Well, FINALLY got the check from Worker's comp today! Apparently they didn't pay for the first shift off, and they only pay about 60% of your normal wage, but at least it's money.
Hurt my right knee at the end of my shift the morning of May 29, running to catch a patient before he fell. I felt it "pop", but adrenaline kept me up til we got the guy in bed, and then I couldn't take a step on it. Such a stupid little thing, but that event kept me off work 4 weeks, on crutches for almost 3 of them. Didn't need surgery, just soft tissue injury, but that knee was already strained from standing for hours one day pressing and cutting fabric, and then spending hours the next day digging up plants and replanting those as well as new ones. Just too many things came together at the same moment.
The best thing about it was having my daughter come down for a few days to help out. Bless her heart, she took 2 days off work and 2 days out of bar classes to do some cooking, laundry, and basic caretaking of her mom (and dad!) The only other good thing was being able to watch the entire second season of Gray's Anatomy. 8^) Other than that, everyday life was just so hard. I felt as if I took my life in my hands just getting into and out of the shower. Ever tried cooking bacon at face level, sitting in a chair? Kinda scarey!
The worst thing about it was that Worker's comp overrode my doctor's verbal instructions and decided I could work the computer, answer telephones, etc--basically secretarial work. I let my manager know of my availability for this, but there's not much need in a small hospital for a nurse who can't perform as one. When I didn't get paid after 2 weeks, I contacted my employee health nurse. Evidently neither she nor the adjustor knew I wasn't working, and assumed I'd taken myself off work. And they don't pay for that.
Fortunately, from dealing with other WC and from dealing with Social Security, (not to mention just nursing) I'd learned to document, document, DOCUMENT. I had notes in my planner of every MD visit, every phone call regarding the event, when I sent the papers back to the adjustor, etc. I typed up a 5-page chronology of it all, and faxed copies (at my own expense) to the adjustor and the employee health nurse. I took other steps, including contacting my physician and my manager, who were both willing to vouch for my injury and my initiative in going back to work.
Within a couple of days, the EH nurse telephoned me to ask the number of shifts missed and the dates, which of course, I was able to provide. Do you think they realized I was only a couple of steps away from hiring an attorney, and that all my ducks were lined up neatly in their rows?
So, to anyone out there fighting the big guys, document everything! And do what they tell you to do, because if you don't make a good faith effort to follow their instructions, they can use that not to pay you what you are due.
Hurt my right knee at the end of my shift the morning of May 29, running to catch a patient before he fell. I felt it "pop", but adrenaline kept me up til we got the guy in bed, and then I couldn't take a step on it. Such a stupid little thing, but that event kept me off work 4 weeks, on crutches for almost 3 of them. Didn't need surgery, just soft tissue injury, but that knee was already strained from standing for hours one day pressing and cutting fabric, and then spending hours the next day digging up plants and replanting those as well as new ones. Just too many things came together at the same moment.
The best thing about it was having my daughter come down for a few days to help out. Bless her heart, she took 2 days off work and 2 days out of bar classes to do some cooking, laundry, and basic caretaking of her mom (and dad!) The only other good thing was being able to watch the entire second season of Gray's Anatomy. 8^) Other than that, everyday life was just so hard. I felt as if I took my life in my hands just getting into and out of the shower. Ever tried cooking bacon at face level, sitting in a chair? Kinda scarey!
The worst thing about it was that Worker's comp overrode my doctor's verbal instructions and decided I could work the computer, answer telephones, etc--basically secretarial work. I let my manager know of my availability for this, but there's not much need in a small hospital for a nurse who can't perform as one. When I didn't get paid after 2 weeks, I contacted my employee health nurse. Evidently neither she nor the adjustor knew I wasn't working, and assumed I'd taken myself off work. And they don't pay for that.
Fortunately, from dealing with other WC and from dealing with Social Security, (not to mention just nursing) I'd learned to document, document, DOCUMENT. I had notes in my planner of every MD visit, every phone call regarding the event, when I sent the papers back to the adjustor, etc. I typed up a 5-page chronology of it all, and faxed copies (at my own expense) to the adjustor and the employee health nurse. I took other steps, including contacting my physician and my manager, who were both willing to vouch for my injury and my initiative in going back to work.
Within a couple of days, the EH nurse telephoned me to ask the number of shifts missed and the dates, which of course, I was able to provide. Do you think they realized I was only a couple of steps away from hiring an attorney, and that all my ducks were lined up neatly in their rows?
So, to anyone out there fighting the big guys, document everything! And do what they tell you to do, because if you don't make a good faith effort to follow their instructions, they can use that not to pay you what you are due.
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