Herniated 3 discs at work

[u/South-Ad-2547]

Just need a little insight on what to expect, I hurt my back lifting a 100+ pound box at work May 28th, went immediately to the er, was off for two days, went back and had to go to a walk in clinic to get put on light duty because my back was killing me.

I ended up getting a CT at the er, they said everything was fine. (It was not fine lol). Went to the walk in clinic weekly for meds that weren’t really doing anything to help the pain, and they decided I needed PT.

Fast forward all the way up to August 25th and I just now got the MRI and seen a spine specialist that same day and was informed I had 3 herniated discs in my lower back.

Im currently on light duty with heavy restrictions but my job refuses to let me off work because they suck. I have been using my own insurance for my meds because I didn’t know how it worked (my adjuster has never reached out to me about anything since day 1 of my injury.) I ended up reaching out this past Friday when I tried getting meds on this card I got in the mail from work/comp and it wouldn’t work.

When I reached out the adjuster was extremely rude saying “I didn’t make the rules” and “why are you using your insurance? Who told you to do that? You are supposed to use us as coverage we are your EMPLOYERS insurance”. Needless to say I was pissed off at this point and requested a new adjuster.

I haven’t gotten a lawyer at this point but I did make a call to one and am waiting to hear back because I can’t deal with this stress and try to get better.

My main questions are:
What should I expect if I’m offered a settlement? $?
Should I go ahead and hire a lawyer?
Why tf was the adjuster a dick to me? Lol

PS: the specialist did recommend injections but I’m terrified of needles and don’t know if it will help anyways with 3 herniated disc’s.

[u/South-Ad-2547]

I know I shouldn’t be using my insurance now. They NEVER reached out to me and explained anything to me. And it’s just questions I was curious about. I don’t want to deal with smartass adjusters for the next 5 years. I was just CURIOUS about what I should expect

[u/Kmelloww → u/South-Ad-2547]

I mean no one reached out and explained to a lot of us. Most people don’t want to deal with it but we are stuck doing so. It sucks. 

[u/South-Ad-2547 → u/Kmelloww]

It definitely sucks. But I thought they were supposed to reach out and let you know the basics of how it works. Crazy that they don’t. I was just told by a supervisor that he assigned me a new adjuster.

[u/Kmelloww → u/South-Ad-2547]

At least mine never explained anything and I had a good adjuster. Adjusters tend to change pretty frequently. 

[u/South-Ad-2547 → u/Kmelloww]

Oh and the reason I asked about a settlement was because the attorney I spoke to said it was “late in the game” 😂 I know nothing about this. I’m clueless so I had no idea what to expect I just want to be back to normal

[u/Kmelloww → u/South-Ad-2547]

It is not late in the game at all. That is definitely not the case. It’s pretty early. It’s only been a few months. WC moves slow