severe injury- terrible er doctor

[japonica]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)?
MD
Hi. In Dec 2007 I slipped on ice at work while wearing the approved boots right in the middle of the workday. The boots are too slippery to wear on the ice and i fell directly on my face. Besides having the worst pain in my life and being bruised for months, my nose was swollen as well as my mouth and bruises continued coming for over two months, there was much discoleration under my eyes for even longer. For three months i went to the work clinic and they sent me to a dr to assess my nose which is damaged but it didn't appear to be broken on the xray. The dr at the work clinic was much better than the dr at the er. He thought my nose was broken and said that he never saw anyone whose nose was so swollen and bruised not to be broken. It's still crooked and my dr said has a deviated septrum also.

After the accident a superviser brought me to the er and i wanted not to receive bills but have it covered from work and made it clear that i had a work injury. The dr i had said in a very negative way as soon as he first saw me "What did you do to yourself at work." i remember feeling really hurt at the lack of caring in his voice, i felt so much pain and had a concusion, and was falling asleep and out of it for hours. They didn't see me for hours.
Regardless of my condition the er dr said i could return to work the next day. i actually did return my next scheduled day and my boss said that i could take time off. Instead i worked light duty.

There was much pain and swelling in my mouth and nose and i noticed that the teeth were apart- a space i didn't have before and thought it would be ok when swelling went down but it wasn't. I had severe pain and had to see my dentist and it was found that the root and pin that held my dental bridge in the front was broken. It was cemented on the other side so it stayed in although broken. I sent the xray from my dentist to the work's insurance co and they said they would pay for it. My dentist put in an option where he could fix it teo different ways- one was less expensive but i need to have dental work that is removable- i never had that and would never choose that. i was shocked that the dentist wrote it up bc it wasn't agreeable - it's terribly unfair.
At least i should have it fixed as much like before the accident as possible.

tears. i never sued anyone ever for anything- i love my job and still work there but now having so much trouble just having my injuries fixed bc of what they will agree to.
The real complicating thing now is that i had a bad dr at the er who was negative against workplace injuries(maybe he was previously drawn into too many cases that were bad?) It was ridiculous to not give any time off for a severe injury as i had. The workplace dr was much better and wrote good notes in my chart i know.

What is the best way i can have my broken dental bridge fixed the right way?
Having a removable bridge is terribly unfair - i didn''t have that before why should i have that now?

Also my nose is damaged- i don't really want to go through big surgeries i don't think but want it fixed if possible.

Thank you for any help.

[japonica]

Maybe no one reads these forums and i won't receive a response.

Since i decided early on to have my injuries taken care of through work i think i should stay with that. I'm making an appt to speak with someone in administration that might be able to help. i hope she can. Everyone who works there should be concerned about how injuries are handled- anyone could have an accident at work, especially a fall on ice.

btw one thing i will never do again- if i ever get hurt at work - i won't make it so obvious to the er staff that i was injured at work. i'll answer all questions truthfully but not go out of my way to say "I was injured at work ". There is nothing to gain to do that- i received very bad treatment there from the dr bc i said that- and now i have to trust my employer's insurance for good treatment. AND i still received the er bill anyways. My work didn't pay until i was being taken to court by the hospital. i gained NOTHING and lost a lot by openly stating my injury happened at work. That er dr didn't treat me fairly at all, minimizing my injuries and had a mean uncaring attitude towards me when i was in so much pain and so upset about my face ever returning to normal.

Thank you for reading and any advice.

[lealea1005]

Your injury is treated the same regardless of where/how you were injured. The ER Physician has very little, if anything, to do with the hospital's billing policies.

[japonica]

Thank you for writing lealea. At least someone did!

No- it's not the billing that bothered me the most. i knew that i wasn't responsible for the bill. It was the treatment i received in the er immediately following the accident.

Imagine if it were you- You fall at work while walking outside on the ice, hitting your face directly on ice (the boots are 'rain' type boots- so slippery there's no control during the fall). The terrible worst pain. Getting up and going inside - nose and lip bleeding- feeling in shock, dizzy, in terrible bad pain- unable to drive or do anything- pain was so overwhelming. The boss taking you to er , giving info. - making sure i said i was hurt at work. Then waiting for hours while in a wheelchair, in and out of consciousness, having dreams, waking in pain over and over to ask if going to be seen by dr soon. Panicking, no help with pain. Finally dr comes and has a mean, cruel attitude, saying, "So what did you do to yourself at work?" Then scared and wondering why the dr had such a bad attitude and why he gave nothing for the terrible pain. Had cat scan- no memory of having it. Dr says bluntly and unsympathically "nose isn't broken" , return to work tomorrow. No mention of the head injury.
Nose, mouth, eyes, forehead, whole face swollen unrecognizable. Bruises on face and under eyes lasted for over two months, dental injury showed up a few weeks later.

That dr had a bad attitude against people that had been injured at work and it clouded his judgement.

How would you feel if that happened to you?

[IsabellaSoriano]

honey, did you follow this doctor around? did you see that he treated everyone the same way? or only people that were injured with work related injuries?

so you didn't like his bedside manner. all that was hurt were your feelings. and sorry, that doesn't equate big money in a lawsuit.

big deal. yeah, i get annoyed when doctors don't cater to me. but then if i wanted someone to mother me, i'd go find a nice mom to do that.

[lealea1005]

Did you ever think maybe you waited in your wheelchair because the ER Doc was treating people with life threatening injuries?? Perhaps he just had to tell a parent they did "everything they could" but could not save their teenager who was involved in a MVA. The point is...as Isabella said....you do not know.

