A
aNON
Guest
So I've been out of work since late October. I'm a full time package car driver without a route, I handle splits & cover for sick people, people on vacation..etc.. I injured my back in early June, went to UPS docs who gave me 2 weeks of physical therapy. I was on TAW during that time & going to phys therapy 3 times a week. Finished the therapy, felt about 85% better, went back to the doc & told him. He released me back to full duty. Late September the same injury reoccurs, I go to 2 different UPS docs who both tell me I'm fine but give me light duty after I explained to them my concern over the injury since it was the 2nd time & that it was even more painful this time. So I do TAW for almost a month, chasing down misloads & cleaning up the hub mainly. I go back to the doctors at the end of the month & they tell me I'm fine even though I'm still in pain & having numbness in my toes. The one doctor actually closed the door & gave me a lecture on insurance fraud. I've never been so disgusted by any one person in my entire than I was with this guy. Now these docs are also telling me that there's no way I could have a herniated disc & that I don't need an MRI. I go back to UPS & call up our head nurse person or whatever her professional title is, I dont remember. I tell her that I was released to full duty but that I'm in so much pain on a daily basis that it's difficult to walk, which it was & still is. She informs that if I'm in that much pain I should stay home. I get a call from the insurance company & they set me up with an appointment to see an orthopedic specialist. I finally get the MRI & it turns out I have a 20% herniation in one of my lower discs. I schedule for surgery & get it done a month later, recouperate for another month & then spend 8 weeks in physical therapy. Everything was going pretty well & I was back to about 75% normal health but I still had some pain radiating down to my calf. So I tell the surgeon, he schedules me for another MRI. MRI finds that the same disc still has some herniation, apparently the surgeon didnt get all of it. Now I have to go for another test where they put pins in my & run a light electric current through it. The surgeon explains to me that depending on the outcome of that test I'll either need another discectomy(micro-surgery where the just shave off the herniated part of the disc) or he'll need to fuse bones together. Now I only know a few people who have that surgery done & neither of them is doing the same job that they were because it was too physically demanding. My question is: what can I expect when I go back to work? I already know that if I'm back on the road management is gonna be all over me trying to find any way possible to fire me. But what if I'm deemed unfit to drive? Do they have to offer me a position in the company anymore at all? Or are they allowed to find me a position in management? I'd really prefer to stay in the union. And if they do offer me a job what kind of pay rate do they have to match? if any. I only have 4 years in with the company & I'm only 30 years old so I hope you can understand why I'm a little stressed. I sincerely doubt that UPS will want to keep somone who's not going to be able to pull the same weight that he used to. I've already talking to a lawyer about a workers comp suit & hopefully getting something done about these docs who told me I was fine & didnt need an MRI & that lied right to my face. But who else can I discuss my job security with & ensure that I'll have something to go back to?