W
whammy
Guest
I live and work in Northern Virginia. Less than two weeks ago I was working off-site when I suffered an injury; I was carrying a box of approximately 30 pounds and because of its size could not see the floor in front of me. There was a step-down which I did not see, and jarred my back. I do have a history of back problems; compression fractures in two vertebra, degenerative discs, arthritis in the vertebrae. Since this incident, I have been hobbling about, often on a cane. Co-workers and manager asked what happened; I told the story and also told of my history of back problems. Today, I was working in my usual area which is in a different building than the manager. I received an email from the manager asking me to bring back a stack of 11 posters; each one 20" x 30" on 'gatorboard' and the combined weight of all posters being approximately 20-25 pounds. She said the posters were needed for an event to be be held tomorrow. I tried to figure a way I could carry them comfortably, but could not. I emailed the manager telling her I was unable to carry them because of my back. She responded via email that she would be out the rest of the day and delegated to another employee to find a solution. The other employee is not a manager and had a meeting and other tasks of her own to complete. I spoke verbally with the other employee who said she would give me a call after her meeting and make some arrangement to assist in transporting the posters. When the time arrived for me to leave my worksite and return to the main building, the co-worker had not called so I carried the posters, resulting in additional pain in my back that is more severe than the original. Since the supervisor knew I was already hurt, and did not inquire if I would be able to transport the posters before telling me to, and did not take action when I informed her I could not carry them, am I entitled to workman's compensation? What other options do I have?