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Discussion

Temporary Disability

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Hello all. About 6 weeks ago I dislocated and broke my kneecap among other things and got surgery in the hopes to repair it all. During this time I have been out on short term disability which sucks since it only pays out 60% of my actual pay. My husband and I figured we could put up with it in the short term but after my first surgery we learned the damage was more extensive than they’d realized and a second surgery would have to be performed requiring me to be out to at least June at the earliest. Did I mention STD pay sucks? I am desperately looking for something else (literally any other work I can do in the interim to earn what I’ve been making as an RN. The caveat is I’m not allowed to supplement per my insurance company, so any money I earn would be subtracted from whatever I get from the insurance company which would mean I’d have to earn enough working to at least make up for, if not surpass, my benefits. See my dilemma? Anyone had to go through this and have some advice? 

*If it helps any I can walk right now but it’s with a pretty gnarly limp and I’m not yet able to carry extra weight which is why I can’t just go back to my bedside role

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    • Experts
    1 minute ago, newmom17 said:

    *If it helps any I can walk right now but it’s with a pretty gnarly limp and I’m not yet able to carry extra weight which is why I can’t just go back to my bedside role

    Do they have a light duty role you can fill?

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    • Author
    2 minutes ago, Wuzzie said:

    Do they have a light duty role you can fill?

    Unfortunately I was suppose to start on a new unit (same hospital I’ve been working at) the day I broke my knee and was expected to be in orientation for 8 weeks. The new unit is 100% heavy duty but the manager did say she’d look into seeing if there were any light duty needs in the rest of the hospital for me so ??

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    • Experts

    I hope that works out. Many hospitals do have light duty options because they'd rather pay you to work but you sometimes have to advocate for yourself to get it.

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    'Light duty' is usually avail ONLY for those injured while ON THE JOB. As in you'd be pulling Workman's Comp.

    Nobody really extends 'light duty' otherwise, unless you've a VERY benevolent employer.

    Word of advice - don't screw up your collection of your current benefit status.

    Most importantly, don't JEOPARDIZE your future recovery by trying to return to work TOO EARLY.  Just not worth it. If you unintentionally ZIG when you should have ZAGGED, you'll risk your health & safety, and maybe that of some pt.

    In fact, some facilities might regard you as too high a LIABILITY to allow you to return to work with limitations.

    Sorry! Not too optimistic, am I.

    Wishing you well for your recovery.

     

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    • Experts

    Classic object lesson for having your own LTD. Check to see if your STD policy has a clause that allows you to transition to LTD after a period of time, many do. Good luck!

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    • Experts
    1 hour ago, amoLucia said:

    'Light duty' is usually avail ONLY for those injured while ON THE JOB. As in you'd be pulling Workman's Comp.

    That wasn’t my experience but thank you for pointing this out. 

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    45 minutes ago, Wuzzie said:

    That wasn’t my experience but thank you for pointing this out.

    My hospital also has nurses on light duty for conditions other than work related injuries. And my organization does NOT appear to be overly generous about anything, so I was surprised to read that as well. 

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    I worked multiple facilities where light duty was reserved for on-job injuries only. The facilities were required to provide jobs for those employees.

    I knew of many CNAs doing laundry/activities. Nurses were doing catch-up documentation and auditing/surveying, admission & discharges. Nothing that could result in a furthering of injury. And the worst part was that these jobs were only poss on day shift! Really upset some staff!

    Seriously, this was a quite common occurrence.

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    I got some light duty after a non-work related accident. I was on sick time and FMLA, and it helped stretch out my sick time nicely. I  did chart audits and callbacks. I did it a couple of days a week. It really lifted my spirits too.

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    9 hours ago, amoLucia said:

    ....

    Most importantly, don't JEOPARDIZE your future recovery by trying to return to work TOO EARLY.  Just not worth it. If you unintentionally ZIG when you should have ZAGGED, you'll risk your health & safety, and maybe that of some pt.

     

    I can't like this enough. As a veteran of ruining myself working too early after knee injuries I totally agree.  

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    • Experts
    9 hours ago, amoLucia said:

    Seriously, this was a quite common occurrence.

    I'm not disputing that I'm just saying that it's worth exploring. My experience was entirely different as was another poster's.

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    • Experts
    On 3/23/2021 at 10:26 PM, amoLucia said:

    I worked multiple facilities where light duty was reserved for on-job injuries only. The facilities were required to provide jobs for those employees.

    I knew of many CNAs doing laundry/activities. Nurses were doing catch-up documentation and auditing/surveying, admission & discharges. Nothing that could result in a furthering of injury. And the worst part was that these jobs were only poss on day shift! Really upset some staff!

    Seriously, this was a quite common occurrence.

    This was more than likely due to the terms of the facility’s insurance policy with their work comp carrier (which is, after all, insurance). The carrier’s expenses are less if the employer if somebody injured in the job has some form of light-duty work **paid by the employer** not by the carrier. Light duty paid by the carrier may have a time limit or other conditions as part of the policy terms. There may also be contractual terms with the union that come into play. 
    What the employer does with employees with employees with other temporary disabilities is up the them and is at their own expense, within other regulations and obligations, like union contracts, ADA, and FMLA, for examples. 

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