Work related injury (To LEO)

[Mario520]

To patrol units: How long would you expect to be completely off of work on a worker's comp injury after having ACL Reconstructive surgery before being sent to light duty? Anyone with simular experience, I would love to hear your story.

[Roccobro]

I was off 6 months. Had a meniscus repair at the same time. Old brother had same done, off for 5 months.

Get an attorney. Will make your life 100x better in dealing with the crap part of the "mini-retirement." Just ask some of the older guys around. There is usually one guy or firm that is OUTSTANDING at this specific facet of WC.

Justin

[ckim34]

2 weeks then desk work

[veeklog]

Ten days, then put on light duty for the next four and half months. The good thing about desk duty is that you get to go to your rehab during work hours. Go to as much doctor prescribed rehab as you can, plus do extra therapy on your own that is prescribed by your physical therapist. I was back to full duty in four and half months, which was incredible.

[Hopalong]

I'm not LE, but I have had 8 orthopedic surgeries starting 20 years ago. I'm 58 now, and have been a farrier for 35 years.
The answer to your question is "it depends".
Number one, it depends on how old you are. I healed faster at 38 than I did at 56.
Number two, it depends on what kind of activities you want to return to.
Number three, it depends how hard you work at your physical therapy.
Non physical stuff is easy to return to, physical demanding stuff, longer.
For an example, one of my hand surgeries, the doc says, you'll be back in four months. Well, for the most people he was right, but for forging steel with a hammer and anvil, it was about a year and a half.
Unless you're in your twenties, you won't be chasing anyone down an alley for over a year or more. It was a couple of years for my knee to feel good, had that done in my forties.
As a rule of thumb it will take longer than you, your doctor, or anyone else thinks; you will be frustrated along the way, but you will get there, and be happy that you did.
With all the stuff I have had done to my body, when someone asks me now how I'm doing, I say, "I'm in better shape than two 29 year olds". In spite of my screen name.
Good luck, and thanks for the service you, and your colleagues provide.

[Ron-Solo]

There are too many varables and so much of it depends on the extent of damage to your knee. I was out three weeks on one, 9 months on another, and I've been off since April on this one....

I may not get to go back this time.


And yes, get a good worker's comp attorney. Your POA should be able to refer you to one in your area that has worked with members of your department before.

Best of luck,

Ron

[Roccobro]

I should clarify. Both mine and my Bro's were cadaver replacements. No ACL "fix" or swapping of another tendon from my legs. I heard that makes for a longer (and stronger) heal.

And the comment on chasing the perp till a year+ after= true. It was 2 years to the DAY that my knee didn't hurt EVERY SINGLE DAY. Running? I simply moved that from my life long most favorite exercise in the world to never again status.

Justin

[gorn5150]

I was out for about 8 months after surgery. My agency doesn't have light duty positions so they ended up retiring me out since the Doctor would only release me to light/modified duty.

[homerm14]

I was off 6 months. Had a meniscus repair at the same time. Old brother had same done, off for 5 months.

Get an attorney. Will make your life 100x better in dealing with the crap part of the "mini-retirement." Just ask some of the older guys around. There is usually one guy or firm that is OUTSTANDING at this specific facet of WC.

Justin

Agreed 100%! Get an attorney. Don't screw around with something like this. I learned the hard way the first time.

[Roccobro]

Agreed 100%! Get an attorney. Don't screw around with something like this. I learned the hard way the first time.

And sadly, as Ron can attest, it usually isn't only once in a full career.

Justin

[Mario520]

Thanks to all of you for sharing your stories with me. I totally agree with everyone who recommended an attorney. I do have one after realizing how the worker's comp system works (Horrible experience). The issue that I am having is that after the surgery, the Dr. gave me three months off to recover. I saw the doctor last week and he mentioned that he wants to send me back to light duty next month. At this time, I still have pain on my knee and my condition now is worse than it was before the surgery. I'm sure that will change in the near future. The type of surgery that I had was the patella tendon option, which usually takes longer to heal. In addition to this, I developed a blood clot on my calf from the surgery and I'm on anti-blood thinning medication. I personally think I need a little bit more time off to recover, but it seems that the doctor is trying to make my worker's comp claim adjuster happy by sending me back to work as soon as possible. The place where I had the surgery is a privately owned surgery center, and the 20+ doctors that owe it only accept referred patients. So it's kind of clear now why making my claim adjuster happy will benefit the Dr. in the future. My attorney said she can't help me on this issue. She's there mostly to prevent worker's comp from violating my rights and insuring that they pay for all of my medical bills, ect.. So my question is, should I suck it up and just take the three months, or should I ask the Dr. for more time off and possibly upset him? I was trying to see what the average time an Officer gets off for this type of injury.

[Roccobro]

Ask for time off. Even a desk position at my place had the possibility of physical contact. That eliminated any option until I could run/jump at the minimum.

Justin

[Hopalong]

Ask for more time off. If you have to, go outside your system and get a second opinion, even if you have to pay for it yourself. I guess, check with your attorney, but I don't see how they could deny you that right.
Three months to recover from your surgery is ridiculous. Even a 21 year old pro athlete couldn't recover in that time.
Those doctors take their orders from the insurance company.

[TRICKSTER]

What type of medications are you taking? My department tried to call me back for light duty while I was taking pain killers and muscle relaxants for a back injury. When the Human Resources department found out they went ballistic and sent me home. HR's policy is that employees are not allowed to work if taking medication that can cause physical or mental impairment.

[Ron-Solo]

Make sure your doctor knows that you are still having issues and pain. If you can not work or drive while taking certain pain meds, that is an issue. Make sure any light duty position they put you in complies with all of the doctor's work restrictions.