Rotator Cuff Injury at Work

**splitwincpe** · 03-08-2010, 06:34 AM

i was injured at work and been to the company doctor and he said its a rotator cuff injury. i have been to him 3 times and the last time he told me to just let him know and he will do an mri and surgery. when i took the doctor paper back to the company and told them this they said its not my decision of mri and surgery. its the workers comp insurance decision. i would like to get something done with this as i am tired of just going to the doctor and having him look at me and say come back in 2 weeks. and having pain all the time . my question is do i not have a say in this or do i have to wait for them to decide what to do. the doctor has already done a surgery consultation with me

**InjuredGypsy** · 03-08-2010, 07:02 AM

split, the insurance company will have say. I dont believe your doctor can do the surgery otherwise. Make sure a claim was filed. Do not let them put it on your personal insurance. If things get ugly, you will need to get an attorney involved.

The work comp insurance will not just "approve surgery" Iam sure there will be lots of BS involved.

Good luck

**wheezer** · 03-12-2010, 02:42 PM

I am in a similar situation. I hurt my shoulder, at work, in October. It was never even x-rayed by the company doctor until after 2 1/2 months of physical therapy 3 times a week, the therapist recommended further diagnostic testing. I had an MRI and saw an orthopedic specialist, which my employer and work comp selected, on February 2, and was told I need to have surgery to repair my rotator cuff. After almost 6 weeks all that I am told that my surgery is still "pending approval". Does anyone have any idea how long they can take to approve the surgery? I am still working but it is getting harder every day. I have been given restrictions by the orthopedic specialist, but they are really not being followed. I haven't complained because I would like to be able to work until they allow me to have surgery, but I am not sure how much longer I can keep this up! Would hiring an attorney speed things up? Any information or advise would be greatly appreciated.

**what2do** · 03-12-2010, 05:12 PM

Wheezer,

Whatever you do DON'T ignore your restrictions!!! It can come back and bite you in the A$$. They will say that you are not as hurt as you say you are. I was also told that they can stop anything and everything related to your claim as you are not following the docs orders. I am also awaiting shoulder surgery and I tried working without restrictions, things just got worse. I just got restrictions from the doc and although it is hard I am following to a "T"! Good luck to both of you!

**InjuredGypsy** · 03-12-2010, 05:15 PM

Listen to what2do!!!! Follow your restrictions. Believe me, they are watching you. They will say your not following your restrictions, you possibly couldnt be hurt that bad.

Iam not sure if an attorney would make things move faster or not. It never hurts to have someone on your side looking out for your best interests.

Good luck

**SteelMagnolia** · 03-15-2010, 01:30 AM

Wheezer, you not only follow those restrictions on the job but 24/7/365 no matter where you are nor what you are doing. With a rotator cuff tear you could easily cause even worse injury if you are NOT very careful.

This is coming from a bilateral RTC injured worker, myself. I have had to have the left shoulder operated on twice and still I am at nearly 30% Permanent Disability due to the original injury. ( And I was extremely careful with it at all times.)

I was made to wait nearly 7 months while the IC jerked around and finally approved what their own doctor recommended from the get go. The last three of those months was after the second doctor they sent me to highly recommended that I proceed with the surgery. I learned the hard way so please feel free to learn from my harrowing experience.

YES, YES, YES, get an attorney and the sooner the better. Do your homework and find a good one. I DO NOT recommend that you call one of those jack arses that do all the TV advertising as they will run your claim like a cow on steroids to the slaughter house. They have to rush to settlement to get their money to pay for all that TV time. You will be rushed rather to settle whether you are in fact ready to or not. So choose your attorney wisely.

The longer you wait for an advocate, WC ATTORNEY, to get in there and fight for you the longer the IC and your ER will play games with you.

The AMA recommends approximately 90 days for a RC injury to heal. Once that time has lapsed if you are not healed and pretty near back to where you were before the injury then getting the repair done ASAP is certainly in your best interests. Do NOT allow your ER to continue to mess around as you could be talking the difference between a successful outcome or a complete disaster....

Good Luck to you.

Take Care and Be Well.

Steel

**topgun4167** · 07-03-2012, 05:04 AM

Well you are right about that dont wait for the w/c to get back to you they will delay you forever, and even with an attorney they can delay adequate health care, I had to wait 16 months for my surgery and it still didnt work, in fact after the surgery I had to wait another three months for therapy, then on my 5th visit in therapy I felt a rubber band snap in my shoulder, I stopped going to therapy, and went to the doctor's, he examined it and said it was fine. I was a bit reluctant to believe him becasue after all nobody no's their own body better than your self. So I went to another shoulder doctor, with the permission of the w/c and that doctor had to proform another surgery, not only was their to many sutures in my shoulder but the new doctor found another tear in my shoulder again, it turns out that rubber band snap feeling I got when the therapist was in a hurry to do his exercises on me. that he tore the crap out of my muscles, not to mention he was working, already on a flucked up shoulder, with a delay for surgery plus therapy, adds to loss of function loss of career, loss of money loss of my mind well that's coming next, every one out there on workerscomp I feel so bad for you! I have been on it for three and a half years, and I am in worse shape now than I was when I got injured, silly me I thought workers comp was t oget you back to work in a timely fashion.