Re Injured

[WIDGET]

What is the name of your state? Texas
My husband works for a large delivery firm while living in Arizona in 1996 he was injured on the job in an accident (Neck Injury) it was workmans comp and has had problems with his neck and shoulders as a result. Degenerative disc (cervical) and has been having problems on and off ever since. He also has arthritis in it to boot.
We moved to Texas with the same company, and have been here 2 years since, he has been hit and involved in on the job accidents twice the most recent Feb of this year which was worksman comp he went in due to neck and shoulder problems to the doctor went back into physical therapy. About a month ago he was lifting boxes at work at one of his pick ups of 135-150 lbs for two weeks and working double hours. The following week he could not move his neck and having problems with muscle spasms. He is back in physical therapy. What I need to know can we open his workmans comp case again. We are having problems with his disability insurance. They doctor has him in physical therapy, drugs again and on light work duty. Cant lift over 20 lbs. He has not been paid for 4 weeks and is having trouble getting paid for the light work duty since it is paid by disability insurance along with his wages. The insurance keeps saying they are not getting info from the doctor and is holding up his claim the doctor has finally sent 23 pages of info yesterday to the case worker including a comprehensive physical therapy test. Please help shouldnt this be workmans comp as it happened years ago and has problems with his neck after each injury since?

 

[OC3902]

What I need to know can we open his workmans comp case again.

What happened to the old case?

Please help shouldnt this be workmans comp as it happened years ago and has problems with his neck after each injury since?

If filing a new workers' compensation case, there may be a statute of limitations problem. http://www.irmi.com/Expert/Articles/2001/Pocius08.aspx

 

[WIDGET]

I dont know if it was ever closed but the most recent case in February of this year was just closed by the doctor on 6/15/04 cant he reopen it? His neck keeps getting injured or will they go back to the original injury workmans comp case?

 

[OC3902]

I dont know if it was ever closed but the most recent case in February of this year was just closed by the doctor on 6/15/04 cant he reopen it? His neck keeps getting injured or will they go back to the original injury workmans comp case?

If your husband had a workers' comp attorney, ask him/her what happened to the case. Was the case settled and closed out or left open for future medical care? If the case settled with a Compromise and Release, that is, closed out, your husband might not be able to re-open it. If the case was settled via a Stipulation leaving open future medical care, it's possible that he may be able to seek medical care, but it might be limited to the scope of the medical reports which existed when he settled. Consult a workers' comp attorney. Note there is also very likely a time limitation to re-open the case, if that's an option for him.

 

[Maze]

Injury

I dont know if it was ever closed but the most recent case in February of this year was just closed by the doctor on 6/15/04 cant he reopen it? His neck keeps getting injured or will they go back to the original injury workmans comp case?

Widget, from your original post, it appears that your husband is aggravating a pre-existing condition but that doesn't mean that everything should go back to the original injury - both the February and most recent injury may be new injuries.

Was the February injury accepted as a new injury? If so, the doctor should have filed a TWCC-69 with the Commission and you should have received a copy from the insurance carrier. If you did not receive a copy, contact the Commission at 1-800-252-7031 and ask if a TWCC-69 is on file for the February 2004 injury. If one is not on file, the claim is technically still open.

You can also speak to an Ombudsman at the Commission and they should be able to answer your questions. (I say should because they have been known to give out incorrect information. )

And, of course, you can always consult with a w/c attorney.