UPS workers on Compensation

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toonertoo

Guest
Some people know exactly how to work the system so they work just enough to keep all benefits, and then continue on with their plan. My thoughts and prayers go to the truly injured because there are serious injuries and these people deserve a chance to recover without the worry of surviving. But seems we all know of a few that continue on the shirttails of UPS and us. The ones that ruin the chances for other people to get full-time employment because UPS has to save their route and there position on the full time roster. Nothing like getting locked out of a vacation week because someone who knows they will be off anyway takes a week, and management has to honor the fact that they may be there.......but it is known they wont be. Any person who is legitimately off worries that they may not be able to do the work again, until progression is made in your injury and you recover, it is always scary coming back after an injury, but the great mechanics of our bodies, usually recover. Back injuries, I learned a long time ago, remain serious, and anything can set them off. I also learned not to condemn an injured for being off when you dont know their problems, BUT, it seems after a certain amount of time UPS usually buys them out, with a gracious settlement. True injuries. the rest are just playing the game, yet they get all the benefits and more. Twice the pay on holidays, and vacations. time with family and friends, time to go on vacations, that they never could have before and the money coming in bi weekly to fund it. Any man or woman playing this game should be gracious enough to bow out and just admit they cant handle it instead of living their life in this way, it can really hurt moral as UPS cant hire full time employees because if they come back, then people would be laid off because of it. so that is one reason from time to time we are overloaded, while these fakers are at home enjoying all life has to offer(without the effort). JMHO
 
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linx

Guest
toonertoo,
You hit that one on the head. It seems there are those people that abuse the system only to hurt those of us that truley deserve the benefit. They also tend to whin enough to get thier workload reduced. I do not understand the concept , but it does happen. I was off for 10 months without pay and 3 surgeries later, able to return to work. My 1st day back I had a 11 hour day. I have remaind injury free since. that was in 1998. It was the scariest and Hardest time of my life, and my families. Be carful and save some money. It can happen to anyone at anytime.
 
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proups

Guest
tooner....you said it all. I completely agree with your post, and wish we could get the deadbeats off the payroll.
 
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dannyboy

Guest
We'vew three drivers out of a unit of 41 that have been off 6 months or longer each. The longest has been off for close to two years.

All have bid routes, all chose vacations etc.

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wornoutupser

Guest
Our building has a twist on this theme.
We currently have two drivers on the op report (one was fired after 5 years on comp)
The other one shows as "off the job disability."
UPS uses these to jam up the promotion process,and they will not allow anyone to promote into these jobs as long as they are "on the report".
We are forced to allow 2 cover drivers to not be able to gain driving seniority and accept the lower pay rates as cover drivers.
It really is unfair to all that these drivers are kept on "the op report" as a block to promotions.
The biggest farce is the driver fired after 5 years on work comp with a severe neck injury. This driver went bankrupt, yet still is on the op report every day.
 
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wily_old_vet

Guest
I've read this thread a few times and finally decided I had to reply. I injured my back approx 15 years ago. Was carrying a box of checks up to the door it doesn't always have to be heavy boxes). It was a rainy day and the customer had large, round stones for a sidewalk. I slipped on one of the stones, twisted but did not fall. Felt a twinge in my lower back but didn't think much of it. I was wearing proper foot wear, was not running so in my mind I was foolowing proper methods. Continued to work for a few days but pain became worse so I went to the "doc in the box". They diagnosed it as a lumbar sprain, put me off work and had me come in for p/t (there's another story about that but I won't get into it right now). After a couple of weeks I was put back on full duty and everything seemed fine. Early the next year my back went back out while at home. It was the most excruciating pain I had ever had. Went to my own doc who sent me for a MRI. Turns out the lumbar sprain was actually a ruptured disk. Had surgery, was out for close to a year. Finally was able to return to full duty. First day back had an 11 hour dispatch. A supervisor was with me and he had mercy on me towards the end of the day and ran off the stops we had left. My back would flare up from time to time but nothing serious. Ten years after the original injury another fragment of disk broke off and I had to have a second surgery. This time, after seeing the "doc in the box", I went immediately to my own doctor. Just as I was preparing to return to full duty, another fragment of disk broke off. You guessed it, another surgery. The surgeon wnet thru the same incision point each time so I joked with him, saying he should install a zipper. He said that my case was unusual in that in most cases there is only two instances of fragments breaking off. Aren't I just special. I pushed my rehab extra hard and made it back in time for peak but I don't think mgt was overly impressed, surprise surprise. After that third surgery I have had quite a few occasions of my back getting super stiff or going into spasm and I have had to take time off because of this. Being a high seniority driver I take as many days off when the center can spare me. I look at it as taking my retirement one day at a time. It is one of the few benefits of seniority. Earlier this year I had a large load of heavy boxes for a residence. To get to the house I had cross a small patch of grass to get to the sidewalk. There was a light coat of snow from the previous night and as I turned with the hand cart my foot slipped. I worked the remainder of the day although I told my center I need to come in to go to the doc. Once again "doc in the box" diagnosed lumbar sprain and my doc agreed. Liberty Mutual hemmed and hawed and didn't approve p/t until 2 1/2 weeks after the injury incurred. I received no comp until after I had been back to work for over two weeks. I had to borrow money to pay my bills and I wasn't 100% when I returned to work but I needed money. Started having severe pain after a few days wwith pain down the leg which is not a good sign. I thought for sure that another fragment of disk had broken off and I was having mental pictures of having to have my back fused. After working through the pain as long as I could I went back out. An MRI was done and it turns out that scar tissue from my surgeries is now encasing the nerve root at the lowest level in my back. I don't know when, if ever I'll be able to return.

