Workman's Comp Help?

Cradles Broken Glass · February 2012

My husband had a serious injury to his head a few weeks ago at work. A 15 ft. steel pole fell from the top of the building and hit him in the middle of the top of his head. He has since been seeing the work comp doctor and is starting physical therapy this week. However, I'm not so sure that the doctor is taking it as seriously as he should. I know my husband and how he normally acts. He has had to leave work early and even call out of work somedays due to extremely bad headaches. He has also spent hours in bed (almost all day today) with the headache. We really do not know what to do and we have no experience in any of this. We just want him to get better. Should we maybe see if workman's comp will pay for him to see another docotor? Any advice would be very helpful. This is really affecting our lives and he is the primary bread winner, so he cannot keep calling into work. However, my main concern is making sure the doctor is doing what is necessary to help him recover.

dcfaithful · February 2012

I have never had to deal with workman's comp, but I would definitely see if you can see a different doctor.

On a side note, it really irritates me when I encounter a doctor who act uninterested in their patients. If you don't want to help someone, then you shouldn't be a doctor.

Sorry for your time of trouble. I will keep you and your husband in my thoughts and hope for a quick, and easy recovery for him.

Also, perhaps I misunderstand the concept of workman's comp. You said he's the primary bread winner... but doesn't WC supplement the missed income of the worker if the injury happened at work and requires said employee to miss work hours? Or does it only provide payment for the medical treatment of the injury?

stargirl69 · February 2012

Goodness I am sorry for your situation.It sounds to me like your husband may have suffered a severe concussion,has he has a cranial xray done? That should have been one of the first things that were done afterwards with such a head trauma.
I don't know anything about the US system but if I were in the situation I would want to see another doctor and have some further tests done,especially an xray.

I hope he does ok

Cradles Broken Glass · February 2012

dcfaithful wrote:

I have never had to deal with workman's comp, but I would definitely see if you can see a different doctor.

On a side note, it really irritates me when I encounter a doctor who act uninterested in their patients. If you don't want to help someone, then you shouldn't be a doctor.

Sorry for your time of trouble. I will keep you and your husband in my thoughts and hope for a quick, and easy recovery for him.

Also, perhaps I misunderstand the concept of workman's comp. You said he's the primary bread winner... but doesn't WC supplement the missed income of the worker if the injury happened at work and requires said employee to miss work hours? Or does it only provide payment for the medical treatment of the injury?

It should and does pay missed wages. However, we are afraid his work will get tired of him missing...

dcfaithful · February 2012

Cradles Broken Glass wrote:

dcfaithful wrote:

I have never had to deal with workman's comp, but I would definitely see if you can see a different doctor.

On a side note, it really irritates me when I encounter a doctor who act uninterested in their patients. If you don't want to help someone, then you shouldn't be a doctor.

Sorry for your time of trouble. I will keep you and your husband in my thoughts and hope for a quick, and easy recovery for him.

Also, perhaps I misunderstand the concept of workman's comp. You said he's the primary bread winner... but doesn't WC supplement the missed income of the worker if the injury happened at work and requires said employee to miss work hours? Or does it only provide payment for the medical treatment of the injury?

It should and does pay missed wages. However, we are afraid his work will get tired of him missing...

Wouldn't they be restricted from laying him off or terminating him given the situation? That sounds like a lawsuit waiting to happen if they did that. :?

youngster · February 2012

I was on workmans comp in MA about 4 years ago for falling 15ft off a scizzor lift and breaking my hand and injuring my hip/back. I'm sorry to hear of your husbands injury, hope he is ok. I think each state has their own W/C laws but in my case I had to have surgery on the hand and was out of work for 3 months ( I work construction). If I had gone back before the Dr cleared me I would have surrendered my W/C benefits. They were paying me 80% of my wage averaged over the last year before the injury. By law, the company was not allowed to lay me off for a certain amount of time after I came back to work. If your husband misses time due to his injury, I'm pretty sure he is protected under the law from losing his job. The W/C will pay for his missed time. I would definately check with a lawyer on the laws in your state. Insurance companies are scum and will do anything to save a buck on their end. I hope everything works out in your favor.

dcfaithful · February 2012

youngster wrote:

Insurance companies are scum and will do anything to save a buck on their end.

So true.

green mountain man · February 2012

Google workers' comp rules and statutes for the state of Arkansas.
Consult your primary care physician.

voidofman · February 2012

I made a mistake when I got injured on the job, I kept working for a week afterwards even though I was in an immense amount of pain. My boss told me not to worry about losing my job but I got let go anyways. What was odd was that they weren't even paying my wage as it was part of a government program. I think they just wanted to let me go so they would have to pay the comp claim.

I was helping move a trailer out of an enclosed trailer and didn't notice a 100 pound steel gate pressed up against the wall being held there by the trailers wheel. When the trailer came out the gate came down on my right leg hitting the side of my quad first then "sliding" down the rest of it. Luckily I had steel toe boots on or my toes would have been crushed.

The biggest bruise was the size of my fist, my ankle and the bones on top of my foot were bruised, that is what caused me the most pain.

So I kept working for a week, I was barely able to get out of bed but suffered through it with no pain medication. After a week I went to a doctor and he said I shouldn't go for long walks. I asked him if it's okay if I keep working, he didn't even answer me and looked at me like, "you've got be kidding."

