What is the name of your state?Pennsylvania
Hi all, I'm new to this forum and I was hoping that someone out there could help me understand a little bit more about Worker's Compensation claims and laws. Any response would be greatly appreciated, as I am at the end of my wits here, and I'm not sure what to do next!
In February of 2004, I was injured on the job and needed to go out on Worker's Compensation. My employer sent me to an Occupational Health Center for treatment, as at the time, I was not aware of my rights to seek alternative medical care. If it were up to me, I would have gone to the ER, but the owner insisted that I go to this place because this is where they supposedly send all their employees when they have a work related injury.
The first 3 weeks were hell. The doctor kept saying that I had merely "sprained" my back, and gave me some Tylenol 3 for the pain and sent me on my way. When my condition didn't seem to improve at all, he finally broke down and ordered an MRI for me. My MRI results showed that I have 2 herniated discs in my lower back, and one was pressed up against my Sciatic nerve. The results also showed that I have Degenerative Disc Disease. So much for a "sprained" back, huh?
The doctor informed me that he estimated that I would be out of work for a minimum of 4 to 6 months, and I was sent to Physical Therapy appointments 3 days a week and evaluated every 2 weeks to assess my progress. My work status was declared "Out of work indefinitely until further evaluation."
I was working in the field of Childcare at the time, and I was feeling as if I was being pressured by my immediate supervisor to return to work because the parents of the children in my classroom had threatened to withdraw their children in my absence.
I was told that the parents were unhappy with the way my substitute was running the classroom, they felt that she was not "picking up" where I had left off in the curriculum, and that she was too strict in her methods. At this point 3 children had already been withdrawn from the center, and my supervisor was trying to work on a strategy for "damage control."
She suggested that if I asked the doctor to declare my work status as "light duty" that I would be able to return to work for 2 days a week for 3 hours a day so that I could "assist" the substitute and keep the parents happy. Even though I was still in enormous pain, I asked my doctor if this was possible, which he emphatically replied "absolutely not!" He said that if I expected to make any progress, that I would need to continue with Physical Therapy and go from there. He also suggested that I consult a lawyer, which obviously and stupidly, I did not do.
When I informed my supervisor about this, the owners of the company threatened to replace me permanently, but I suppose, after consulting with their lawyers, they realized that they would be violating the "Family Medical Leave Act" and retracted that statement.
This is where it gets sticky. My supervisor approached me privately and asked if I could still come in for those 2 days a week, off the clock and off the books. I knew that if I did this, I would be committing fraud against Worker's Compensation and declined her offer. She was not happy about this, because prior to this, she had already sent the letter home (I was given a copy, as well) to the parents and when they inquired as to where I was, she had to tell them the news that I was not returning to work until the doctor released me to return to work. Even more parents withdrew their kids after finding this out. I felt horrible about it, but in my predicament, there was really little that I could do.
I wound up being out the minimum time he had estimated, 4 months, and I kept my employers apprised of all of my medical information and progress the entire time I was in therapy. I was having a family member drive me to the center to drop off the paperwork from the doctor, as I could barely even walk, let alone drive myself there. I did visit with the kids a few times, but I by no means "worked" or "assisted" my substitute during this time.
I was practically jumping for joy (well, not "jumping", as I really can't do that anymore with my bad back, but you get the idea) when the doctor handed me my discharge papers. I was released with restrictions, which included no lifting more than 10 pounds, no unnecessary bending, twisting, reaching, and no sitting or standing for more than one half hour at a time. When I went back to my job to inform them of this, I was told that my position was no longer available, and there were no other positions available for me at that location.
The center I worked for is a chain with 12 different centers spread across the Pennsylvania and New Jersey areas.
The owner of the company sent me a certified letter in the mail informing me that I was being relocated to a center that is more than 45 minutes driving distance away from where I live. There are several other locations in my area which would not take me any more than 20 minutes to get there. I tried on several occasions to contact the owner to inform her that I would not be able to take a position at that location because of my restrictions, and none of my calls were returned. I tried relaying the message to her through my old supervisor, but she told me that it was "out of her hands" and I would need to resolve this on my own.
At this point, I felt as if the company was not rolling out a "welcome" mat for me, so I decided to find employment elsewhere. I applied for Unemployment Compensation as a fall back, and I still am having trouble finding employment. After waiting over a month to hear any information regarding my UC claim, I received a "Findings of Fact" letter from them, stating that my claim was being denied because I willfully quit due to illness, that I did not inform my employers of my work restrictions and did not respond to the certified letter they had sent me.
