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[linsenbigler1]

i hang drywall and i broke my wrist 3 weeks ago and my work wants my doctor to send me on light duty to do another job that i wasnt hired for that would be like telling a doctor if you get hurt you could answer the phones and make less money i know i could get partial benefits but could they do that

[lfoster21]

Yes, I am afraid so. If your DR. says that you can do restrictive work and your job finds a simple job for you or even if you find a different job, but at less money, you have to take it or they can drop you, stating that you are not complying with the rules. W/c will do what ever they can, to get you any income, so that they don't have to pay you as much.

Now, your Dr. may not think that you can do the job that they want you to do. I would say to talk with your Dr. ahead of time and keep in contact with him. I have a co-worker who's i/c asked her Dr. if she could do a lite duty job and they told him that she would just have to st and could stand to stretch as needed. He said that was fine and she had to go to that job. As it turned out, they had her at a computer (just after having neck surgery) 6 hrs. straight w/ a 20 min. break. She was only allowed to stand up and move around for those 20 minutes and not during her work hrs. She complained that she was getting worse and they kept telling her that if she did not come in, or if she left early (even if it was due to pain or sickness) that they would drop her from w/c. he went to her Dr. and asked why he allowed her to do such a job when he had told her not to do several things that they had her doing. He said that they had left out many of the things that they were going to have her do at the job. They out right lied, just to get her to a job. And they did this behind her back, so they can talk to your Dr. w/o you even knowing it.

So, I would suggest that you talk with your Dr. and if you have a good rapore with him, ask him to let you know when they contact him and to please not tell them anything, until he first discusses things with you.

I wish you all the best.

[sparkey]

Yes unfortunatly they can make you do something totally out of your career. I had to go sit and watch a waiting room and see how long it took before the nurse called a patient in to see a doctor. Talk about boring. They tried a couple of jobs before that and it was suppose to be a one handed job. I was told to file things which used two hands. I had such difficulty that my doctor pulled me out due to " overuse syndrome". My pay was never changed when I did the alternate duty. Some places can lower your pay, but wc is suppose to make up for it.

They do not care if you are in pain or not, or if you are degraded from your career. All they care about is that you are back at work. Make sure you have your doctor put the restrictions and make sure your alternate duty is within them limits. If not, report it right away. You do not want to make your injury worse.