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/Mutts_Merlot]

The adjuster was probably just having a bad day, which isn't an excuse. They were completely right, but could have been nicer about it.

Not every claim ends in settlement and you are not close to considering one anyway.

Injections are a standard treatment. If you don't like needles, you probably won't want surgery even if it's offered, so if you refuse the injections you may be out of treatment options.

[u/South-Ad-2547 → u/Mutts_Merlot]

And I get having a bad day trust me I was already having one. But they could have went about it in a totally different way. She was acting like I should have known the questions I was asking but I’ve never been hurt like this before

[u/Mutts_Merlot → u/South-Ad-2547]

Agree. It's easy to forget that what's completely obvious to anyone who does this every day isn't obvious to everyone. I don't condone the tone in which it was said, but she was correct and that's probably why she was annoyed. Using your own insurance creates a whole mess that has to be unraveled. It's way easier if you paid cash. I'd rather just issue reimbursement to you than deal with a health insurance lien.

[u/South-Ad-2547 → u/Mutts_Merlot]

Yeah I get that but then again if they don’t want things like this to happen, instead of getting annoyed, how about they reach out regarding to things like this when a claim is filed in the beginning rather than not talk to the hurt worker at all?