December 9th, 2003, while attending a Christmas Concert with her clients, Tammy was injured by one of them. He twisted her wrist backwards and sideways. She made a report when she got back to the house where she worked. They sent her to the DR the next day. The DR told her it was strained and she could return to work on light duty. Her employer told her that there was no light duty and she would have to be off work until released by the DR. KEMI, the companies workers compensation provider paid her from day one because her employer refused to allow her to work.
Subsequent DR visits and Physical Therapy did nothing to improve the situation with the wrist. Eventually, the DR decided that the solution was surgery. He explained that there was a 5% chance that there might be some nerve damage. He operated to fix the cause of the pain, and, you guessed it, caused nerve damage.
More DR visits and a cancellation of any physical therapy (it caused more pain) brought us close to September 2004. At this pint the DR did an MMI (Maximum Medical Improvement) evaluation. The Physical Therapist put her disability in the right wrist at 80%. The DR put her total body impairment at 12%. This strikes me as odd. Tammy has a degree in Computer Science and a degree in Business Administration. Both of those require a right hand. She was, while in Florida, a licensed Cosmetologist. This also requires a right hand.
Either way, at this point KEMI discontinued weekly benefits, saying they would be offering a settlement soon. Weeks go by. No settlement offer. It has now been 3 months. They have sent her for an IME (independent medical evaluation) in Louisville to one of their litigation DR's. He says there is nothing wrong with her wrist. They sent that report to the DR that has been seeing her here in Lexington and he decides that the DR in Louisville is correct. He says that the problem is elsewhere. He suggests that she need counseling.
Tammy is in pain on some level every day. On a scale of 1 to 10, she has been at 8 for the last couple days. Most days it is about 5. She can't hold her coffee cup without shaking. She is right handed. The decision on a lawyer (which one to hire) will come this week. Tammy explained to KEMI that she didn't ask to be hurt. She didn't go to work to be hurt. She didn't ask to be in pain. They are an insurance provider. It is their job to make it right, not to duck and run and try to get out of paying.
Will keep ya informed.
Subsequent DR visits and Physical Therapy did nothing to improve the situation with the wrist. Eventually, the DR decided that the solution was surgery. He explained that there was a 5% chance that there might be some nerve damage. He operated to fix the cause of the pain, and, you guessed it, caused nerve damage.
More DR visits and a cancellation of any physical therapy (it caused more pain) brought us close to September 2004. At this pint the DR did an MMI (Maximum Medical Improvement) evaluation. The Physical Therapist put her disability in the right wrist at 80%. The DR put her total body impairment at 12%. This strikes me as odd. Tammy has a degree in Computer Science and a degree in Business Administration. Both of those require a right hand. She was, while in Florida, a licensed Cosmetologist. This also requires a right hand.
Either way, at this point KEMI discontinued weekly benefits, saying they would be offering a settlement soon. Weeks go by. No settlement offer. It has now been 3 months. They have sent her for an IME (independent medical evaluation) in Louisville to one of their litigation DR's. He says there is nothing wrong with her wrist. They sent that report to the DR that has been seeing her here in Lexington and he decides that the DR in Louisville is correct. He says that the problem is elsewhere. He suggests that she need counseling.
Tammy is in pain on some level every day. On a scale of 1 to 10, she has been at 8 for the last couple days. Most days it is about 5. She can't hold her coffee cup without shaking. She is right handed. The decision on a lawyer (which one to hire) will come this week. Tammy explained to KEMI that she didn't ask to be hurt. She didn't go to work to be hurt. She didn't ask to be in pain. They are an insurance provider. It is their job to make it right, not to duck and run and try to get out of paying.
Will keep ya informed.
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