A summing up? The Tale of a Workplace Injury, continued

[treehumper]

They never factor in the lifetime of issues going forward and down the road from an injury.
I was badly hurt in a roll over at 20 yrs old.
Have nerve damage long thoracic nerve affecting my right shoulder.
That has led to issues with my posture and upper back problems and took a toll on my left shoulder for compensating for my right.
Also affecting my neck and right pectoral.

This did not happen all at once at the accident but was a slow progression that is still ongoing.
Keep all your Dr appointments and check in periodically with them to keep your case alive.
Settlement should include medical coverage for life for that injury and potential problems that could develop over time from it.

I was told nothing more could be done for me long after settling but made sure I had future medical as part of that settlement.
Many years had passed since I last saw my Orthopedic and when I did need to see him again yrs later the insurance denied payment.
Had I kept going regularly this wouldn't have become a problem.
Now I would have to hire a lawyer to go after them and would be costly.
Don't make the same mistake.

Yours is the cautionary tale that I have heard before. Thanks for bringing this up. Much of the last 3yrs have been spent addressing this problem. I continued to have issues with numbness, pain and swelling. The pain mgt specialist basically told me to take a couple of Advil’s and Tylenol (yes they can be taken together) and sent me on my way. Then the insurer started the permanency assessment (PA) processs. I made it clear to all 4 drs. that I continued to have problems.

Doing that eventually led to one of them recommending further examination which stopped the PA and opened up the way to investigating the cause of the issues. It was recommended that I not seek further treatment as the procedure was likely to be worse than the problem and cause greater issues.

Doing this made it clear there was greater damage and insured the reopening rights. However, I will need to initiate the process before 2 years from the date of the last check I receive or the case will be closed for good. In the USA permanent is only 2 yrs. This will also have to be handled through lawyers and courts so the saga will begin again in 18 mths. The system demands you play the game or face a very uncertain future of medical bills that may or may not be covered by private insurance.

So, for those of you who think it’s not a big deal to skirt safety, it is, in more ways than you can imagine. My wife wants to claim pain and suffering for having to live with me now,