P&S??? Deposition???

[antiochiangirl]

What is the name of your state? California

OK.. now I'm confused. I've been on TTD since 2/21/01. My orginal injury was to my shoulder and secondary came my upper and lower back. I've had 3 surgeries to my shoulder, countless physical therapy sessions, MRIs to my upper and lower back and shoulder. I've also been seeing two doctors (can they both be considered my treating Doc?). My first doctor (Chiropractor) who orginally treated me for my shoulder and back referred me to an Orthopedic surgeon for my shoulder surgery. I've contined to see my Chiro. (once a week) for my back and neck and have also continued to follow up with my Orthopedic surgeon every 6 weeks for my shoulder injury. Problem is my Orthopedic surgeon placed me on P&S with future medical care, Voc. Rehab. and limitations, however my Chiro. hasn't. How can they rate me if both doctors didn't put me on P&S for all my injuries? To top it off... I've just received a Deposition. What should I expect ? It's been 3 years since i've worked and they are asking me to submit pay stubs and employment history for the last 3 years???

 

[Beth3]

my Orthopedic surgeon placed me on P&S P&S? I'm afraid you've lost me on that one.

 

[antiochiangirl]

Permanent & Stationary. Can he do that? My Chiro. was my Treating Physician. Shouldn't he have some say? This all happened when I moved to another city. I saw my Orthopedic doctor and told him that I moved and will need to see another doctor closer to home. That day, he wrote a P&S report on me and sent it to the Insurance Company. Meanwhile, I continue to see my Treating Doc. and I told him what was going on. Now I have deposition in a month.

 

[Beth3]

Got it. In other States, that's referred to as MMI - maximum medical improvement. You have a complicated WC claim with multiple medical issues. All I can offer are several observations:

1. It is quite commonplace for the treating physicians involved to reach different medical conclusions and make different recommendations. Frankly, many chiro's never want to close a claim - they want to do manipulations forever. At some point in time, the WC carrier will take the best medical advice available and want to compromise and close the claim. Keep in mind that the State also has to approve all this before it's a done deal.

2. It's possible that only PART of your claim is being compromised (i.e. settled.) The WC carrier may only be addressing the shoulder (for example) and other parts of your claim are still open.

All anyone here can do is offer a guess as to what the status of your claim is and what's going on.

 

[antiochiangirl]

All I can do is cross my fingers and hope for the best. I'm nervous about the Deposition. I'm still in pain and apparently the Insurance company wants to close my claim. I just hope I don't get screwed on this. This is all so new to me.

Thanks for the advise.

 

[Arcari]

About your Deposition

Name of State: California
I had my Depo taken about 10 days ago. A Deposition is an informal proceeding in the attorney's office (the other party's attorney) where you're questioned under oath in the presence of a court reporter, this is an opportunity (for YOU) to display your effectiveness as a witness-of your own injury. The Insurance Co does this to make sure your injury is job related. The questions asked are about: your work history and work at time of injury, about your medical history and if you have any prior injuries, also about your current recreational activities ( if you claim injury and pain in your shoulder and play baseball doesn't make any sense), also if you had car accidents or other W.C. claims files in the past, etc. Be brief in your answers & just answer what they ask, DON'T lie, they might check your med history and find out you lied, this can be harmful to your case and can even be a criminal felony. Be detailed in how you got injured, nobody but you knows better the job you did, how you did it, and how it got you injured. They can only guess your job activities, YOU know better than them about your injury at work, this is your chance, good luck. I suggest that you get an attorney ASAP to make sure you receive the benefits and compensation you deserve, Ins. Co. don't give a damn. W.C. attornies get paid when your case is settled.

 

[Arcari]

About your P&S Med Report

From California
Your Primary Treating Doctor is the one who gives the final P&S Report, he sends it to the Ins. Co, your attorney (if you have any) and to you (or you can request it), then it is rated, if you don't agree with the final med report you can request to be sent to a QME or a AME (Qualified Medical Evaluator, or an Agreed Med Evaluator), when the primary treating doc sends the P&S report, expect the Ins Co to stop your TTD payments which is the first thing they do! ASk your PTD if you qualify for Voc Rehab, the Ins Co must sent to you a "description of employee job duties" for U to fill out(this is the first step) there's a $ 16K for Voc Rehab, (for injuries on or before 2004) this 16K is aside from the $ you receive from your settlement, Voc Rehab Counselors usually screw up qualified injured workers placing them in the wrong training class, they're supposed to work with U and help U, not to impose on you a class of THEIR choice, some injured workers prefer to go with the "buy out" - sell your Voc Rehab to the Ins, you get something around $ 7K in addition to the $ for your settlement. Get an attorney b-4 you get screwed up! P.S- make sure your PTD sends you to ALL the specialists you need to see regarding your work injury or your case will be under rated if you have more work related injuries.