Dr. mentioned MMI....Not sure what to do.

[capricorn]

Good morning all....I know this subject has been talked about many times but my mind is so unclear these days that I can't put 2+2 together. Saw the treating Ortho for all body parts except the shoulder yesterday. He feels I am the best I will be. Told him that the shoulder PT is aggravating my neck and he said "then stop it". I don't feel I can do that and told him so as I feel it's finally helping. Also he is not the shoulder surgeon but is his partner. He also said I will need no more surgeries so I feel what he's actually saying is I don't need him as he's a spine surgeon. So that brings me to believe I should be in the hands of a PM Dr. because PT has not been done on my back or my kee at all. I do beleive they will both get a little stornger with some good PT and maybe by the ist of the year I'll be as good as I get. Then I know I need a wellness program to keep it all going and to always prevent any reinjury of anything again.
Where does all of this leave me in the world/ I have not been terminated yet even though my supervisor has made it clear in his depo that he can never lower my job to light duty, have and IME coming up and we all know how that will end. So if IME says I can return to work with /without restrictions and my Dr. holds on to "she can't work at all" but my Dr. also feels i am MMI where does that leave me? ALso I have read here where some have gotten compensated for their injuries AND returned to work. Can someone explain that. This is all a big life cahnge for me as it was when I first got injured and I feel so out of sorts not knowing what/where/who/how. If I can work at something I would prefer to but always have that option ofretiring on disability and appplying for SSD> HELP???

CAP

[Lilly]

Hi Cap.
I don't know how your employment will be effected....but I can tell you what happened to me. Two weeks after I was put at MMI by my treating doctor...I got a letter in the mail from my employment stating I had been terminated two weeks prior....termination occured on the date MMI statis was determined. I was furious, to say the least.They didn't have the "gonads" (as Still would say, hehe) to notify me sooner, so they just sent a darn letter. HR finally called me 3 weeks after MMI to verbally terminate me on the telephone.....emphasizing (5 x's) the fact that they had no light duty work for me...and asked me 5 x's if I understood that I was terminated. DUH, YES!
Hopefully, you will have a better outcome. As far as I know, I never had an IME, my surgeon/treating MD(whom I loved) was a WC choice and he is the one who put me on permenant restrictions, told me to file for SSDI AND GET A LAWYER if I didn't have one already!
I also assume one could get compensated by WC and return to work ....if later, one's physical statis improved & the IW decided to try working again on light duty....but I'm unsure of this.....I know some of the informed people on the forum will have an accurate answer for you.
Good luck Cap...& keep your chin up and attempt to quit worrying. Prayers going up for you, Lilly

[Timothy Belt]

There are a couple of ways you can be compensated by workers' compensation and return to work, at least in PA. You can settle your case for a lump sum and then return to work at either your time of injury employer or a new employer. Many employers will require a resignation as part of a settlement, so you may need to seek employment at a new company. Also keep in mind that the settlement would eliminate your future entitlement to benefits. The settlement can be structured to leave medical open or provide for a closed period of medical, but many i/c will not settle unless it includes future medical benefits.

You can return to work at your time of injury employer and continue to receive medical benefits and partial wage loss benefits, if appropriate. In PA TPD benefits are calculated by subtracting actual earnings from your time of injury average weekly wage and multiplying the remainder by two thirds.

You can also return to work at a new employer and continue to receive medical benefits and wage loss as set forth above. However, if you start with a new employer with ongoing wage loss, your time of injury employer may offer you work, and if you do not take the job, attempt to suspend your wage loss benefits.

[red1030]

Good Morning Cap, in New Jersey you can collect PPD Permanent Partial Disability and return to some form of work. You can not in NJ collect permanent total Disability and work. The PPD and the PTD are instated for a certain number of weeks, which I believe for NJ is 450 weeks. The PPD is then paid based on the rating that you recieve from your IME etc. I hope that helps some. I am not sure how your state does this. Red

[Still in Limbo]

