Should I apply for Short Term Disability?

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Snowgirl

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I am a new here and very confused about Workmans Comp. Long story short..
I work as a full time Paramedic for a private ambulance service, my job duties include lifting and moving patients of all different shapes and sizes in any type of conditions. 17 days ago I was dispatched for a gentelman with altered mental status. I found him in a wheelchair, I bent down to pull his legs out from under the wheelchair and felt an instant "pop" in my lower back. There were 6 other people in the room at the time that witnessed this including my partner. Needless to say in my line of work I can't just walk away do to pain. We completed the call, brought the patient to the hospital (yes, I was required to lift this patient into the back of the ambulance) Upon arriving at the hospital with this patient I had a phone call waiting for me from my supervisor, he stated I needed to go to another nursing home and pick up another patient. I immediately informed him I have hurt my back really bad and didn't know if I could do it. He stated I should just go anyway because this patient is just a "little thing" it shouldn't be too bad, then I could come back to the office and we would talk about my back. After bringing that patient into the hospital I was dispatched for a patient not breathing, needless to say I HAD to go on that call, by now I can hardly move, my supervisor responds to this same call and can clearly see I'm in a lot of pain, I inform him I can't do anymore. I go to ER and talk to ER doctor he sends me home. Before leaving I fill out my accident report and give my boss the details of what happened. He asks me if I was lifting the patient at the time, I tell him "NO" because I wasn't, to me lifting ment picking him up off one surface and placing him on my cot, I was PULLING his legs out from under the wheelchair. I go home, take some tylenol as directed by er doc and rest in bed. The next morning I can't move, I go to my family doctor that morning, I am in so much pain, can't move, can't sit and so on. He sends me home with pain pills. I return to him in 3 days with no relief, he sends me to PT. One thing leads to another after 2 weeks I finally get and MRI and they find I have a ruptured disk at L3, and herniated disks at L4, L5 and S!. I have kept in constant contact with my employer, I expressed my concern that I have yet to hear from workmans comp, he tells me to wait it out. On day 17 she finally calls, tells me she doesn't have time to talk but will call me back the next day. She does, she takes my recorded statement asks what I'm sure are all the standard questions. No, I have no previous back injuries, I have never filed a workmans comp claim before, no car accidents, no extracurricular activities other than camping and watching my childrens sporting events. At the end of our conversation she tells me I have been denied workmans comp, because of my orginal statement to my boss that I was not lifting the patient, although they have not even seen any of my medical records or doctor reports. She says it could take up to 4 more weeks until they can review my records and have their doctor determine if it is work related. Now I'm being told by both her and my boss I should file for short term disibility. Is this correct??? My boss even went as far as to say back related injuries are a huge liability. I don't want to be screwed on this. It happened at work and I feel they should take responsibilty for it. I'm not tring to sue anyone, just pay my doctor bills and what ever wages I'm entitiled to. I have many follow-up appointments as well as a Epidural injection scheduled for later today to help relieve some of my pain. They are telling me I have to report these under my medical insurance. Any help would be great.
 
I would consult a workman's comp attorney so you can get your rights protected and to ensure that your case gets the attention it deserves. Per your posting, you didn't indicate that you were wearing a back brace which is something that can play a role in the outcome of your case. You also didn't indicate that you didn't do any lifting of any kind with the other patients you had to attend to after your back popped. A medical professional will determine if there was wearing and tearing going on prior to what caused your back to pop due to the nature of your work. Good Luck!
 
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