Job Injuries Can Lead To Frustration When Dealing With Workers Comp
The other day a patient came in to the clinic to receive treatment for such severe pain that made it difficult for him to walk, work or sleep. He had just been to see yet another Des Moines workers comp attorney, who had told him the possibility of him receiving permanent disability was next to nothing to the chagrin of the patient who was a Des Moines workers comp lawyer himself.
He had slipped on ice on his way to defend a client who had fallen from a pole while fixing electric wires for the DWP. The lawyer was able to crawl to a bench and summon an emt. In the emergency room the doctors iced the injury, gave him some anti-inflammatory medication and sent him home. Over the next few months his pain proceeded to get worse, running throughout his spine and into his legs. His perscripton was increased. Everyday he had to take so much medication that he wasn’t able to work. The doctors hypothesized that he impacted the spine in in a manner that the nerves were being compressed. However, none of this was clearly showing on the X-rays and MRI’s.
It was suggested by a friend that he go to a chiropractor. The chiropractor began adjusting him every week which allowed him more leg mobility and less numbness, but there were still many flashes of intense pain that disabled him. By the time he began receiving Acupuncture, his right leg had withered. He had burning pain shooting through both sides of his spine and legs. He had been unable to work in over a year and was residing with his mother. He was on multiple forms of pain medication and would consume alcohol in order to sleep.
The clinic was able to reduce his pain for short periods of time, and stop the spasms, but they could do nothing to alleviate his fury at a government system that would not assist him unless he was practically bedridden. If he attempted to work from home the courts said that he was able to work, therefore he was ineligible for permanent disability under the personal comp system in place. If his pain receded or he began to show signs of improvement, he was frightened that it would injure his case.
He knew how it all would play out. Though he had worked as an attorney in this field all his life, he had not understood until now the frustration clients were experiencing. He had not fully comprehended how difficult it was to focus on running a case when you were in mental and physical pain. After battling spools of red tape and seeing lawyer after lawyer he finally quit fighting. Two years had passed before he had any substantial relief from symptoms or improvement with his legal battles.
Because he was a committed patient the clinic kept seeing him for free. After letting go of the legal battle, his symptoms improved dramatically. The patient would have weeks without pain. The {burning|stabbing flashes of intense and horrible pain he had finally subsided. He was able to sleep and drink less. He eventually was able to decrease his pain medication to be able to work again. The man became an expert in personal comp law with an ability to communicate and the blessings of fighting as well as surrender.