Part-timer injury question

[WardrobeDoor]

Earlier this year (I'm unsure of the exact date), I pulled a bag out of the slide in my truck at UPS and felt a sharp pain shoot down my wrist. It was intense pain, but it only lasted a minute or so. I shook it off and kept working. It did the same thing ever week or so for awhile, until the pain started lasting longer. Long story short, I have developed a knot on my wrist and it is in constant dull pain and occasional sharp pain when touched or moved the wrong way.

I set up an appointment with my doctor. When the nurse saw me she asked me what was going on, I described how it first hurt. She told me if it had anything to do with work, I should make sure I take care of it on that end. The next day, I brought it up with my full-time supervisor. He said I should talk with our sort supervisor. Several days later, I was able to talk with him. He basically said that because I did not report anything when it initially was injured, that it was an alleged injury and they did not have all the information they needed to file a report. He insinuated that was the only kind of injury he could deal with. He told me to go see my doctor, then if my doctor said it was work related then the insurance companies would fight it out.

I just don't want to get stuck in the middle with all this. I can still work, though I have use that wrist gingerly (both at home and work). Any advice as to what I should do moving forward? Thanks for any suggestions!

 

[grgrcr88]

Go back to the Sups and tell them you want to file an injury report, do not let them tell you otherwise. Make sure they call it in, if they refuse go get a Union Steward and have them go with you to the Sup and again ask to report the injury immediately.

 

[Johney]

Call an attorney now if it's that serious. If not suck it up keep your mouth shut and go through your own insurance. "Alleged injury" seems to be the new thing at UPS. Unless you have a exact time, place,minute,package to justify your claim of injury they will ignore you.Check your state laws on how much time you have to report an injury. Good luck you are going to need it.

 

[dannyboy]

You are stuck in the middle.

Go back to the sup, let him know he has one chance at filling out the form, and making the phone call. Today. Do it with a steward if possible, so you have a witness. IF he still refuses, go see a lawyer. AFter that point, he will take care of it, and UPS will have to go through him to talk to you about it from then on. That is not something they want to do.

Good luck

d

 

[menotyou]

1-800-422-0820 is Liberty Mutual's claims office.* Talk to a senior driver in your building(waiting outside off the clock, if necessary) to find out who your steward is. Take steward THIS WEEK into supervisor's office to demand an accident report. Don't let steward be lazy. If the sup still refuses, tell him you have the number yourself and call from the parking lot. Provide the name of the supervisor who refused you an accident report to whomever you speak with. Do not hesitate. You will regret it years later.
*When you call Liberty Mutual, if it comes to that, tell them you need to file an accident claim that occurred while working UPS. They will direct you to the correct party. Tell them you have a repetitive type injury and you are unsure of the exact date. They will help you decipher what date to use.

Exact time, date, ect., is not necessary to file a claim. I am getting sick and tired of the yahoo's who say it is.

 

[Johney]

1-800-422-0820 is Liberty Mutual's claims office.* Talk to a senior driver in your building(waiting outside off the clock, if necessary) to find out who your steward is. Take steward THIS WEEK into supervisor's office to demand an accident report. Don't let steward be lazy. If the sup still refuses, tell him you have the number yourself and call from the parking lot. Provide the name of the supervisor who refused you an accident report to whomever you speak with. Do not hesitate. You will regret it years later.
*When you call Liberty Mutual, if it comes to that, tell them you need to file an accident claim that occurred while working UPS. They will direct you to the correct party. Tell them you have a repetitive type injury and you are unsure of the exact date. They will help you decipher what date to use.

Exact time, date, ect., is not necessary to file a claim. I am getting sick and tired of the yahoo's who say it is.

All this info is correct, but it still doesn't mean they will send you to the doctor. There is a driver in our building going through something very simular. I will ask him if I can tell his story here.

 

[menotyou]

All this info is correct, but it still doesn't mean they will send you to the doctor. There is a driver in our building going through something very simular. I will ask him if I can tell his story here.

In NY. you go to your own doctor and say you were hurt at work, with or without an accident report they are liable. I do understand other states are different, though. May I ask what state we are discussing?

 

[UnconTROLLed]

Do not waste your time with the union involvement, unless it is a union lawyer you are persuing.

