Work comp taking SOOOO long
 

Ok, so I just got off the phone with the food stamp case worker...had to reapply.
I had received food assistance before and let the case close rather than reapply because we had a court date coming up and I <naively> thought or hoped that maybe, just maybe, everything would be working out and I would not need the assistance. Boy was I wrong!
So fast forward 6 months. Sill nothing. No healing, no fixing, no money, no nothing. So I reapply for food stamps.

And as I'm talking to the case worker, trying to explain how the insurance company that claims in it's commercials to 'do the right thing' (Liberty Mutual) is trying everything to avoid doing just that, it occurs to me how incredibly long this whole process is taking.

I was injured in Sept 2008, didn't get any payments at all until one lump sum in June 2010, and nothing since. There is no specific treatment plan for making me better, just 'pain management', which is great but won't fix anything in the long run. I don't hear anything from my lawyer unless I call and hound them. And now I've got to start all over with a new doctor, trying to explain everything that's happened up to this point.

Is there anyone out there who can convince me that it really will get better? Or someone who can explain and justify to me how and why this is taking SOOOO long? And tell me about how much longer this will last?
Does anyone have experience with this and can tell me the average time that a similar work comp case can be expected to go on???

What was your injury?
I probably saw it previously but can't recall now.

I could be mistaken , but I thought once you get an atty - the case worker can't talk to you... but I could be mistaken - mine was finished in 05 so it's been awhile.
But I didn't talk with case worker at all after I got the wc atty.
But I was denied by that time... so maybe that was why.

I could only get a reply from my atty if I sent a fax- and then he still didn't answer the questions that it had asked. His office staff was quite disorganized. And after all was done I decided he was one of those that goes for the easy money so he can get his %.:o
Wasn't really there to help you get the best decision for you.

Mine was a fairly simple claim - no major long term effects that I can't handle with self care & chiropractic - but repetitive motion/soft tissue injuries are very hard to prove unfortunately - that's what I had/have.

Hearing was postponed a couple of times- claim opened in 03 & settled in 05.
Not a big moneymaker -but I didn't expect that anyway.

Well, my original injury was diagnosed as a partial tear of the calf muscle (gastrocnemius) but as soon as that first thing began to heal, signs of the herniated disc began to show, which is what I still am struggling with.
It just seems like there are at least 6 months in between each stage of the game, in between each doc appt or court date and then two months before I hear anything from the lawyer after each event. The insurance company caseworker doesn't contact me - there's no concern about that. It's just that no matter what the docs say, they contest it. And they don't do anything at all unless the judge orders them to. So at every step, its like, my lawyer sends me to one dr, who says something. Then a month or two later, when they get the report from our dr, the ins. co. sends me to another dr to dispute what the first dr said. Then a month or two later, when my lawyer gets that report, we set a date to go to court, usually 2-4 months in the future. Then the judge orders them to do something the first dr said, and it takes another month or two before my lawyer gets the court order, and then its usually been an order to go for another test or treatment, so then my lawyer sets up an appt, two months in the future, and in the meantime, there has been no official "authorized treating physician" which is where the PA had come in who had kept refilling my pain meds as we waited, and waited and waited, for anything productive to occur.

We went to court in Oct 2010, and in December 2010, I got the order in the mail that the PA is now 'authorized to provide ongoing pain management'. But that's it. No treatments or diagnostic procedures, nothing to improve the injury or condition. No TTD in the meantime, and no outlook on the future. In the fall, the ins. co. offered 30K to settle, which is kind of a joke, considering that I've already lost more than that in wages over the last 30 months.
If I call the lawyer that's the only time I hear anything from them at all, but the paralegal on my case acts as if I am just a pain in her ***, and why am I bugging them. I know (or feel at least) that maybe my case isn't going to bring them as much money potentially as some other cases, but I am sick and tired on being hurt, all of the time, with no outlook, and feeling insignificant in the process. It's hard enough going through this without my own attorney on my side. :(

"there has been no official "authorized treating physician" :confused:

Your atty didn't suggest you get your own treating dr?:confused:
I would check on your state website for work comp and see what the rules are about seeking out your own care provider.

You need to have your own dr to cover your care & contradict any IME or QME report mistakes.

I may have done it wrong, but I went back to my own dr for my RSI claim when my symptoms & more, started returning a few years after the first claim was closed.
WC wrote a letter accepting my dr as my treating MD.
I had used the Managed care docs for 2 shoulder strains in between the RSI injuries.
Turns out it all joined together & became, mild now, but a chronic thing..

my claim was denied after about 6 months, but atty wrote a letter for my bills (PT mainly) to be put on hold until the case was settled or decided.

They will always low ball you to see if you bite, supposedly your atty contacted you for your thoughts on accepting it , and/or make a counter offer, or say no thanks..

lots of times it is a wanting game - but not a fun game at all.

Another thing that comes into play is if your injury is stable yet or not, worsening or not, those sorts of things .

You don't want to settle or go to hearing if you aren't sure of future possible costs & care.