need help

[daiseymae]

What is the name of your state?kentucky
i am a nurseaide/aide coord for the company i work for.
i was in a real bad car wreck in june of this year and i was on the job. i was off of work for almost 2months due to tring to recover from it. my doctor let me go back to work on a try bases. although he did not want to fully release me. when i went back to work the understanding was i could not be lifting or pulling. my boss was fine with thatat first. then she started calling my dr requesting that i be fully released from him. he did not want to do it but he did since he was moving to another state. altough i was working i was still having alot of prblems with my neck,shoulder and lower back. my arm would go num sometimes. i had to my boss what was going on. so i had found out the dr. that took my dr.s place and went and seen him. he had sent me to a spealist. the spealist i went and seen put me on light duty work with no bending and no lifting over 10 pounds. when i went to the office to give the statement to my boss she tells me to stay home cause they can't let me work with the restrictions. and keep in mind i also work in the office some also.the next day i call my boss to let her no that i was coming in to fill out my paper work for FMLA and tells me not to that she has already filled everything out and sent it to admin. a week later i get a letter in the mail from work and instead of my boss filling out FMLA SHE FILLS OUT PERSONNAL LEAVE. which states if i do not return in 14 days i can be fired. even if i was hurt on the job. i called to let her no that i think there was an error made and she tells me that since i have only been with the company 8 months i do not apply for fmla.and then i bring it to her attention about how i could lose my job she says"yep that's right you sure can" i am back on workmans comp so can they let me go while i am on workmans comp? and keep in mind I DID NOT SIGN ANY PAPER WORK THAT SHE FILLED OUT.
any help would be greatful.

 

[daiseymae]

kentucky may i also add that while i was off the first time and this time i am under w/c.. i went through physical therpy and that need not help but made it worse. w/c got me a tens unit and it does not help either. i do have a lawyer now and he says that as long as i am under w/c they can not terminate my employment but when and if i am able to return to work they can if there is not a position open.

 

[BleedingHeart]

MN.
I don't know about your specific State. I went out the second time
for an injury under "stress" 1 week after returning to work after
being out for only 2 weeks and my comp claim was denied. Dirty pool
but they got away with it. I was out for for 4 1/2 mo. with no pay
and was only allowed to return part time for just under 1 year and
then ended employment with a company I had been with for 9.5 years.
Don't change the reason you are applying for comp or they can
consider it a "New" claim and just deny it.
Personnal leave? People don't get paid for personnal leave do they?
Are you sure you are on comp? If so, no problem, they cannot fire you
while you are on it, but if you have not been informed yet of it they can
still try to deny your 2nd claim. It doesn't sound right that you were
told to go home because they are suppose to try to accomodate work
with your restrictions unless you have used up all of your light duty
time allowed. (which they may not have a limit) Are you Union and
off of a probationary period with your company? They can kinda do
what they want if you are on probation, or on probation with strikes
on your record.
Also, are you seeing a company Dr. or just your own Dr.? I saw both,
one through my health plan. The company Drs. tend to want to send
you back to work sooner as they do not always have your best interest
at heart. Remember, after all, they work for your company by contract,
not for you. Your Dr. can recommend specific accomodations along with
your restrictions for your employer. You may want to ask he/she about
this.
My company backed off a bit when I made mention of the ADA,
Americans with Disabilities Act. You may want to look them up here
but that does not mean you have to pursue this.

http://www.dol.gov/esa/regs/statutes/ofccp/ada.htm
Section 1 Title I, under Title V (a) Findings & (b) Purpose, Section 3
Definitions, Section 101, & 102 Discrimination Especially (a), (1),102(a),
(1), & 5(a) (demonstrating undue hardship MUST be done by the
company to the EEOC And OR Attorney General, Not verbally to you),
(of course to start this process you will need to contact them-
phone book.) Section 501 (d),503 (B), 506 Technical Assistance (a),(c)
& Especially (A) Title i, & Section 513 9(B) & 10(A).
When your company is harrassing you trying to frustrate you into quiting
you can become very literate of your rights real quick by reading this
ACT and RE-Reading until it becomes clearer to you. This is complicated
stuff.
That is why there is assistance out there to help you and make sure
the company abides by these Laws.
Of course you do not need to read the garb about Transportation or Bldg.
Junk but make sure you read SECTION 505 and ask about those charges
IN ADVANCE.
I believe they are talking about their own supplied counsel. (attorney or
representative) When I got fed up with the company harrassment I just
told my boss to talk to my attorney. Also near the end of my employment
would not meet with any company employees ie: bosses, supervisors,
anybody or even talk to them without an appointment And a Union REP.
preferrably the President or Vice Pres. when I could get them to attend.
I don't know if you have a Union. You need to Safeguard your hard work
Lawsuit in order to win it.
In other words, what you say can and will be used against you, so hush
is best.
You DO have Legal Rights having been injured while working. Don't even
think that this is your Fault. This is a hard situation you are in so try to
keep a Cool head and not blow up. Your company would benefit from
that, not you.
Good Luck To You ~~Mary~~

PS- For (STEALTH)- I'm sure you got something to say here!! It's a Dog
world out there and there's Lots of Homework to be done. OK..Research.