The first 2 statements are blatant lies. I did not quit my job, and as I stated earlier, I gave them copies of all of my medical paperwork, including the discharge papers with my restrictions noted. The third statement is only partially true, because although I did inform my former supervisor that I was unable to take a position at the other location, she most likely didn't relay the message to the owners for me. And I did attempt on several occasions to contact the owner, but none of my calls were returned.
So my question is: What are my legal rights in this? As it stands, I am still in pain from my injuries, and according to the doctor I was seeing, Physical Therapy is not going to cure my condition and there was nothing more that he could do for me. So, now I'm stuck with a permanent injury that could possibly become debilitating over time.
I am outraged that my former employers denied my UC claim, as they know that I could have consulted a lawyer at any time while my Worker's Compensation claim was still open. I chose not to do this because I did not want to burn my bridges with the company (I worked there for 8 years), but it seems as if the fire has started on their side of the bridge. I tried to stay cooperative with them through the entire ordeal, but when I refused to commit fraud for them, they obviously became spiteful towards me and decided to give me the shaft.
I still have this letter in my possession, and I'm wondering what, if any, legal repercussions could result for my former company if I were to consult a lawyer about this. The letter was sent out while I was still declared "unable to return to work indefinitely," which the company had full knowledge of. I'm not sure if what I have could actually be considered as the company soliciting me to commit a crime against Worker's Compensation law.
I kept all of the documentation that the doctor I was seeing gave to me, and it all contradicts the letter that my former supervisor sent home to these parents. She told them I was expected to be out for 6-8 weeks, in addition to the part about me coming in to assist this sub. I guess she assumed that I was going to go along with her on this illegal scheme of hers, or possibly was trying to set me up to nullify my WC claim. I really don't know what the intent was, but it seems like a pretty damaging piece of evidence if I decided to throw it back in their faces in court.
I am sorry that this is so lengthy, I just needed to give as many facts as I could in order to find out what my legal rights are. What do you think of this? As I said, thank you in advance to anyone who replies to this with some advice for me.
Thank you,
DEeyore
Hi all, I'm new to this forum and I was hoping that someone out there could help me understand a little bit more about Worker's Compensation claims and laws. Any response would be greatly appreciated, as I am at the end of my wits here, and I'm not sure what to do next!
In February of 2004, I was injured on the job and needed to go out on Worker's Compensation. My employer sent me to an Occupational Health Center for treatment, as at the time, I was not aware of my rights to seek alternative medical care. If it were up to me, I would have gone to the ER, but the owner insisted that I go to this place because this is where they supposedly send all their employees when they have a work related injury.
The first 3 weeks were hell. The doctor kept saying that I had merely "sprained" my back, and gave me some Tylenol 3 for the pain and sent me on my way. When my condition didn't seem to improve at all, he finally broke down and ordered an MRI for me. My MRI results showed that I have 2 herniated discs in my lower back, and one was pressed up against my Sciatic nerve. The results also showed that I have Degenerative Disc Disease. So much for a "sprained" back, huh?
The doctor informed me that he estimated that I would be out of work for a minimum of 4 to 6 months, and I was sent to Physical Therapy appointments 3 days a week and evaluated every 2 weeks to assess my progress. My work status was declared "Out of work indefinitely until further evaluation."
I was working in the field of Childcare at the time, and I was feeling as if I was being pressured by my immediate supervisor to return to work because the parents of the children in my classroom had threatened to withdraw their children in my absence.
I was told that the parents were unhappy with the way my substitute was running the classroom, they felt that she was not "picking up" where I had left off in the curriculum, and that she was too strict in her methods. At this point 3 children had already been withdrawn from the center, and my supervisor was trying to work on a strategy for "damage control."
She suggested that if I asked the doctor to declare my work status as "light duty" that I would be able to return to work for 2 days a week for 3 hours a day so that I could "assist" the substitute and keep the parents happy. Even though I was still in enormous pain, I asked my doctor if this was possible, which he emphatically replied "absolutely not!" He said that if I expected to make any progress, that I would need to continue with Physical Therapy and go from there. He also suggested that I consult a lawyer, which obviously and stupidly, I did not do.
