Rushed back to work post-injury?

[GuyofGisborne]

Nebraska

I am helping out a friend of mine who is on leave from work for a rotator cuff injury that she sustained while on the job. The job that she does requires her to lift objects at her waist, shoulders and above her head. She had it repaired once before but the tendon tore again and she had to repeat the procedure.

The first time she had the work done, she went through the surgery followed by physical therapy and after some months a return to her job on “light-duty”. The problem was that she would go to work, stay for a little while and be sent home. There was not enough for here to do in her as all the jobs required her to do more than her doctor would allow. This led to a circumstance where she was making less money than she was when working full-time and less than she received in her disability checks. It may have been during this time that she re-injured the arm as she has a tendency to do whatever is needed at her job.

Now having gone through the surgery the second time, she is making steady improvement. This time she has been assigned a nurse to monitor her appointments and serve as an intermediary between herself, the company and the doctor. I believe that she acts in the interests of the company but I am not certain. A week ago my friend, the doctor and the nurse met and decided she could go back to work on a limited basis. She does not feel that this is the case. The doctor says that she could go back and only use her left hand. My friend thinks that there are no left hand only jobs at her work place. She feels that if she goes back to work the same scenario will play out as before and she will be sent home early and not be able to meet her financial obligations.
What would be her best course of action? Is this something where it would be advisable to hire a lawyer or are there already instruments in place that she should be able to exploit?

I should mention that she is from a foreign country. Working the gears of human resources is difficult and they will not talk to me as their job involves some amount of security. Thank you for any help you can render.

 

[cbg]

The company is under no legal obligation to provide restricted or light duty. They may, but they are not required to, and under no circumstances whatsoever are they required to create a job within her restrictions.

If they have no jobs available within her restrictions and they cannot/will not create one for her, she has the option of remaining out of work and collecting her lost wage benefit. This will not be equivalent to full time pay. She can and probably should consult with a workers comp attorney to make sure all her rights are protected, but nothing you have posted suggests that her employer is violating any protected right of hers.

 

[GuyofGisborne]

The company is under no legal obligation to provide restricted or light duty. They may, but they are not required to, and under no circumstances whatsoever are they required to create a job within her restrictions.

If they have no jobs available within her restrictions and they cannot/will not create one for her, she has the option of remaining out of work and collecting her lost wage benefit. This will not be equivalent to full time pay. She can and probably should consult with a workers comp attorney to make sure all her rights are protected, but nothing you have posted suggests that her employer is violating any protected right of hers.

Thank you for the advice.