 

[daiseymae]

kentucky,
yes,i am sure that i am back on workman comp. i talked to my lawyer and he got everything straighten out with w/c. I just got a check in the mail this morning and it's dated for loss wages as of 6/9/04. they went back to the date i had my car wreck.
no i am not union.lol...
where i work at they go by pto time. which is personnal time off. per pay check. pto time starts 3 months after i am with the company. ihave been with the company for 8 months. we are suppose to get payed with the pto time. but they say that since i was off for 2months when i first had my wreck that they had to fill my pto time and i have to use what every i have left this time.then my boss goes and fills out paper work for personnal leave with out telling me. my lawyer seems to think that she signed my name to the paper work in order for it to have been processed. workmans comp told me that i can see my own dr. so i have been until he moved. and everything got changed hands with a new dr that took his place,then my new dr reff me to a specialist. now workmans comp is telling me that my primary dr now is the specialist for the car wreck. my lawyer says that if i do lose my job that he can file a form against the boy that hit me causing me not being able to work and lossing my job if it comes down to that and lost wages.although i hope it doesn't come down to me loosing my job but i was able to do my job until i was in this wreck and i was on the job when the wreck happened. and thanks for the link i didn't know about the ada.

 

[BleedingHeart]

MN.
but make sure you read SECTION 505 and ask about those charges
IN ADVANCE.
I believe they are talking about their own supplied counsel. (attorney or
representative)

Let me add or make this more clear. I mean that they supply counsel
for the ADA Law because they are specifically trained in the statutes
of this particular Law, like a specialist.
By the way, a MD Dr. is Not a specialist. Unless they have another
title, they are a general doctor or a Family Physican. Do not believe
that they are a specialist unless their title appears next to their name
or on their office wall. You may get more attention to detail of your
injuries if you seek to switch from a MD as your primary physician, to
an Internal Medicine Specialist as your primary physician. You will have
to ask your HealthPlan about this. An IMS has more training to be able
to make the proper referrals for you to see the proper specialists that
you may be in need of seeing. An MD without the IMS training will not
know or not be willing to send you for the testing or treatment you
need for your injuries.
Workmans comp is trying to protect themselves from having to pay
your bills. When they tell you your MD IS your specialist that is NOT
being truthful. (It could be just a case of 1.Total Incompetence,
2. A LIE, or, 3. BOTH.)
I'm wondering here about your company's insurance going after the
person who hit you's insurance company, or were you in your own
vehicle? I would ask that question to your insurance company 1st,
then maybe to your company's insurance department. I don't think it
should matter to them if you were not in their vehicle as long as you
were on the job, but then again I believe each State regulates their
own insurance companies. It doesn't hurt to ask them, & it may save
you a few BUCKS on your attorney fees. I know that here in Minnesota
the insurance companies battle it out to see who will pay who and from
what I have seen, when a person sues the actual person for damages
the courts really have no way of making them actually pay you if they
choose not to. (You can wind up having to take them back to court
again, provided they are not being instutionalized anywhere or on some
form of public assistance.) That would make it about impossible and a
waste of your time and effort to attempt to go after them personally,
for damages of any kind, Unless you will suffer tremendous Long Term
Disability. Only a Dr. and/OR attorney would be able to legally determine
this. Again, My Best Wishes for your Recovery.... ~~Mary~~

PS- Signing someone elses name without being their legal representative
deemed so by the court or their POA (power of attorney) (notorized), is
ILLEGAL. It would be Felony Forgery in this case. ( It is a misdemeanor
when done like on a check under a certain amount of money. This is not
the case here.)

 

[daiseymae]

kenyucky,
the doctor that i am seeing now is 100% specialist. my mom has seen him in the past and she thinks he's a great doctor. i was driving my car when i was in the wreck. cause the company i work for does not provide the vechicle we have to drive your own and have proof of insurance on record,and at the time i was on my parents insurance.with kentucky being a commenwealth state the laws here are funny about things.
since i am off of work again w/c is paying me due to it being because of the wreck. but i don't get payed for being off of work through the company i work for. which it's really hard right now cause i have 3 teenage girls. i don't get assistance through the goverment(foodstamps) i've never had to but everyone tells me that i need to at least until all of this is settled. the doctor has told me from the test he has taken that i have alot of strained muscles in my neck,shoulder,my left arm goes num at times and jerks and that nerv damaged.and it kills me to be on my feet for more then 10 mins at a time cause pain goes across the lower part of my back and down my spine. but i went into work yesterday to turn in some statements from the dr office and they hired someone eles to take my place and told me not to worry about coming back. that they could not wait for me to recover. ...
thanks for the advice it has been helpful.

 

[UnemployedInIL]

Hi Daiseymae I don't know how the laws differ from state to state, but I am in Illinois and was let go from my job before my Work Comp claim was settled. Their basis for releasing me was they were "unable to hold my job open for longer than a year." Even though I hadn't had my spinal surgery yet, they still released me. We were Union, but the Union said they couldn't help me because there was no clause in the contract pertaining to that issue. Sorry I couldn't have given you a more positive response! UnemployedInIL

 

[cbg]

Just a few clarifications for everyone:

1.) Under Federal law, a qualified employee is entitled to up to 12 weeks of FMLA per year, as your company defines a year (fiscal, calendar, rolling based on the first date of your leave). Unless your state law specifically says otherwise, 12 weeks is the maximum length of time an employer is required to hold your job. NO state requires an employer to provide more than four months of medical leave (although some require both medical AND maternity leave, or both medical leave AND family leave). An employer may, but is not required to, have a policy wherein they will hold your job for six months or a year. That is their choice.

2.) Unless your state specifically says otherwise (and while I have not studied the w/c laws of every state, I do not know of any states that do) the fact that your injury or illness is work related does not entitle you to additional leave under the law.

3.) The Americans with Disabilities Act does not require additional leave under any circumstances. IF the condition qualifes under the ADA AND a short leave would allow the employee to fulfill the essential functions of their position, then a short leave may be considered a reasonable accomodation. (Emphasis on SHORT) But unlimited or indefinite leave is NOT required under ANY circumstances.