There is no contract language, to my knowledge, regarding workmans comp. The whole steward/ union thing is pointless and can only dig yourself into a hole. Do NOT let anyone speak on your behalf on this issue since it is legal and not contract.

Tell your management team you want to file an injury report. If they deny, see your doctor and have a doctors statement confirming that it is Workmans Comp (work injury) and the doctor will fill out a form. The, call a lawyer and have them file a claim with your states industrial accident or labor board. It is a 10 minute process at most. This will initiate the state (hopefully) contacting UPS and they will want to know why the injury was not allowed to be filed and the ball will be rolling. At that point, from what I understand UPS must by law report the injury and then the claim will be filed.

This may vary from state to state, too. Calling your states headquarters and asking simple questions will get you answers.

 

[menotyou]

Do not waste your time with the union involvement, unless it is a union lawyer you are pursuing.
There is no contract language, to my knowledge, regarding workmans comp. The whole steward/ union thing is pointless and can only dig yourself into a hole. Do NOT let anyone speak on your behalf on this issue since it is legal and not contract.

Tell your management team you want to file an injury report. If they deny, see your doctor and have a doctors statement confirming that it is Workmans Comp (work injury) and the doctor will fill out a form. The, call a lawyer and have them file a claim with your states industrial accident or labor board. It is a 10 minute process at most. This will initiate the state (hopefully) contacting UPS and they will want to know why the injury was not allowed to be filed and the ball will be rolling. At that point, from what I understand UPS must by law report the injury and then the claim will be filed.

Sound advice. I defer to the wiser information. FYI- Sleeve has a greater grasp of how this scenario works than most of us.

 

[Johney]

In NY. you go to your own doctor and say you were hurt at work, with or without an accident report they are liable. I do understand other states are different, though. May I ask what state we are discussing?

Florida

 

[UnconTROLLed]

Sound advice. I defer to the wiser information. FYI- Sleeve has a greater grasp of how this scenario works than most of us.

Thanks, you all helped me out quite a bit a few weeks ago, just passing on what I learned firsthand.

One mistake I made: do not let anyone speak on your behalf, unless it is under the power of attorney. Once you have that set up, cut off communications and let it be handled by those who know what they are doing.

 

[Johney]

Sleeve,
Very sound advice but let me ask you this, are you covered under Central States plan? Because I heard they will not pay for a work related injury.

 

[menotyou]

www.myfloridacfo.com says you have 30 days from date of injury or from 30 days of your doctor saying you have a work-related injury. Florida statutes sect. 440.13(2) states that the individual can report the claim to the insurance company. Employee assistance number is 1-800-342-1741.
After 21 days of lost time, you get paid back to day one. Sect. 440.12 Max of 104 weeks Sect. 440.15(2)
The online guide address is http://www.myfloridacfo.com/WC/pdf/WC-System-Guide-v2.pdf

Hope that helps. Am a little bored today, so if you need any more info, let me know.

 

[dannyboy]

First off, While I suggested taking a steward with you, it was for documentation only. He has no right to speak on your behalf, as the company has not violated any portion of the contract. So they are there only for witnessing the companies response. As a practical matter, any employee will do that is trustworthy.

Secondly, I would love for someone to explain to me how a doc determines an injury is work related, days or weeks after the injury? Of course, you will tell him so, but everybody keeps stating that the doc will determine it was work related. So how, ESP?

Insurance is kinda funny when it comes to workers comp injuries. They will not pay them. So the problem lies in the fact that when you go to your doc and tell him its work related, it is documented as workers comp. Then when the insurance gets the bill, they either refuse to pay the claim, or call you for further information. AT that time you either have to lie to get them to pay the bill, or they flat tell you they will not pay it. Been that route too many times myself. So how are you going to hide the fact that this is work related from your insurance? Lie? Thats insurance fraud.

Years ago, if the doc did not document how and where the injury occurred, you could get insurance to cover the bill, and then fight it out later with comp. But that is very expensive on insurance companies, and docs, as insurance companies and workers comp dont always pay the same amounts. So any more, unless you and your doc lies on the forms, it would be very rare for your insurance to pick it up, and get reimbursed by comp.

