Is this a worker's comp case?

[Seldon]

Hey everyone,

New to the site, just had a couple of questions about what I think is a work related injury (numbness in my right thigh)...

I work for a phone company in Georgia and due to layoffs, had to relocate and take a new job about three weeks ago. It's an outside job and basically what I do is replace buried wire splices in residential neighborhoods. So if you can bear w/ me for just a sec, imagine a hole in the ground barely big enough to fit a person in, mabey 3 ft. wide, 4 ft long, and 3-4 ft deep. What I have to do is stoop down between my legs and cut off the existing cover (imagine a 2ft long cigar) cut some wires, and put a new one back on. It's a physically demanding job and sometimes the holes are so small that you have to sit on your heels and work between your feet... Not to metion to fact that I'm really tall, 6'5"

Ok, so about two weeks ago, I notice that the front of my right thigh in almost completely numb. I talked to my girlfriend about this, who is a nurse, and she said that it was probably just my body getting used to the new work and I just had some inflamation that was pressing against a nerve of something. Well, it's been 2 weeks, and it's still numb, and I'm starting to get really worried.

Does this sound like something that would be covered under worker's comp??? I can't think of any particular incident that may have caused it, but it's too much of a coincidence for it to not be work related.

If I go to the doctor and use my personal insurance, and the doctor seems to think that it was work related, can you then get it put under worker's comp?

Have any of you ever experienced retaliation over filing a claim? If so, what happened? I only ask b/c I don't want to be in this job for any longer than I have to (b/c of the work), and the key to getting another position is having a clean record, controlled by my supervisor.

Any guidance would be greatly appreciated,
S.

[1171]

yes, you have to have medical corroboration to have a claim accepted so it's best to discuss it with a doctor.
Depending on your state's work comp laws you may have to go to a doctor selected by the employer.

[Seldon]

1171 Wrote:yes, you have to have medical corroboration to have a claim accepted so it's best to discuss it with a doctor.
Depending on your state's work comp laws you may have to go to a doctor selected by the employer.

OK, so I go to the doctor myself, and if he thinks it's work related, we report it? Or do I report it, then WC calls to set up an appointment? Sorry to sound dense... I'm in GA, btw if that's of any help.

[chrischris]

If your primary doctor says it's work related, you can file for WC and your employer will most likely send you to their doctor to be examined. It's like starting the process all over again. Been there and done that!

[Seldon]

Alrighty, thanks for the replies.

-S.

p.s. This is a great forum you guys have going here!

[gaby9533]

I read your post and even if I'm new myself to the forum I felt like I should reply because your case sounds just like what my husband had a few years ago, numbness in his thigh. He went to the dr., they did all sorts of tests and found nothing wrong physically, therefore they told him it's stress related. Asked him if he's under unusual stress, which was not the case, just regular stuff, work, kids, but the dr. told him that sometimes we don't realize the stress we are under, even if we think we can handle the daily routine, we are still under stress (driving, job, kids). Told him to take it easy, spend as much time as he can doing things he enjoys, etc. He's fine now and has been fine since then. Not knowing what was wrong w/his thigh stressed him even more, once he had a plausibil explanation, he calmed down. Ck w/dr. to make sure it's nothing physically wrong. If they find something they might think is work related, you can go to you HR person and ask for a referral to the company's provider that they use for workers comp injuries (I work in HR, I know). They can't deny your request and see what their finding are. Then go from there.

[Bad Boy Bad Boy]

(((front of my right thigh numb)))

As you stated it is the front of the thigh numb, yet you didn't say any pain, or how far up to how far low the numbness travels.
EXAMPLE;
Such as numb from above the knee to just top of the leg right below hip joint, or it travels into the groin.

In many cases a pain with some numbness going through the butt, down the back of the thigh, indicates a spinal condition, but you didn't state that.

Bending, and crunching can create new muscle build up, which your not use too. Meaning you haven't used these muscles in a while, and now you are. This only means you used them in the past, but not like you have to use them now. New muscle build up can cause this also.

I would try, heat or ice after you get home, on and off for 20 minutes apart a couple of times to see if you get relief.

I too, would have my treating doctor take a look and get a medical opinion to be on the safe side of things.