Workers Comp Help
Back Injury and Myofascitis From Lifting Injury At Work
I was injured on 5-5-03 while lifting a hydraulic wheelchair ramp manually, due to its malfunctioning. This ramp is about 50lbs and must be lifted from ground level. As a result, I was diagnosed as having a lower lumbar sprain, without the benefit of even having x-rays done. Exactly 5 days later, my right leg went completely numb, which was reported. I was in such excruciating pain, that I could not stand up straight or sleep for days on end, and yet I was forced to go to work on modified duty among my peers.
Two months into my injury I had an mri done at my insistence. The treating workman's comp doctor told me the mri results were normal. I knew this could not be true, because of all the pain I was in, so I took the mri films to my primary physician, who said he could clearly see that I had 3 bulging discs at s-1, L-4, and L-5 levels. When I reported this to the w/c doctor, he then miraculously saw the bulges too. I was then told a bulging disc was no big deal and that half the population also had bulging discs. I am a 38-year-old female transit bus driver, for the past 8 years.
The w/c doctor then asked me if I wanted to go back to driving, which I responded to with a yes. He then informed me that he was releasing me to full duty, even though my leg was numb and I still couldn't walk upright. I explained to him that there was a difference between my wanting to drive and actually being able to. With that, he kept me on modified duty and I had my care transferred to another doctor at the choosing of the w/c carrier, Managed Care Consultants, Inc. (mcc). The consultation with this new doctors findings were that yes I had 3 bulging discs, my hips were uneven, and that he suspected that my sciatic nerve was being compressed.
A nerve study was conducted by yet another doctor and found to be negative, even though the pain and numbness continued. I was then diagnosed with having a soft tissue injury, and was recommended to have trigger point injections, which took 7 weeks to authorize. I had these injections done twice by yet another doctor, who said my muscles were so tight, that he was afraid that the needles would break while inserted in my back. Unfortunately, theses injections did not alleviate my pain. I was told surgery was not an option to me, as it would only worsen my condition.
Ten months into this nightmare, I was told I have myofascitis, which is chronic inflammation of the nerves and muscles, which is the direct result of me not being treated correctly early on. I have been told very casually that I will be in pain for the rest of my life and that I will never drive a bus again. To add insult to injury I have now been fired from the job that I loved, because I can no longer perform the job in which I was hired to do. I also must add, that I received the same bus # 631 for two weeks, prior to my injury, that I wrote a defect card on, that the maintenance department failed to fix.
I have done a lot of research and found out that the person in charge of the risk management department where I worked, delayed my treatment, because she decided that she would play doctor, and nothing was wrong with me, because if she keeps the costs down in her department, she receives a bonus each year. I am not the only one she has done this to, she feels that because she was once a nurse, she now has the right and the credentials to diagnose without ever having had any training as a physician. This same person also states this company is NOT self insured, and yet she writes the checks to the treating w/c doctor, dictates to them your treatment, and is the one that authorizes any procedure. I attest that my statement is true and accurate. My hope is that I have contributed to some much needed changes with the workman's comp system.