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I'm hoping I can get some advice from those who have experienced a work related injury and had to deal with workers comp insurance companies.
I will try to keep this as short as possible so here goes;
In 2012 I had an on the job injury (torn meniscus) I went to rehab for three weeks and had an MRI which showed a tear. I was one of the lucky few where the tear actually fell back into place causing the pain and most of the swelling to go away. After a few months the orthopedic made his recommendation that I will need future medical, but my injury was considered permanent stationary.
Fast forward to 2014, 2.5 years after the injury and I'm still symptom free for the most part. I have days where my knee is sore, but it comes and goes. I now work for a different agency, but they knew what they were getting when I was hired. I passed the physical exam, but there is documentation of the preexisting injury.
I received some paper work recently from the workers comp insurance person assigned to my case. This person explained that due to the time that has passed since my injury and the fact that I have not needed any further medical treatment, they want to close my case with future medical in the event i need to have surgery as indicated by the orthopedic. I asked what would happen if I refused to sign the paperwork to close the case and was told by the insurance person that by law the case has to be settled/closed. Since the case is still open if I were to need surgery tomorrow the medical expenses would be paid and I would receive 4850 pay, if the case is closed by the time i need surgery the medical will be covered however I would have to use my own time and would not get 4850 pay. To me its a no brainier to leave it open and not sign anything.
In my opinion they tried to pull a fast one by sending the paperwork requesting I sign and return it, because when I talked to them in person and said I didn't feel comfortable signing they asked If I would be interested in a settlement to close the case to which I said no.
So my question is does anybody know if there is a law that states the case has to be closed by a certain date? I tried calling the workers compensation appeal board, but they have not called me back yet. Also, would my current agency be responsible for doing anything if it involves an injury from my previous agency? Any advice would be much appreciated, sorry for the long post.
I will try to keep this as short as possible so here goes;
In 2012 I had an on the job injury (torn meniscus) I went to rehab for three weeks and had an MRI which showed a tear. I was one of the lucky few where the tear actually fell back into place causing the pain and most of the swelling to go away. After a few months the orthopedic made his recommendation that I will need future medical, but my injury was considered permanent stationary.
Fast forward to 2014, 2.5 years after the injury and I'm still symptom free for the most part. I have days where my knee is sore, but it comes and goes. I now work for a different agency, but they knew what they were getting when I was hired. I passed the physical exam, but there is documentation of the preexisting injury.
I received some paper work recently from the workers comp insurance person assigned to my case. This person explained that due to the time that has passed since my injury and the fact that I have not needed any further medical treatment, they want to close my case with future medical in the event i need to have surgery as indicated by the orthopedic. I asked what would happen if I refused to sign the paperwork to close the case and was told by the insurance person that by law the case has to be settled/closed. Since the case is still open if I were to need surgery tomorrow the medical expenses would be paid and I would receive 4850 pay, if the case is closed by the time i need surgery the medical will be covered however I would have to use my own time and would not get 4850 pay. To me its a no brainier to leave it open and not sign anything.
In my opinion they tried to pull a fast one by sending the paperwork requesting I sign and return it, because when I talked to them in person and said I didn't feel comfortable signing they asked If I would be interested in a settlement to close the case to which I said no.
So my question is does anybody know if there is a law that states the case has to be closed by a certain date? I tried calling the workers compensation appeal board, but they have not called me back yet. Also, would my current agency be responsible for doing anything if it involves an injury from my previous agency? Any advice would be much appreciated, sorry for the long post.
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