The main reason I am writing this is to say that while there are people who "play" the system I think they are less than what you believe. Unless you are close to someone who is out injured you probably don't know the extent of their injuries and what the prognosis is. Yes, while you are out you get your holiday pay for the first six monthes. You get vacations for the first year. Your health and welfare is paid for the first year. If you are unfortunate enough to be out over a year your benefits are cut off. During your time out of work you have to go see the doctor frequently and probably have to go to p/t so this idea of laying on sandy beaches is a myth. Being a UPS driver is what I'm about. Being off is a killer. Wwhile I can't say I loved delivering at peak I find myself envious of all you as you gear up. Toonertoo-I'd like to hear details about these gracious settlements you spoke of. My lawyer would also. Because of my age, if I'm unable to return, UPS does not have to provide retraining. They only have to find me a job somewhere else (such as laundry truck driver which is what they've gotten people here) and this is at quite a loss of hourly wages. As I also missed time with knee surgery I have been out on comp more than I would have liked. I'm sure there are people in my center who, not being aware of the circumstances, probably believe I'm "playing" the system. I know it places a hardship on the center, especially at this time of year but there is nothing I can do about that. Thanks for letting me vent and maybe help you all see its not as black and white as you think.
 
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toonertoo

Guest
I dont think anyone said it was a black and white issue, and I mentioned back injuries being one of the worst, and anything could flare those up and I said True Injuries, and that these people deserved to be able to recover without worry, and by that I also meant harrassement. I would not want to be in your shoes. But it is the fakers, and they are true fakers, that hurt the truly injured like yourself. The reason why someone with a true injury that maybe cant be seen by the naked eye, like You get the harrassement, because of the losers that fake it. And it isnt just in UPS. My husband had his back broken in four places, yet still works but only when he can, he has sporadic episodes when he is down for months, but just like you he works through the pain, until it disables him. But maybe you are not lucky enough to know the people who are off work with a disabling injury, but you see them out putting vinyl siding on, or riding a four wheeler, or splitting wood, or building a garage or an addition. Now therapy will tell you to do what you can, when you feel you can because that will help your rehab, but some of it is ludicrous, that these people do in the name of recovery. Maybe I used the wrong word when I used gracious because no settlement can replace your health, or fair isnt a good word either because nothing is fair when you cant do what you wanted to do with your life. the settlement I knew of and maybe it isnt common practice, was the offering of 55,000 x the # of years he had left to work to retirement. And the guy did turn it down so maybe it wasnt good to him. Do not know the details of the H&W benefits, but because this would be a settlement, and tax free because it was an award, I thought it the closest thing to fair, and probaly more than most would get with another company. I know a thread like this hits home, but as you can see all the truly injured speak out, the rest are too busy to even be on a UPS website. The truly injured are worried about what to do when they are off more than a year, the fakers wont, they will be back just enough to keep their cozy existence going.
 
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dannyboy

Guest
Weve had a few drivers that had settlements that were due to partial perm. disability ratings. You might need to talk to another attorney if yours is clueless on this matter. None approached the 55,000 per year that toner mentioned, but when you are off for long periods of time every little bit helps.

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wily_old_vet

Guest
Dannyboy-I'm aware of temp and permanent disability. What I was talking about was the "gracious settlement" that toonertoo referred to. That 55000 x number of years to retirement sounds awfully generous. It would be interesting to know why it was turned down. The lawyer I have is very sharp and if I'm unable to go back he will get me the best possible settlement. I'd rather go back.
 
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upsdude

Guest
55K X number of years left??

With all due respect, I would ask to see the check. I faced a similar situation, I wanted to work (and knew I could) but the doctors were saying otherwise. I was looking at about 80K total and that seems to be the going rate based on what some other UPS folks received. The settlement amount depends on your states comp laws. Remember, on the job injury settlements are controlled by the government in most cases, not UPS or Liberty Mutual.
 
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wily_old_vet

Guest
upsdude-so what happened? Are you still working or did you leave and receive a settlement? I agree about the 55000, it sounded too good to be true to me especially that it was turned down.
 
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upsdude

Guest
wily old vet........

I made it back. The doctors were telling me to give up, but the UPS contracted Nurse recognized my desire and determination. She set me up with another doctor, he fixed me up and Ive been back for 3 years.
 
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toonertoo

Guest
Im not sure how the 55,000 X yrs left came about, I was told by the guys friends that he turned it down. maybe it was medical fees included, so it was bad, and with a future amount for medical included, which turned it into an average per yr with those included. I thought it was awful generous too,but if he had problems which would need continued care, and no health insurance through UPS, it wouldnt be good. but I didnt know his whole story, other than he had serious injuries from work. And you just never hear much when a guy is gone, not that he is forgotten, but he just kind of disappears. I also think about the guys like redtagged on another post who just gets "let go", and how does that happen? and that is surely wrong if he was injured on job. Did he just not have money to fight it, or did no lawyer want to take on big brown? I was on comp for a broken ankle and they were calling me while I was still casted to find out when I was coming back. I also had a broken tailbone in the same fall, and they wanted me on light duty, even though I couldnt stand sit or drive, so I know how they can push you......I have seen guys come back to work who I cannot imagine would be able to, through good therapy, degenerative disc disease, crushed spines from hitting his head on a bulkhead door in a rental, some people overcome odds, others cant, and it isnt their fault. I was never talking about the seriously injured as I stated in my very first post. Just the ones who everyone knows in their heart that are playing the system, and those are the ones who make it hard for the "really" hurt people. Those are the people I despise. the whole world, or should I say roster at work revolves around their whims. One guy even told a boss he was doing him a FAVOR, by coming in to work!!!! He didnt ever have to call off, just call when he was planning on coming to work!!! They had to wait to hear from him to see who could get a day off!!!! I didnt get it, he must have something on UPS, to get away with that.
 
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