If your injury was not work related, he would have treated you the same. Your swelling would have to decrease a significant amount before your broken nose could be diagnosed...usually 7 days before an x-ray is obtained.
If he did diagnose you with a concussion, you would not have been sent back to work the next day.


I work with Physicians on a daily basis. They are human and sometimes they can be jerks...doesn't make them "terrible" Doctors.

[lya]

Originally Posted by japonica

Maybe no one reads these forums and i won't receive a response.

Since i decided early on to have my injuries taken care of through work i think i should stay with that. I'm making an appt to speak with someone in administration that might be able to help. i hope she can. Everyone who works there should be concerned about how injuries are handled- anyone could have an accident at work, especially a fall on ice.

btw one thing i will never do again- if i ever get hurt at work - i won't make it so obvious to the er staff that i was injured at work. i'll answer all questions truthfully but not go out of my way to say "I was injured at work ". There is nothing to gain to do that- i received very bad treatment there from the dr bc i said that- and now i have to trust my employer's insurance for good treatment. AND i still received the er bill anyways. My work didn't pay until i was being taken to court by the hospital. i gained NOTHING and lost a lot by openly stating my injury happened at work. That er dr didn't treat me fairly at all, minimizing my injuries and had a mean uncaring attitude towards me when i was in so much pain and so upset about my face ever returning to normal.

Thank you for reading and any advice.

If you don't tell them you were injured at work, don't expect the documentation to be of any use in proving a worker's comp claim.

If you want your dental work repaired to the status of before your fall at work, you need a worker's comp attorney. Be advised, though, attorneys don't like whiny adults any more than do other busy professionals.

[japonica]

Exactly my point- the dr didn't diagnose that i had a concussion.

When he first spoke to me he said "What did you do to yourself at work" in an angry manner- almost yelling. i was in too much pain to care but wondered why he acted so mean- it was horrible having a dr like that, being at his mercy-or lack of mercy. The dr at my work clinic (that i saw a few days later agreed that the er dr treated me unfairly and everyone at my work was in disbelief that the dr wrote to go back to work the next day. i wasn't scheduled then but when i did go back in two days later my boss said i could take some time off. i was in bad shape for a while- i went in and did light work and was careful. My face and head would hurt if i did too much. i wasn't able to do any visiting for Christmas three weeks later or finish my shopping.

There are drs that get bad attitudes and treat people unfairly bc of ? maybe their bad experiences with others? i don't know. If i were thinking clearly i would have asked for another dr or gone to another er. It's always better to have someone with you when going to the er. A dr won't treat someone badly if their family is there.

[bamboozled]

Originally Posted by japonica

Exactly my point- the dr didn't diagnose that i had a concussion.

When he first spoke to me he said "What did you do to yourself at work" in an angry manner- almost yelling. i was in too much pain to care but wondered why he acted so mean- it was horrible having a dr like that, being at his mercy-or lack of mercy. The dr at my work clinic (that i saw a few days later agreed that the er dr treated me unfairly and everyone at my work was in disbelief that the dr wrote to go back to work the next day. i wasn't scheduled then but when i did go back in two days later my boss said i could take some time off. i was in bad shape for a while- i went in and did light work and was careful. My face and head would hurt if i did too much. i wasn't able to do any visiting for Christmas three weeks later or finish my shopping.

There are drs that get bad attitudes and treat people unfairly bc of ? maybe their bad experiences with others? i don't know. If i were thinking clearly i would have asked for another dr or gone to another er. It's always better to have someone with you when going to the er. A dr won't treat someone badly if their family is there.

You are right. Doctors do treat people with work injuries like crap. Do not look for any sympathy on this forum, they are all very miserable and adore dragging people into their miserable gutter.
Anyway, I walked in your shoes, but I changed doctors through a W.C. Hearing and finally got a human. If they are jerking you around, then call for a hearing and ask your employer for a copy of the injury report that they have to write up within 72 hours of the injury. If they did not, call you local Worker Comp commission in the blue pages of your phone book and ask for a hearing request form. Commissioners are pro claimant especially people like you who WANT TO WORK. They were nice to me, as I had job postings for light duty and they still denied me. If worse comes to worse get a W.C. attorney (but try not to they just want 20% and never look out for your best interest) attorneys are not really human, FYI. If there were any witnesses, bring them to the hearing. It takes from 4-6 weeks to get a date, so be patient, this is normal, the system is slow when it comes to justice.

I am so sorry you are in pain and swollen. Prepare for a fight, but never give up. You did not mean to fall and they could be liable for not sanding if it was icy. Keep your chin up, things will get better. Things like this are a lesson, and it will only make you stronger in character and integrity. Stand up for your rights, you are a human!

[Proserpina]

Originally Posted by bamboozled

You are right. Doctors do treat people with work injuries like crap. Do not look for any sympathy on this forum, they are all very miserable and adore dragging people into their miserable gutter.

Got told something you didn't want to hear, huh? But you are right on one level - this isn't a support/sympathy/happy doody/kumbayah board. That would be the one at pandertomywhining.com.

Anyway, I walked in your shoes, but I changed doctors through a W.C. Hearing and finally got a human. If they are jerking you around, then call for a hearing and ask your employer for a copy of the injury report that they have to write up within 72 hours of the injury. If they did not, call you local Worker Comp commission in the blue pages of your phone book and ask for a hearing request form. Commissioners are pro claimant especially people like you who WANT TO WORK. They were nice to me, as I had job postings for light duty and they still denied me. If worse comes to worse get a W.C. attorney (but try not to they just want 20% and never look out for your best interest) attorneys are not really human, FYI. If there were any witnesses, bring them to the hearing. It takes from 4-6 weeks to get a date, so be patient, this is normal, the system is slow when it comes to justice.

Did you re-read this before you hit "enter"? Seriously?