Prior injury

[mirandaj]

I was working for an airline and was injured in aug of last year i was under medical treament and physical therapy until the end of october of last year. I had strained the muscle between my neck and shoulder, and my rotator cup doesnt have fluid around it which causes it to grind and click when moved. I also have bone spurs on my c-6 and c-7 vertebrae but they wouldnt cover that even though it was included in the initial report. Well the doctor released me in october and said everything was fine that i needed no more medical treatment. The problem is i am constantly getting headaches from my neck and my shoulder hurts every day as well as my fingers on that arm go numb,i live in nevada and was wondering if there is any possible way to get my claim reoppened or how i would go about it, i never recieved anything from them....thanks

[jayne]

go talk to a WC lawyer first visits are normally free and he would be able to tell you...Take all the paperwork you have on your injury

[1171]

you would probably need a medical report linking the original injury to your current complaints.
If recent activities have aggravated your underlying condition it'll be considered a new injury.
without supporting medical they will not pickup new complaints.

[kate]

mirandaj Wrote:I also have bone spurs on my c-6 and c-7 vertebrae but they wouldnt cover that even though it was included in the initial report.

Some info on Bone Spurs:

Bone spurs are of three basic types.
One is the kind that arises near a joint affected by osteoarthritis (degenerative joint disease.)
Osteoarthritis affects the cartilage that cushions the ends of bones in your joints. Over time, this cartilage may wear down and its smooth surface roughens. Eventually, bone rubs on bone — resulting in pain due to damage to the ends of the bones. The body tries to repair this damage. But the repairs result in growth of new bone along the sides of the existing bone (bone spurs). These "spurs" are called osteophytes.

The second type of bone spur is the kind that occurs when the attachment of ligaments or tendons to bone become calcified. Thus can occur on the bottom of the foot, around the Achilles tendon, and in the coroacoacromial ligament of the shoulder.

The third method occurs when trauma to a bone or joint causes damage to the bone. As the body tries to heal this damage, new bone growth can develop causing a bone spur in that location. (This occurs over time, not immediately)

This would mean that since the bone spurs were mentioned in the original report, they were more than likely pre-existing and non-related to the injury and that is probably why they wouldn't cover them. Many times bone spurs are not painful and are not found until someone has an injury and gets xrays/MRIs.

[mirandaj]

The bone spurs didnt show until the third month of physical therapy. And i didnt start having migrains until they did the mri on me neck and shoulder and found the spurs. I was wondering if i should just sue the company or try and have my case reoppened for medical treatment? When i was under treatment las time all they did was send me to physical therapy and enver did anything to repair the damage, nor did they compensate me for all the time off from work i had to take.

[Lilly]

You need to talk to & possibly hire a lawyer. Do as Jayne suggests.

The other thing....one cannot sue their employer....only if you can prove your employer deliberately set you up to get you injured on purpose.
Seems you would be due past TTD payments, if you were off work with a doctor's slip because of the injury you recieved at work.
Take care & good luck, Lilly

[kate]

Lilly's right.

At least talk to a few lawyers. If you are receiving your benefits, there is no need but when you are not, a lawyer will be able to tell you what you are or are not entitled to under the WC laws and assist in getting those benefits.

[Bummer Knees]

Bone spurs are a red flag for the insurance company.

Before I hired an attorney I had a case manager and she used the MRI report of bone spurs to deny futhur medical treatment.

That refusal led me to hire an attorney.