When I informed my supervisor about this, the owners of the company threatened to replace me permanently, but I suppose, after consulting with their lawyers, they realized that they would be violating the "Family Medical Leave Act" and retracted that statement.
This is where it gets sticky. My supervisor approached me privately and asked if I could still come in for those 2 days a week, off the clock and off the books. I knew that if I did this, I would be committing fraud against Worker's Compensation and declined her offer. She was not happy about this, because prior to this, she had already sent the letter home (I was given a copy, as well) to the parents and when they inquired as to where I was, she had to tell them the news that I was not returning to work until the doctor released me to return to work. Even more parents withdrew their kids after finding this out. I felt horrible about it, but in my predicament, there was really little that I could do.
I wound up being out the minimum time he had estimated, 4 months, and I kept my employers apprised of all of my medical information and progress the entire time I was in therapy. I was having a family member drive me to the center to drop off the paperwork from the doctor, as I could barely even walk, let alone drive myself there. I did visit with the kids a few times, but I by no means "worked" or "assisted" my substitute during this time.
I was practically jumping for joy (well, not "jumping", as I really can't do that anymore with my bad back, but you get the idea) when the doctor handed me my discharge papers. I was released with restrictions, which included no lifting more than 10 pounds, no unnecessary bending, twisting, reaching, and no sitting or standing for more than one half hour at a time. When I went back to my job to inform them of this, I was told that my position was no longer available, and there were no other positions available for me at that location.
The center I worked for is a chain with 12 different centers spread across the Pennsylvania and New Jersey areas.
The owner of the company sent me a certified letter in the mail informing me that I was being relocated to a center that is more than 45 minutes driving distance away from where I live. There are several other locations in my area which would not take me any more than 20 minutes to get there. I tried on several occasions to contact the owner to inform her that I would not be able to take a position at that location because of my restrictions, and none of my calls were returned. I tried relaying the message to her through my old supervisor, but she told me that it was "out of her hands" and I would need to resolve this on my own.
At this point, I felt as if the company was not rolling out a "welcome" mat for me, so I decided to find employment elsewhere. I applied for Unemployment Compensation as a fall back, and I still am having trouble finding employment. After waiting over a month to hear any information regarding my UC claim, I received a "Findings of Fact" letter from them, stating that my claim was being denied because I willfully quit due to illness, that I did not inform my employers of my work restrictions and did not respond to the certified letter they had sent me.
The first 2 statements are blatant lies. I did not quit my job, and as I stated earlier, I gave them copies of all of my medical paperwork, including the discharge papers with my restrictions noted. The third statement is only partially true, because although I did inform my former supervisor that I was unable to take a position at the other location, she most likely didn't relay the message to the owners for me. And I did attempt on several occasions to contact the owner, but none of my calls were returned.
So my question is: What are my legal rights in this? As it stands, I am still in pain from my injuries, and according to the doctor I was seeing, Physical Therapy is not going to cure my condition and there was nothing more that he could do for me. So, now I'm stuck with a permanent injury that could possibly become debilitating over time.
I am outraged that my former employers denied my UC claim, as they know that I could have consulted a lawyer at any time while my Worker's Compensation claim was still open. I chose not to do this because I did not want to burn my bridges with the company (I worked there for 8 years), but it seems as if the fire has started on their side of the bridge. I tried to stay cooperative with them through the entire ordeal, but when I refused to commit fraud for them, they obviously became spiteful towards me and decided to give me the shaft.
I still have this letter in my possession, and I'm wondering what, if any, legal repercussions could result for my former company if I were to consult a lawyer about this. The letter was sent out while I was still declared "unable to return to work indefinitely," which the company had full knowledge of. I'm not sure if what I have could actually be considered as the company soliciting me to commit a crime against Worker's Compensation law.
I kept all of the documentation that the doctor I was seeing gave to me, and it all contradicts the letter that my former supervisor sent home to these parents. She told them I was expected to be out for 6-8 weeks, in addition to the part about me coming in to assist this sub. I guess she assumed that I was going to go along with her on this illegal scheme of hers, or possibly was trying to set me up to nullify my WC claim. I really don't know what the intent was, but it seems like a pretty damaging piece of evidence if I decided to throw it back in their faces in court.
I am sorry that this is so lengthy, I just needed to give as many facts as I could in order to find out what my legal rights are. What do you think of this? As I said, thank you in advance to anyone who replies to this with some advice for me.
Thank you,
DEeyore