Check the phone number above with what is posted on your info board at work. If it is the same number, go ahead and call them today. I would record the conversation if it were me. They do. Skip talking to your sup if they really did tell you no. Then go see the lawyer and have them speak for you afterward, or even talk to him before you call. But again, once you have a lawyer, you dont talk to anyone else about the injury besides the lawyer. The company and the insurance company neither one have the right to ask you any additional questions after that point.

d

 

[UnconTROLLed]

Sleeve,
Very sound advice but let me ask you this, are you covered under Central States plan? Because I heard they will not pay for a work related injury.

No I am not. who is "they"?
I'm not 100% on who pays what. I'm guessing UPS pays the standard 18k per injury , regardless of severity...then Liberty Mutual handles the details and money.

 

[menotyou]

UPS is self-insured. I have spoken with my caseworker from Liberty Mutual and spoken with the lady (who's name I won't post)from UPS in Albany who cuts the checks to Liberty Mutual for my therapy and other medical needs.

Let me add this: When Liberty has denied me something I needed, all I had to do was call Albany and she would make sure it was approved. Every time.

 

[steward71]

Sleeve is right the union did nothing for me when I got hurt. I had to get the state on the issue. But, do take a steward or someone you can trust that will back you up as to what is stated. My Sup. stated I nevre came to them about an injury. Lucky for me a senior employee was standing out of the office when I reported it. So, good luck and hope you fell better.

 

[dannyboy]

I'm not 100% on who pays what. I'm guessing UPS pays the standard 18k per injury , regardless of severity...then Liberty Mutual handles the details and money.

Aint it funny how one person posts a misunderstood point, then it is repeated as gospel later on?

Sleeve, the 18 grand number is what your center is charged for the accident. That is the average of what workers comp charges are at UPS. That number has no bearing on your case, or what is paid. It is a theoretical charge, based on what UPS uses as the average cost per injury. So lets drop that number in our conversations, as it is only an internal UPS number.

Secondly, why should the union, or the insurance provided by the union pay for a workers comp claim. Even if they get the money back, it costs them thousands to process the claims, then litigate with Liberty on getting repaid. You think you have problems getting Liberty to pay, think about how it would be if you were another insurance company that has already forked out the money, trying to get paid back. Yeah, the check was in the mail.....

With the union, they dont have a dog in the race if you are injured. The only reason I would ever get a steward involved would be for documentation reasons only. Period.

Again, once you have "hired" your lawyer, you are not obligated to speak with anyone else on this matter. If they call, all you do is tell them you have hired counsel, and they will say thanks and hang up.

For all those that are reading this post, please understand that while minor injuries happen all the time, they need to be documented. Not called in, but documented. You never know when what you believe it minor ends up being so much more.

d

 

[menotyou]

Aint it funny how one person posts a misunderstood point, then it is repeated as gospel later on?

Sleeve, the 18 grand number is what your center is charged for the accident. That is the average of what workers comp charges are at UPS. That number has no bearing on your case, or what is paid. It is a theoretical charge, based on what UPS uses as the average cost per injury. So lets drop that number in our conversations, as it is only an internal UPS number.

Secondly, why should the union, or the insurance provided by the union pay for a workers comp claim. Even if they get the money back, it costs them thousands to process the claims, then litigate with Liberty on getting repaid. You think you have problems getting Liberty to pay, think about how it would be if you were another insurance company that has already forked out the money, trying to get paid back. Yeah, the check was in the mail.....

With the union, they dont have a dog in the race if you are injured. The only reason I would ever get a steward involved would be for documentation reasons only. Period.

Again, once you have "hired" your lawyer, you are not obligated to speak with anyone else on this matter. If they call, all you do is tell them you have hired counsel, and they will say thanks and hang up.

For all those that are reading this post, please understand that while minor injuries happen all the time, they need to be documented. Not called in, but documented. You never know when what you believe it minor ends up being so much more.

d

Please take heed. This a very important advice. Seriously.

 

[UnconTROLLed]

I'm guessing UPS pays the standard 18k per injury , regardless of severity...then Liberty Mutual handles the details and money.

Aint it funny how one person posts a misunderstood point, then it is repeated as gospel later on?

That is repeated as gospel? you have a very "different" perception than I . I said "I was guessing" which to most people with normal cognitive abilities means, they have no idea what they're talking about, maybe trying to learn something and NOT speaking as gospel...

You're the one who brought it into another thread... I was guessing and had it backwards...big deal.