Injured Nurses on Compensation

[2kewl]

Hi I am new here and am curious to know if any other nurses have had a work related injury which has caused them a permanent impairment. I have been on Worker's Comp for 3 years and have been harassed by the compensation board, lmr providers to no end. It really sickens me to think because we are healthcare providers and high wage earners that we have to take this type of abuse. I am sure that I am not the only person who has been denied appropriate accomodation by an employer and been forced to have to look for new career options. If you are out there and suffering from the paper trail that seems to lead to nowhere except frustration, I would love to hear from you.

Linda

[Fiona59]

Nurse Ogden:

Where in Canada do you work? Your union and your Occupational Health Office should be doing the groundwork for you!

[dishes, BSN, RN]

Fiona

Seniority is not recognized between organizations in Ontario the way it is in Alberta, we have one union with different locals for each organization. Injured nurses are not accommodated outside of their local. If you are injured working in long term care, rehab, or acute care, you will only be accommodated where your employer has position openings. Employers are not obligated to create new positions. Public health employers have separate locals so nurses outside of these locals are not accommodated into these positions. Nurses with back injuries, often feel let down by their employer, it takes months or years before they find work again.

dishes

[injured-nurse-sue]

I have been injured since 2007 had discectomy in 2008 which was unsucessful. I suffer from sciatica from my buttock to right foot. It is so frustrating waiting for insurance companies to approve anything. The last frustrating thing that happened was that they approved a IME by a neurosurgeon who recommended a procedure. I went and it came back abnormal. The understanding was that the procedure would determine which way to go. The IME doctor does not want the results. I have to wait to get approval to see him so that I can find out what his recommendation is. Waiting...

[deehaverrn]

janfrn...what are CPers? not familiar with that one, also as far as the people going to neonatal instead..do they have a choice? just asking because when i was on light duty, some of my coworkers were outright rude and nasty to me over my restrictions, while i had no control over where i was assigned on our unit..admittedly many of them didn't want me around because granted, i couldn't lift, but even hurt, i was better than many of them, and i needed my paycheck so the alternative of just quitting my job wasn't an option--now that my injury got worse and i don't work some express concern..but it is some of the ones who were the nastiest--even trying to get me to do things that i wasn't properly trained for back then..plus since i often could only work part of the shift due to restrictions in work hours, they would get mad at me for the employer not covering the rest of my shift, and of course the boss encouraged that practice

and sue...i thought an IME was an independent medical exam..which is actually where a doctor who is not your regular provider but IS paid for and employed By the insurance carrier does an exam for the express purpose of the insurance company then using the findings to file a petition to terminate, suspend or otherwise decrease your compensation..they were hoping the findings would support their side..if you want something done..go to your own doctor and ask for the procedure or for a recommendation of someone who can do it..choose a neurosurgeon of your own not the one employed by your insurance company that is a conflict of interest, and he is making a lot more money doing their bidding than looking out for your interests, in most cases the IME doc wiill and should explain to you that he is NOT your doc and will not be providing treatment for you, also, always get your own docs opinion of anything they recommend..their aim is to decrease the insurance company's cost bottom line

[NotReady4PrimeTime, RN]

"CPers" is shorthand for children with cerebral palsy... actually any severe neurodevelopmental disorder. Many times they receive all of their nutrition via feeding tube and have extremely low activity levels, so they get really heavy and aren't able to assist with repositioning. (And before anybody goes off on it being disresepctful... my own son is a CPer, but he's not grossly obese.)

Where I work there is no barrier to the nurses with permanent weight restrictions going to work in neonatal ICU. There are always vacancies in both our NICU and our PICU. The difference is that in NICU there will never be a 78kg eleven year old with sepsis who needs to be turned q2h. The duty to accommodate dictates that the employer must provide employment for injured workers, but nowhere does it stipulate that it has to be on a unit of the worker's choice.