two level con-fusion

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hseofpayne

Guest
I have been out on workers comp 19 months following an on the job UPS car wreck of no fault of mine. I have had surgery to repair my shoulder and made it through physical therapy for that injury. Now I have seen 2 doctors who agrred I need 2 level fusion in my neck to repair my neck injury from the accident. The first doctor believes I will be able to drive again, the second said no. I was wondering if there were any drivers out there who had this sugery or knew anyone who made it back. I have 23 years in and I want to make it back to work.
 
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hseofpayne

Guest
Have you seen an Orthopedic surgeon/specialist? I saw one during my comp and his word was taken over any general practitioner UPS had me see.[/quote]
I had an ortopedic surgeon repair my shoulder, have seen an ortho and a neurosurgeon for my neck. UPS had me see the neurosurgeon for an independent medical exam. Turns out he was the doctor I wanted to see in the first place but was told he wasn't on our panel. So glad I did see him, he is doing procedures a couple of years more up to date than the orthopedic doctor. My conscern is he sais he didn't think I could make it back, hope he is wrong!
 

raceanoncr

Well-Known Member
I have been out on workers comp 19 months following an on the job UPS car wreck of no fault of mine. I have had surgery to repair my shoulder and made it through physical therapy for that injury. Now I have seen 2 doctors who agrred I need 2 level fusion in my neck to repair my neck injury from the accident. The first doctor believes I will be able to drive again, the second said no. I was wondering if there were any drivers out there who had this sugery or knew anyone who made it back. I have 23 years in and I want to make it back to work.


Yep. Had cervical (no, not the JiJi) fushion many yrs ago. Don't remember what the spinal numbers are now but they went in thru neck to take disc out and fuse the two vertebraes with piece o my hip bone. Was off 3 months with little bit o stiff neck but gradually was able to empty a beer can on my own. No problem. Good Luck!

That was in the middle of my, currently, 29 yr driving career.
 

upsdude

Well-Known Member
I’ve had 2 fusions. The first operation went through the front of my neck to fuse C5 & C6. The second operation was performed through the back of my neck to fuse C6 & C7. I was told I had a 10% chance of returning to driving, been back 7 and a half years with no problems at all. Total time out on Comp was right at 2 years. The second operation was the most painful leading to a lengthy recovery due to muscle having to be cut. Went through 2 months of physical therapy before returning to work. I had to rehab my self back to UPS, too old and stupid to do anything else. LOL.
 

Johney

Well-Known Member
I have been out on workers comp 19 months following an on the job UPS car wreck of no fault of mine. I have had surgery to repair my shoulder and made it through physical therapy for that injury. Now I have seen 2 doctors who agrred I need 2 level fusion in my neck to repair my neck injury from the accident. The first doctor believes I will be able to drive again, the second said no. I was wondering if there were any drivers out there who had this sugery or knew anyone who made it back. I have 23 years in and I want to make it back to work.
Had that surgery done twice on two seperate injuries and recovered well from both of them. But take what I say and everyone else with a grain of salt, you are differant then all here, you may recover like us or you may not. I have seen other drivers not be able to return after spinal fusion. Talk to your surgeon ask all the ?'s you can think of (and some you can't think of). I will also add this and it has been beaten to death here but consult a work comp attorney you will need one if you are not able to return to UPS.
Good Luck:peaceful:
 
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hseofpayne

Guest
Yep. Had cervical (no, not the JiJi) fushion many yrs ago. Don't remember what the spinal numbers are now but they went in thru neck to take disc out and fuse the two vertebraes with piece o my hip bone. Was off 3 months with little bit o stiff neck but gradually was able to empty a beer can on my own. No problem. Good Luck!

That was in the middle of my, currently, 29 yr driving career.
Thanks for positive feedback. They use artificial discs now instead of the ole hip bone. Good luck to you too, hope you are bout through with UPS!!
 
