention as my knee cap could be cracked or something. I don't have health insurance, but it doesn't matter because UPS should pay for it as the injury occured at UPS. And my part-time supervisor and another employee who saw my banadged bloody knee can back up my claims that I got injured on 10/29. So my question is that is it possible to file a report for an injury that occured several days ago?
 
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local804

Guest
You should have 10 days to file a workers compensation claim.The smart thing to do would have been fill it out that night of the accident.Talk to your steward also and let him know the deal.
 
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dannyboy

Guest
Get with your safety cochair and explain it to him. HE should be able to help you through the problem.

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ronnie

Guest
My left knee is showing improvement. So there might be no need to file a report. I think we have 3 stewards at our HUB, but I think I only know one. And I have no clue who the safety co-chair is. Does the 10 days includes weekends/holidays? UPS seems to discourage reporting of injuries when neccessary. So if my knee is getting better it may not be neccessary to report it, but if I only have 10 days, but it depends what state you live in. Some states you have 30 days or more or less. I live in NJ. I'll give it another day or so and if I feel my knee needs medical attention I'll report it. I already reported it orally to my PT supervisor, but he didn't report it because I sort of didn't want him to. Because many people like me are tough and believe the injury will go away. Sometimes it does and sometimes it doesn't.
 
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tieguy

Guest
Yes you can seek medical attention since you reported the injury the day it happened.


A little side bar:

I remember when I would come home from playing football with injuries that would require immediate attention were they to happen at work. No doctor seen or needed.

I remember thinking about the big over70 controversy some years back as I carried 80 lb bags of concrete from my truck to my back yard.

Some things that are no big deal at home are that and more at work.
 
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dannyboy

Guest
Ronnie

Go to your CSHP board at work, it should have the safety co-chairs listed for your work group. If not ask your sup.

I would report it and document it. IF you do not lose any working time, it will not be held against the center. Only lost time injuries are counted.

IT is best to cover your bases, then to leave yourself wide open later on.

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ronnie

Guest
I don't even know what the CSHP board is or even where it is at. I'm not even in the union yet because I was hired during a "freeze". My knee has shown significant improvement and it looks like that I'll be okay. But, I got to still "baby" it for another week or so just as a precaution. I probably won't report it, but I thank everybody for their advice. Peace.........
 
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dannyboy

Guest
Tie

WE all remember those days. And nursing homes are full of people that used to believe in NO pain NO gain.

WE all know better than that now. I know that there are employees that are not injured and call in to report they have been injured. HAve seen one terminated on that type of false claim. And others will be. But just to tell people to tough out an injury because it will make them a better person, or prove how tough they are, well that is just plain stupid.

IF I were management I would want to know every time an employee of mine was hurt. If nothing comes of it, fine. BUt at least I know about it.

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tieguy

Guest
Not the point danny. Just some personal observations. The injury issue at work is one that probably gets the most people fired up at work and usually good for a few ironies. Trying to get management to address injuries is like trying to get an army to fix world hunger. The mission does not match the group. Managements overall job is to manage results which normally translates into activities to improve numbers. Safety and injuries probably require a little more along the line of compassion rather than management. The management job is usually so task driven we sometimes forget to have compassion. In the below example we should have shown concern. We probably should have insisted the employee had the knee looked at but we don't want the injury or we are too busy to step away and we therefore hope the guy will go home and heal up with no further complications. Some of this is unfortunately driven by the pressure of an OSHA who is supposed to help protect workers from injuries. Those of you who have gone through CHSP know changing behaviors is the biggest part of the pyramid. How does management change behavior? Better training? Accountability? Who knows? It seems like the management solution is making the number better but I'm not 100% sure its changed things for the better. I'm not sure we are headed in the right direction on this issue.
 
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dannyboy

Guest
Tie

You bring up some very valid points. We have a PT sup that was hired to spend 100% of his time on safety (does that tell you what the PT safety picture looked like?) but they are useing him just as another body. If he brings up things that the center manager does not want to hear, he makes it plain that he will never make FT supervision.

Sometimes I think we shoot ourselves in the foot!

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goodoleptsup

Guest
Yes tieguy, good points. UPS is focused on turning a profit as it should, it keeps us all with paycheck. But as a member of management myself, the business aspect of preventing injuries is unbelievable. I'm sure you understand the BEAR costs and what these injuries cost the company. If an appropriate recognition program is in place, it is well worth the money spent on lets say T-shirts (ex. $400) if it saves just one lost time injury, for which will cost us well over a thousand if its just one day's lost time. And if that saves just one employee from having a serious injury, it is well worth it!! To all you hourly guys and gals, keep pounding away at safety!!! If not for yourself, do it for your families!!
 
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brownmonster

Guest
We get $10, $15, $25 and up to $ 50 gift cert. for UPS merchandise for years without an OSHA reportable injury. Get $600+ a week tax free for an injury. We talk alot about safety but don't spend the money to back it up. I'm not talking about money spent on fancy videos and habits books, I mean directly to the workers. How about some days off with pay for going a year without an injury or a year without calling in sick for that matter. Let's reward the guy that shows up and works safely all year. The forgotten majority.
 
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brown39

Guest
Why does there have to be a monitary reward for working safely ? If you are properly trained and you work as trained, isn't the reward a pay check at the end of the week ? I get sick of hearing that the reward for doing the right thing is too cheap. How about a fine to the union for each injury found to be the cause of the employee ? I guess I'm just old fashioned. All I know is that if I did not go work, I did not get paid (after using a total of 5 optional/sick days). I always kept in the back of my mind that If I got hurt doing something I should not or doing something the wrong way...I could lose my job, forget about tax free pay. Sorry, I know this will PO lots of people, but, hey its my nickel JMHO.
 
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speeddemon

Guest
Brown, why is it that you think most injuries are OUR fault. I guess this hernia I got two months ago was my fault too. By the way, I am our CHSP co-chair, and am very involved. I know the methods, and follow them to a T. No one in thier right mind wants to be stuck at home, with little income coming in.I take great pride in my work. But sometimes, its no ones fault.
 
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proups

Guest
speeddemon: how did you get the hernia? Hernias are usually caused by lifting something too heavy or improperly.

If you are on the CHSP committee, what was the root cause of your injury?
 
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muncher

Guest
Message to all teamsters, the CHSP board is a joke, UPS only cares about safty when it is benifical to them, not the employee
 
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tieguy

Guest
Well by gosh thats an interesting thought. Lets analize it a little further:

UPS only cares about safety when it benifits them. So lets see an injury means you lose a trained employee affecting service and productivity. It means UPS will also end up eating additional cost for medical expenses for the employee. Therefore it appears safety is beneficial to ups all the time and therefore what you really meant to say was that UPS cares about safety all the time.
 
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goodoleptsup

Guest
I do agree with the "old school" thought of your reward being a paycheck at the end of the week. But too many of these guys and gals are spoiled rotten and have absolutely no idea of what things are like outside the brown world they live in. Go ahead and ask around, for the amount of education that is required for these positions and the corresponding pay and other benefits, you are very fortunate. We all are. But no matter what mgmt does to try to better any situation, most union members only want to see what can directly benefit themselves. So therefore we do have to bribe now to help prevent injuries. But like I said earlier, if a t shirt passed out to everyone will prevent a costly injury, lets spend the money for it.
 
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over9five

Guest
I once went to my DOT physical where the doctor discovered a hernia. It caused no pain, I had no idea I had it. As I could think of no single event that caused it, it was chalked up to wear and tear. They wouldnt even let me work the next day! This was middle of November, so I ended up missing peak.
 
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