Injured But Forced to Return to Work

[Sanders]

My mother suffered a fractured femur near her hip bone while at work. Unfortunately because her bone was not healing, she underwent surgery and a metal rod was placed in her femur. Because she previously suffered a blod clot, she was referred to a physician, which WC would not cover although necessary for her WC surgeries, to monitor blood thinner medications. She has been using a walker and only leaves her home to go to doctor's visits. At this point, her physician has not permitted her to engage in any type of public outing (shopping, going to eat, etc). However, she learned today that she is being forced to return to work on Monday because her physician has supposedly released her for "light" duty.

She is not permitted to drive so her employer plans to provide her transportation to and from work and to the WC doctor but refuses to take her to the "blood doctor". WC has decided that she can drive a scooter at the plant even though she is not approved to drive a vehicle. They have also decided that she can use a cane to walk 50 feet although she just started rehab this week and has yet to use a cane. The WC personnel have been very rude to her and informed her that she would be returning to a position (completely outside of her expertise) and will be stationed next to the WC worker.

My mom lives more than 150 miles away and there is no one to care for her. She is not able to take care of her basic necessities and yet she is being forced to return to work. Is there anything that can be done at this point? It almost seems to me that the plant is trying to find a way to terminate her employment.

Thanks for you assistance. We are in Texas.

[AQA]

If the treating dr. has released her to return to work on light duty status, then she must or go without pay. She should not go against her restrictions. She may want to get a few copies of her medical restrictions, so she can supply her supervisor with one. If when she returns, she finds that she can not do the job, then she needs to let her treating dr. know.

[1171]

your mother can request of change of doctors by contacting the division of workers comp. That by itself may not restart disability payments once they've been stopped but it could support a successful dispute resolution process.
for more information
http://www.tdi.state.tx.us/wc/employee/b...albenefits