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Skipperoakes · 01-23-2008, 01:38 PM

He guys and gals,

I am looking for some advice. I drive a ready-mix truck up here in Minnesota. About 4 months ago I was opening the door to my work truck and thought i broke my left middle finger. (The door sometimes sticks). So anyway, I talk to my batch man (EMT/Firefighter), he suggests I got to urgent care and get it checked out.

Triage nurse asks if this was work related I said it was and filled out the paper work she gave me. X-rays were normal, ER Doc says might be Carpal Tunnel. He says to follow up with my regular Dr. and gave me a splint to wear.

I did all that and still had a numb middle finger. I get tests done and am told I need to have surgery to repair the carpal tunnel. Problem is I will be out of work 6-8 weeks and short term disability (STD) only pays 300/wk. Not nearly enough to live on. I have a wife and 4 kids to support and 300/week isn't going to do that.

Should I accept short term disability or file a workmans comp claim?

ANY SUGGESTIONS WILL BE APPRECIATED.

Thanks,

Skipper Oakes

tweety00 · 01-23-2008, 02:00 PM

Short term and w/c both ... Do you drive a red with stripes cerment truck by chance lol ... My bro drives for them also .
Short term if Im right will give you some extra benfits right ?
Do some research on carpel first ... maybe some therapy first ?
Someone with that will be along to chat

Skipperoakes · (This post was last modified: 01-23-2008 02:07 PM by smilee.)

tweety00 Wrote:Short term and w/c both ... Do you drive a red with stripes cement truck by chance lol ... My bro drives for them also .
Short term if Im right will give you some extra benefits right ?
Do some research on carpel first ... maybe some therapy first ?
Someone with that will be along to chat

I've done therapy and massage. My hand surgeon recommended surgery now since it is the slow time at work.

And I drive the big blue ones.

I didn't think I could do both of them.

tweety00 · 01-23-2008, 02:20 PM

Darm not a red truck but thats ok
Short term is just that ...
In my opinion but remember Im not a doctor ok I would ask for a 2 or even a 3 opinion first .. before anyone cut me open again ... 1 level neck fusion ok ....and back problems

Go and do some searching about short term since Sad to say I dont know alot about it ...
Hang in there ok I know their are a few others with similiar injures on the forum ... try Pm ing them ok

Roadrunner · (This post was last modified: 01-23-2008 04:04 PM by Skipperoakes.)

Wow I've only been on here 2 days and I actually think I can help on this one. I work for an underground utility supplier and had a similar thing happen. I was lifting a heavy fitting and felt something roll in my wrist and I dropped the fitting unintentionally my grip just went away. I ended up with the numb middle finger and everything. I saw a carpul doctor got zapped by some needle thing and after that he said you need surgery, I said no. He gave me a prescrip. (Lodine 400 mg)and a friend said take vitamin B-12,(Walmart) after about a month or so I almost forgot it happened. It may be worth a try because like you I could not go without working. Good luck and I also wore one of those wrist supports at the same time it really did work.

Skipperoakes · 01-23-2008, 04:43 PM

Roadrunner Wrote:Wow I've only been on here 2 days and I actually think I can help on this one. I work for an underground utility supplier and had a similar thing happen. I was lifting a heavy fitting and felt something roll in my wrist and I dropped the fitting unintentionally my grip just went away. I ended up with the numb middle finger and everything. I saw a carpul doctor got zapped by some needle thing and after that he said you need surgery, I said no. He gave me a prescrip. (Lodine 400 mg)and a friend said take vitamin B-12,(Walmart) after about a month or so I almost forgot it happened. It may be worth a try because like you I could not go without working. Good luck and I also wore one of those wrist supports at the same time it really did work.

Basically this is my last hope. With 6-8 weeks of recovery I should be ready to go when the spring rush begins.

Roadrunner · 01-23-2008, 05:25 PM

I can't say it'll work for you but its a cheap and painless way to try. Like the others on here said research is key, I looked at everything I could on it and I could not find a satisfied person anywhere on forums about carpul. That is how I found this forum my wife is going through a workers comp. deal for the past couple of years and its getting down to crunch time money ran out on her comp checks I didn't know what to do. By the way I'm 51 now but when this happened I was 49 I don't know how old you are but thumbs up and best of luck and use the support that goes over your wrist and back of the hand and flex your fist at night so it won't stiffen up so bad from the inactivity.

ksgirl · 01-23-2008, 11:05 PM

I am pretty sure that you can use short term disability and wc together. The best thing to do would be to get a hold of your short term carrier and talk to them.

I don't know much about carpal tunnel. I had some problems with it a couple of years ago and just went to my regular doc. He had me wear a wrist brace only at night and in a month I was feeling better (mine may not have been near as bad as yours). In your case I think I would file wc and get a second opinion. Surgery is something that you can't take back. There are several carpal tunnel people on here. I am sure they will be along to give you some guidance.

sparkey · 01-24-2008, 05:22 AM

I am one of them " Carpal Tunnel people" lol. I had the full open carpal tunnel release back in 1998. I had no problems for about 2-3 yrs. and had problems that would come and go every now and then when i did repetitive stuff. Stamping charts etc. It would go away if i rubbed the area where i have the scar, or just relax the hand for a few days. There is good and bad to having the surgery just like any other problems.

Just last year this month, i was drawing blood and doing alot of computer work ordering test for 10 hour days and developed a swollen wrist. Same hand as the carpal surgery. I used a splint in the beginning of wc and had the cortizone injections, medications etc. I also went to PT/ OT 4 x's a week for 7 months. Nothing really seemed to help except the TENS unit ( which i still love having at home). I think i may have developed scar tissue over the surgical site and have had many doctors refuse to go in again and open it up. They claim that if they do i could be damaged for life. I drop things all the time, and have a hard time holding anything with a good grip. I cannot even open packages to cook without using sissors.

I had to give up my career a few months ago as i would never be able to hold a needle again, nevermind opening sterile gauze packs or alcohol packs. Get a few opinions as some doctors are quick to put you under the knife. Sometimes also carpal tunnel surgery can cause you to have CRPS, or RSD. Look it up and do alot of searching before you have the surgery. It is a very painful thing to deal with everyday, and i feel for you. When i first got carpal tunnel i had no meds to stop the pain. Now i am left with it for the rest of my life to deal with everyday. Get a brace, wear it to bed, relax your hand as much as possible. Make sure you get a good neurologist.

UndercovrAngel · 01-24-2008, 01:46 PM

I too have STD through my company and this is what it says in regards to WC and STD at the same time:

The Short Term Disability plan takes into account similar disability benefits you are entitiled to, which means that your plan benefits are reduced by income payable from the following sources:

*The Jones Act or any Worker's Compensation or similar occupational diseasae law, including all permanent and temporary benefits.

Short term disability also takes into account if you can perform some of the essential duties on your job on a part time basis.

What you need to check is HOW your short term disability is paid. Most won't pay anything if you haven't been there for at least a year, and then depending upon how long you have been there, they will only pay so much of a percentage. I received 4 weeks of STD at 100% and then received 70% for the remaining 8 weeks I was out on FMLA.

HOWEVER .. you told the triage nurse that this was a Work comp claim, so you really don't have a choice in the matter, unless you were denied WC coverage. If you try and get this through on private insurance, they will see that at one time you had it on WC case and not pay for it, and then you will be responsible for the entire cost of the surgery, as you didn't get it approved through WC first.

I would check with your HR about how your STD would come into play and how much they might kick in along with WC TTD payments.

Angel ^j^