Workers Comp Help
Over The Road Driver Suffers Back Injury
I received a terrible on the job back injury while doing my job the way I was told to do it five years ago. From the very start, I was bucked and knocked around like I was the enemy. I was working for US Xpress as an over the road driver. I was hurt in LaCrosse WI. The emergency room doctor said I needed five days of bed rest, then be checked again after that.
They tried to put me on a bus back to Portland OR and just leave my wife and our belongings there. I had to consult an attorney there, plus the doctor called them and said I was in no shape to ride a bus.
After the five days of bed rest, we checked out of the motel, the doctor said I could drive the truck, but could not unload and should get to my regular doctor asap. I was told by my dispatcher it was OK and he would get a load asap. Then a person higher up sent a message on the computer saying, “If you can’t load & unload, you can’t drive.” My dispatcher told me to check back in at the motel, which we did. That day I had to pay for the motel, for which I was never paid back. They finally rented a van for my wife to drive us back to Portland.
When we got back to Portland, I checked in with a doctor here who did x-rays, MRIs and sent me to physical therapy, which really did not do much good. The doctor told me there wasn’t much left except surgery. I really didn’t want to have surgery unless it was a last recourse. The pain got so bad that I could hardly walk a half a block without such terrible pain I would have to sit down no mater where I was.
I opened a Workers Comp claim in Oregon. US Xpress said I was an Oklahoma employee since I had taken my orientation there. My attorney & I had to go to a hearing here. The employees of US Xpress were sworn in on the phone where they gave their testimony. The court finally ruled in their favor, even though I live in Oregon and my CDL is from here.
I had to open a claim in Oklahoma which started many more problems for me. That meant I would have to make several costly trips there, as well as getting an attorney there.
I went back to my doctor and told him I was just getting worse and could not stand it anymore. He refereed me to a specialist . I had surgery where bone was taken from my right hip to rebuild the bone that was broke off my backbone. While in the hospital, I got ecoli and a heart condition, which Workers Comp deny having anything to do with the injury, which would not have happened if I were not in the hospital! That was three years ago and I am in terrible shape.
Workman’s Comp wanted to settle with me for 15,000 which was a joke. My Oklahoma attorney said I should take it because it was a good deal. I had to fire him and find a new attorney. The new attorney did pretty good, but in the end I only ended up with a few dollars more that the offer.
I had to make four or five trips to OKC for doctor exams, court hearing & Voc Evaluation. These trips which took lots of money, mostly borrowed most I still owe.
A judge in Oklahoma ruled that Workers Comp was to pay all the medical bills, which they haven't. The total is over 57,000 dollars. I am now in the process of being sued for the bills. They want to buy me off for 1,500 dollars. They were supposed to pay for retraining, but they haven't. I am now on SSD which doesn't even pay the bills. They have taken everything from me.
I'm only 60 & can't even work due to the pain, no medication being paid for by them. I lost my medical & life insurance because I just could not keep the payments up. That's most of the nightmare, which will probably not end soon!
Thanks for reading.