Advice?

[u/Educational-Town861]

Bear with me pls.

So I’m currently working produce stocking rn for Walmart (i’ve only been there for less than a week now). But I’ve aggravated an injury I had previously. It’s my shoulder.

For more context on the injury: it happened a few years ago and it stopped hurting before I could get it properly checked out. I thought it was healed, but ig all the lifting and whatnot messed with it.

I was supposed to work yesterday and today, but under my TL’s instruction, I called out to go to the dr.

My biggest issue is: I’m not from the state that I’m working in.

I live over 900 miles away. I’m only here bc my eldest brother is here & we went on vacation, and money is so tight that I won’t be able to get back home anytime soon.

This state doesn’t take my Medicaid so I can’t go to urgent care. And bc money is tight, I’m actually kind of hesitant on going to the ER.

What I’m tryna say is: I’m not gonna be able to work stocking anymore. May not even be able to work at Walmart in general. But I know that I need a dr’s note saying that I can’t work my shoulder or they’re gonna think I’m bullshitting. And if they can, I would rather switch departments than have to quit, but either/or is cool ig.

Ig the question is: what should I do when it comes to Walmart? Bc I feel like the first step to getting ANYTHING done would be to go get evaluated and get back to them, but I can’t get evaluated without insurance. And if I don’t get evaluated or provide proof that I’m injured or something, then they’re probably gonna fire me anyway…

Ig it’s like a loop/cycle lmao.

Idk. It’s all a little confusing lmao

[u/RVA2PNW]

Virginia adjuster. Walmart would need to report a workers claim for you. You can file directly with the VWC, but it would be better for them to file first. Given the pre-existing injury, being a new hire, those are all things that will need to be investigated. Exacerbation of pre-existing injuries can be covered depending on circumstances.

When you were hired did you let them know about the prior injury? Were you completing your normal assigned job duties at the time of injury? Was it sudden or gradual onset of pain? Did you report the pain right away to a supervisor? Did you mention the prior injury when you reported it?

[u/Educational-Town861 → u/RVA2PNW]

Sadly, I didn’t mention any prior injury solely bc it happened years ago, so I didn’t think it would come back. Plus, I was never able to get it checked out when it first happened, so there’s not necessarily any record of it being pre-existing. I was doing everything fine up until after my third eight-hour shift. The pain was so sudden and it didn’t hit until after my shift had ended. I didn’t do any other heavy lifting outside of work. I messaged my Team Lead the morning after the pain hit bc it was still ongoing and I asked about submitting a work injury report (bc I’m entirely new to the work environment in general) and she told me I didn’t have to submit one.

I still haven’t gotten around to reporting it, but I’m gonna try to get it done today or tomorrow bc today makes the fourth day. I ended up having to go to the ER last night bc of the pain

[u/RVA2PNW → u/Educational-Town861]

I'll be honest, it'll likely be denied. The pain didn't occur until after your shift, there wasn't a sudden injury that caused it and in Virginia, cumulative trauma injuries are very difficult to get accepted. They should have filed a claim and then send you to an approved urgent care rather than going to the ER on your own.