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hseofpayne

Guest
I’ve had 2 fusions. The first operation went through the front of my neck to fuse C5 & C6. The second operation was performed through the back of my neck to fuse C6 & C7. I was told I had a 10% chance of returning to driving, been back 7 and a half years with no problems at all. Total time out on Comp was right at 2 years. The second operation was the most painful leading to a lengthy recovery due to muscle having to be cut. Went through 2 months of physical therapy before returning to work. I had to rehab my self back to UPS, too old and stupid to do anything else. LOL.
Mine is C5/C6 & C6/C7 both to be done through the front. If it was only one level, the FDA just approved an artificial disc replcement that dosn't require fusion, you get to keep your range of motion. If you know anyone thinking about fusion,tell them about it. Thanks for the feedback, I needed to hear positive news after all the bad news the doctors and lawyers give you!
 
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hseofpayne

Guest
Had that surgery done twice on two seperate injuries and recovered well from both of them. But take what I say and everyone else with a grain of salt, you are differant then all here, you may recover like us or you may not. I have seen other drivers not be able to return after spinal fusion. Talk to your surgeon ask all the ?'s you can think of (and some you can't think of). I will also add this and it has been beaten to death here but consult a work comp attorney you will need one if you are not able to return to UPS.
Good Luck:peaceful:
Thanks, its hard to know who to trust between the doctors and lawyers. Doctors gets paid if I have surgery,lawyer gets more if I don't go back to work!
 

upsdude

Well-Known Member
Mine is C5/C6 & C6/C7 both to be done through the front. If it was only one level, the FDA just approved an artificial disc replcement that dosn't require fusion, you get to keep your range of motion. If you know anyone thinking about fusion,tell them about it. Thanks for the feedback, I needed to hear positive news after all the bad news the doctors and lawyers give you!



My range of motion is excellent. My spine was repaired using donor bone and good old fashioned screws. Makes for a really cool looking x-ray. LOL.

Comp Lawyers……… I’ll just say this, be sure and ask about fees before you hire one. My lawyer screwed me big time. The only reason I talked to the jerk was because it was looking like I wouldn’t be returning to work. The doctor that performed my first operation said there was nothing else he could do for me. The ambulance chaser billed me 2500.00 for writing ONE letter and making 2 phone calls. Of course after being on WC for nearly 2 years I didn’t have 2500 bucks. I signed a form agreeing to pay him a 100 bucks a month. Later I find out the state sets the allowable attorney fees on WC cases. By law (in my case) his charges should have been 300.00. Because I had signed that repayment form I had “agreed” to the much larger fee. So, next time I’ll have to hire a lawyer to represent me when hiring a lawyer.
 

Johney

Well-Known Member
Thanks, its hard to know who to trust between the doctors and lawyers. Doctors gets paid if I have surgery,lawyer gets more if I don't go back to work!
Your welcome ! Now trust yourself:smart: Get the surgery you will feel much better then now. Yes the Doc will get paid but for the most part the surgeons are there for your best intrest(at least that's what my experiance has shown). As far as Lawyers go they will only get paid if you settle your case and that may only happen if you can't return to full duty(which will be your decision in the long run). Trust me consult a couple of lawyers ask ?'s it doesn't hurt. Oh and just read b4 you sign.
Good Luck:peaceful:
 
As far as Lawyers go they will only get paid if you settle your case
Whoa, beep beep back up the truck. That's not really true. The lawyers will get paid, by you, especially if you do go back to work. Few lawyers anymore will take a comp case on contingency unless there are huge bucks involved. However by all means talk to a lawyer, one (or maybe two) with extensive experience in WC.

DO NOT under any circumstance believe that UP$ will "take care" of you. It ain't gonna happen.
 
B

brown and down

Guest
I have been out on workers comp 19 months following an on the job UPS car wreck of no fault of mine. I have had surgery to repair my shoulder and made it through physical therapy for that injury. Now I have seen 2 doctors who agrred I need 2 level fusion in my neck to repair my neck injury from the accident. The first doctor believes I will be able to drive again, the second said no. I was wondering if there were any drivers out there who had this sugery or knew anyone who made it back. I have 23 years in and I want to make it back to work.

Get a good lawyer sue the balls off everyone and retire!!
 
