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cristabell · 11-18-2007, 01:06 AM

i got a letter in the mail from my employer on friday and they said since i had contacted them for severel weeks and i had doctors notes for 3 days off and then back with restictions and i failed to come back to work they were letting me go. it says on my termination that i was a no call no show on the 25 of oct. this was 6 days after pt had called them and took me off work indefintly.i had not even had my mri yet and i just got this letter the 16 of novemeber almost a month later bs. so i talked to a lawyer who said i had a case for wrongful termination so he refered me to a workers comp lawyer. so what do u guys think of this?

rholmes · 11-18-2007, 04:55 AM

Cristabell,

I am sorry to hear of your bad news. But may I ask did you let any time go by between your doctors excuse? Sometime employer look for loop holes to get rid of you. I am not even sure if pt can take you off from work I think it has to be your treating doctor.

good luck
RH

annoyedtodeath · 11-18-2007, 12:04 PM

rholmes Wrote:Cristabell,

I am sorry to hear of your bad news. But may I ask did you let any time go by between your doctors excuse? Sometime employer look for loop holes to get rid of you. I am not even sure if pt can take you off from work I think it has to be your treating doctor.

good luck
RH

PT"s are not doctors, they do not have the authority to take you out of work, only the treating doctor, and then workcomp will send you for an IME if your doc is your pcp, and that doctor will decide whether you can work or not

cristabell · 11-18-2007, 12:17 PM

annoyedtodeath Wrote:
rholmes Wrote:Cristabell,

I am sorry to hear of your bad news. But may I ask did you let any time go by between your doctors excuse? Sometime employer look for loop holes to get rid of you. I am not even sure if pt can take you off from work I think it has to be your treating doctor.

good luck
RH

PT"s are not doctors, they do not have the authority to take you out of work, only the treating doctor, and then workcomp will send you for an IME if your doc is your pcp, and that doctor will decide whether you can work or not

my doctor and my pt decided that it was in my best interest to stay home from work.i guess my doctor didnt turn in the note stating i would be off.anyway i talked to a lawyer who said i have a wrongful termination thats a open and shut case.he said is worth big bucks.still sucks cause i live in a tiny town and i wont be able to work after all is said and done

Babebahn · 11-18-2007, 06:44 PM

I tend to agree with everyone else, PT can make a suggestion to your doctor that it would be in your best interest to be off work. It is Your Doctor who has to make the judgement call and send a letter or call your company. You need a copy of the note or dictation that states he did this. If not, then your attorney should be able to help.
So you have 2 attorneys? One for work comp and one for???????

Lilly · (This post was last modified: 11-18-2007 07:05 PM by piedmontmountain.)

Hi.
So sorry to hear of your plight w/ work.
I too agree....that only the treating doctor has the authority to take you off work with a "written slip". PT does not have that authority . Also , a "telephone" call from PT to your work doesn't get it. It has to be in written form with MD's signature.
Lilly Smile

frustratediw · 11-19-2007, 02:29 AM

I always found it was a good idea to stay in touch with your employer regarding your work status. If doctor determines you either should be off work totally or releases with restrictions I have never relied on them to send information to employer. I have always requested a copy of their written note and contacted employer myself. I tried to make a habit of both calling them and then following up with written communication regarding our conversation and providing them with copies of doctor notes. Keep copies and documentation of everything you may need it at some point such as this.

~~capricorn~~ · 11-19-2007, 10:19 AM

Hi cristabell...I agree with the group. There are different things we need to do with WC and different things with our employer as they are all aslo different. Mine demands an "out of work" note every 6-8 weeks. I supply it and keep a copy for myself. A phone call doesn't always cut it and it must come from your treating Dr. not a PT> I am really sorry this happened to you. If you can get your hands on a note from the Dr. it might help but I'm really unsure where there is a major lawsuit that your attorney is talking about. Can you explain further? I am curious. If my employer doesn't get their note they call it "abandonment of your position" and terminate employees almost immediately. Keep us posted,.

CAP

cristabell · 11-19-2007, 11:44 AM

capricorn Wrote:

Hi cristabell...I agree with the group. There are different things we need to do with WC and different things with our employer as they are all aslo different. Mine demands an "out of work" note every 6-8 weeks. I supply it and keep a copy for myself. A phone call doesn't always cut it and it must come from your treating Dr. not a PT> I am really sorry this happened to you. If you can get your hands on a note from the Dr. it might help but I'm really unsure where there is a major lawsuit that your attorney is talking about. Can you explain further? I am curious. If my employer doesn't get their note they call it "abandonment of your position" and terminate employees almost immediately. Keep us posted,.

CAP

the attorney said that he has other cases from this area where pt has taken them off work and they have been fired and he has one .i have a friend right now who has the same attorney and is going through the same thing with a different company.she had already gotton a porton of her settlement whenshe died due to the doctors neglect. she complained of haveing severe chet pains and the doctors thought she was faking it and sent her home. she died of a blood clot 3 hours later.now her husband is suing the doctor. things around this small town are really screwed up.not sure what im gonna do for work.will never get hired in this town again.does ur medical stay open if there saying that u quit even though u didnt

chrischris · 11-19-2007, 12:58 PM

I have found that I cannot rely on my doctors to send work status reports to my employer. I use this opportunity to touch base with my employer and to make sure they are aware of my doctor's orders.

A PT cannot take you off work and a phone call shows he/she didn't have the authority to write an off work status report.

If your doctor failed to write an off work status report, then he/she has to "fix" the problem. All it would take is for you to either call your doctor and obtain the missing off work status report. If your employer doesn't reinstate you after receiving said report, then you have a case for wrongful termination.

Otherwise, you don't. Your employer was within their legal rights to fire you for job abandonment. What choice did they have when they had a doctor's release and expected you back at work.

I'm curious? Did anyone from work try to contact you?

Hope you get this straightened out with your doctor.