Hi Cap., I wish you were Posting better News!! Mr Belt has pretty much hit the nail on the Head, as you know you and I are Both in Pa., and Mr. Belt is an Attorney Here. Let me give you a quickie recap of where I am at right now, and you may see the Picture a little clearer. I'm on SSDI, and receiving TTD, I am Totally Disabled in SSDI eyes and approx. 5 Surgeons eyes, and w/c is still fighting me in Court. My next Hearing will be number 10. The IME and My Dr.'s decisions are on both ends of the universe, they are so different, I'm inoperable, receiving a wheel chair any day now, and I've started on the Fentanyl Patch, so if I'm rambling, Please excuse me, and Mr. Belt, if I am wrong on anything Please correct me, I'm here to learn everyday. I have not been terminated yet, either we are still having Hearings, I am trying for Total Disability with w/c which Mr Belt will probably agree is very rare, but nonetheless I am Totally Disabled, and that's what I am trying to get w/c to understand. My dear, it's time for you to get yourself referred to a Good PM Dr., and get started on a good regimen for your Pain. Then you have to set down with your Attorney and have a long meeting of the minds, to see how to proceed from here. If Your Dr. feels you are MMI, they can do no more for you, I got two Second Opinions before I resigned myself to that fact, one from an Ortho. and one from a Neuro., and also from my PCP. You are starting a New Chapter of Your Life now, and if you are going to have to be fighting for what's yours as I am, your Pain should at least be under control and monitored by a Good PM Dr. I wish I could say more Cap., but you know I'm here for you, and I Hope things go your way!!

[1171]

medical disputes between physician opinions are generally resolved by the work comp board or commission in your state. without knowing which state you are in more detailed information can't be given.

[Timothy Belt]

Total Disability is indeed rare. I have handled somewhere in the neighborhood of one thousand workers compensation claims, and I have never seen a successful litigation of permanent total disability. Good luck.

1171 Wrote:medical disputes between physician opinions are generally resolved by the work comp board or commission in your state. without knowing which state you are in more detailed information can't be given.

[capricorn]

Thank you all for your responses. I thought I understand but was wrong.

1171...sorry I thought I had PA in my profile.

Mr. Belt ..thank you for the legal end.

Update. DOI was May '06. 5 body parts. None of them surgically repairable except my shoulder which is still healing after 4 months of PT. Still only half of normal ROM. I start PT on the lower body next week after an eval. I feel I can be better than I am. Claim was denied and won in front of the Judge 14 months later. It has only been 2 months since I won and I am getting the impression that someone wants rid of me. Have not been terminated yet, but Mr. Belt you are correct. I will be asked to resign at the time of any settlement. It has already been established that I cannot return to my job. I work for an extremely large employer. Right now I have been waiting since the Judge's decision for my employer to reimburse me for health benefits I paid while waiting for the Judge's decision. I have put out $400 in co-pays and $12,000 in health benefits. Miraculously as soon as I reminded the meployer that this is standard with this co. that I have been scheduled for my second IME. First one was over a year ago. I guess it's time. Not a problem. I would like to go on with my life anyway BUT I don't want screwed anymore. I know I can be better than I am, I know I don't need any more surgeries, BUT also know I am not ready to give up. I will accept being terminated or resigning whicever comes first BUT will not give up living yet. I knew as soon as I reminded the employer that the Judge's decision was in my behalf and that I wanted to know WHEn they were picking my benefits up again that I would get something rolling. How they are going to get rid of me I'm not sure yet , but they will.

Limbo....I do think about it all the time. I am so used to working, hubby and I aren't getting along right now and I just feel I was/will be happier getting up and going to work. Then I sit and think of the price I will pay and make the decision to retire.

Let me read over everyone's responses again as it's still not clear in my mind what I face, what my choices are if any, and where to go from here.

God bless all,
CAP

[Timothy Belt]

CAP: Just an FYI, be very careful using words like resignation and retirement. There is a long line of case in PA finding that if an employee resigns or retires their loss of earnings may no longer be in regard to the work injury but rather their voluntary removal from the work force. I understand that your reason for resignation or retirement would be the work injury, but you should never give the defendant ammunition to attempt to cut off your benefits if you can avoid it.

[capricorn]

:rolleyes:Sorry! I meant IF/WHEN we decide to settle my employer will want a resignation. Please don't ever hesitate to correct me. This is getting really scary now and I just want to make sure I do what's best for me in the long haul. Need to keep living. Neither God or WC gives us a choice.

Thanks Tim.....( is that OK)

CAP