H

hseofpayne

Guest
Whoa, beep beep back up the truck. That's not really true. The lawyers will get paid, by you, especially if you do go back to work. Few lawyers anymore will take a comp case on contingency unless there are huge bucks involved. However by all means talk to a lawyer, one (or maybe two) with extensive experience in WC.

DO NOT under any circumstance believe that UP$ will "take care" of you. It ain't gonna happen.
Any idea how and how much they get paid if you do go back to work? My lawyer is limited to 25% of amount I receive if I settle in the state of Georgia.
 
H

hseofpayne

Guest
My range of motion is excellent. My spine was repaired using donor bone and good old fashioned screws. Makes for a really cool looking x-ray. LOL.

Comp Lawyers……… I’ll just say this, be sure and ask about fees before you hire one. My lawyer screwed me big time. The only reason I talked to the jerk was because it was looking like I wouldn’t be returning to work. The doctor that performed my first operation said there was nothing else he could do for me. The ambulance chaser billed me 2500.00 for writing ONE letter and making 2 phone calls. Of course after being on WC for nearly 2 years I didn’t have 2500 bucks. I signed a form agreeing to pay him a 100 bucks a month. Later I find out the state sets the allowable attorney fees on WC cases. By law (in my case) his charges should have been 300.00. Because I had signed that repayment form I had “agreed” to the much larger fee. So, next time I’ll have to hire a lawyer to represent me when hiring a lawyer.
Looks like we agree on the moral standing of most lawyers! We elect lawyers to Congress who write laws to make sure we need lawyers! I got turned down for social security disability but have been assured by a couple lawyers that I could get it if I just hired another dang lawyer, who would get 25% of my "benefit".
 
H

hseofpayne

Guest
Your welcome ! Now trust yourself:smart: Get the surgery you will feel much better then now. Yes the Doc will get paid but for the most part the surgeons are there for your best intrest(at least that's what my experiance has shown). As far as Lawyers go they will only get paid if you settle your case and that may only happen if you can't return to full duty(which will be your decision in the long run). Trust me consult a couple of lawyers ask ?'s it doesn't hurt. Oh and just read b4 you sign.
Good Luck:peaceful:
You seem to be on the same page I am regarding how lawyers get paid. It has been suggested by others on this forum that I will owe a fee if I get back to work.Guess I got some questions to ask my lawyers!
 

Johney

Well-Known Member
You seem to be on the same page I am regarding how lawyers get paid. It has been suggested by others on this forum that I will owe a fee if I get back to work.Guess I got some questions to ask my lawyers!
Just read any contract you sign when locking in an attorney. I can only give advice as far as what my case consisted of. All I can say is I didn't pay my attorney a dime. I had a hard case and it took a while but I did prevail and returned to UPS without settling my case.
Good Luck :peaceful:
 

Johney

Well-Known Member
Whoa, beep beep back up the truck. That's not really true. The lawyers will get paid, by you, especially if you do go back to work. Few lawyers anymore will take a comp case on contingency unless there are huge bucks involved. However by all means talk to a lawyer, one (or maybe two) with extensive experience in WC.

DO NOT under any circumstance believe that UP$ will "take care" of you. It ain't gonna happen.
You may be correct some attornies may not accept comp case's unless it is a winner, but it also may depend on what state you are in.
Just a ? Have you ever had a comp case involving an attorney and UPS?? I have.:peaceful:
 
You may be correct some attornies may not accept comp case's unless it is a winner, but it also may depend on what state you are in.
Just a ? Have you ever had a comp case involving an attorney and UPS?? I have.:peaceful:
No, actually I have not(thank goodness) been involved with a comp case involving an attorney, however I have been involved in two comp cases. I have a close friend that is a paralegal, the firm she works for does not take comp cases on contingency unless there is a good chance of winning a very large sum of money. According to her, it's the same all over the state. Although I don't think her office is considered as Worker Comp specialists. I reckon that could make a difference also.
 

upsdude

Well-Known Member
Knew I had the X-ray scanned onto one of my computers, found it.
neckside.JPG
 
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