I tried to apply for worker's comp but they said that because I kept working that the injury wasn't serious. I should have had the doctor send them a report. They did say they could get me some pain medication but I said no thanks. It took 6 to 7 months before the pain was completely gone. (This was in Canada.)

Good luck with your claim, I hope you get some good news with it.

pandora · February 2012

My daughter got horribly hurt at OUR business on the forklift 3 years ago

I was mistaken to think OUR insurance company cared at all about her

get a lawyer immediately, request another doctor, I wish we had, you have that right,
the lawyer will be able to help there also.

Keep a diary of everything take pictures etc.

Think of the big picture of life and how this injury may effect your husband in the future.
It will effect him on future insurance claims and employment.
The insurance co has the right, if you take a settlement to request that he be let go
as part of the settlement. You need a lawyer to insure he does not lose his job
in these trying times.

The insurance company is working on behalf of the employer and themselves
and only take into consideration what they have to do by law for the employee

not to dis the doctors but these are doctors working at reduced rates for the insurance company

JK_Livin · February 2012

File a claim and get a cat scan asap.

Cradles Broken Glass · February 2012

You guys are awesome. I have googled and googled, but I could not find good advice. I decided to post on here for help. We haven't wanted to think lawyer, but I am also worried about future troubles (as Pandora has pointed out). He has a an appointment today. However, the first lady he spoke with at the Dr.'s office told him that "those syptoms should have went away after the first few days." Duh.... That is why we are calling you back.... He finally spoke with someone else who asked the Dr. and he is going in this afternoon. I know things like this can turn into big trouble years down the road. When my brother was a newborn, my mom was at a softball game with me. Some high school kids were batting the ball around and hit her very hard in the head. Fast forward to my brother being in kindergarter, my mom was diagnosed with a brain tumor in the exact spot the ball hit her. It is really scary. I am sorry to hear about everyone's troubles. Things can get complicated really fact. Hope all is doing better.

ogey38 · February 2012

Hi, i recently broke my foot at my primary job, and also work a part time job. I dealt with the Worker's Comp folks in Nebraska. My primary employer required an accident report to be filed with the company (it's a pretty large company here) and gave me contact information for a Worker's Comp case worker. Did you happen to contact your husband's company to see if there is a WC case worker that he/you can talk to? I was able to see a 2nd opinion on my injury (they initally said I needed surgery, but my gut told me otherwise. Turned out I was right to trust my gut)!

Not sure if you found this info yet or not, but here's some contact information I found for Arkansas WC.

Good luck to you! I hope your hubby starts feeling better and you get the answers you need.

State of Arkansas
Workers' Compensation Commission
324 Spring Street
P.O. Box 950
Little Rock, Arkansas 72203-0950
Telephone 1-501-682-3930 / 1-800-622-4472
Legal Advisor Direct 1-800-250-2511
Arkansas Relay System TDD 1-800-285-1131

pandora · February 2012

Cradles Broken Glass wrote:

You guys are awesome. I have googled and googled, but I could not find good advice. I decided to post on here for help. We haven't wanted to think lawyer, but I am also worried about future troubles (as Pandora has pointed out). He has a an appointment today. However, the first lady he spoke with at the Dr.'s office told him that "those syptoms should have went away after the first few days." Duh.... That is why we are calling you back.... He finally spoke with someone else who asked the Dr. and he is going in this afternoon. I know things like this can turn into big trouble years down the road. When my brother was a newborn, my mom was at a softball game with me. Some high school kids were batting the ball around and hit her very hard in the head. Fast forward to my brother being in kindergarter, my mom was diagnosed with a brain tumor in the exact spot the ball hit her. It is really scary. I am sorry to hear about everyone's troubles. Things can get complicated really fact. Hope all is doing better.

I believe things in life happen for a reason ... your mothers situation, now your husbands,
protect him is all I can say.

I never would have believed that as a mother and an employer I would have to protect my child.
I just assumed being the employer she would be well taken care of under our ample
insurance.

Sad fact insurance companies don't want to pay more than they have. Nothing personal.
And state workers compensational is minimal.
You need a lawyer to help get a settlement, most especially in case of problems
in the future ...
a case can be left open ended but he must visit the doctor regular then yearly without lapse,
something my child was conveniently not told.

A lawyer will insure you know your rights under the law and more important the time limits
involved in your case. A lawyer will insure your husband gets the best care possible
now and in the future.

We didn't think we needed a lawyer because I had paid this insurance company
hundreds of thousands of dollars over all the years we were with them without one claim.
I thought we had a relationship. I trusted them. I was naive and my child suffered.
Her settlement will not cover all the surgeries and care she may need in the future but at least
the lawyer she finally sought helped with what he could get that late in the game.

Also a lawyer should ask for nothing up front they will take a percentage of the settlement.

Your husbands company should have notified the state...
made the claim that they must do by law. Unless they felt they would handle
any expenses out of pocket. With head trauma I would think this not the case though.
You should have that case # at your disposal.
Your lawyer will take it from there and you can be a little less worried and focus on his
health and wellbeing.

And we all knowthe insurance company will have lawyers ... plenty of them!

As far as your husbands employer ...
this is between their insurance company and your husbands lawyer ...
your husband should feel no guilt, he is not disloyal, this is allowing the process.

Good luck ... prayers for a speedy recovery

PureandEasy · February 2012

and if you're not satisfied with the doctor's care or your husband's employer, contact OSHA and the Department of Labor. Trust me, that will get their asses in gear.

Workman's Comp Help?

Comments

Categories