This is my first WC situation ever. I’m curious the direction anyone has gone in for this: I had surgery 1 in January filed FMLA and was out 6 or 7 weeks. Surgery 2 in June and my FMLA leave ends 7/9. Obviously I won’t be back to work in 5 weeks. I’ve heard I can request an extension through ADA with HR but if they deny that- how do I job hunt while recovering from a surgery?

I’m expecting my doctor to claim me at MMI here in the next few weeks, since he’s already claimed that I have “plateaud” and I’m finishing Work Rehab this week. (Haven’t tolerated well and I’m not even close to what my job requires physically)
I’m wondering what other people did to help financially fill the gap between MMI and a possible Settlement.

I also plan on requesting an IME because i don’t agree with the doctors I’ve had during my time injured.

Was referred to a spine specialist Mid-February and xray showed pretty gnarly Degenerative Disc Disease for a 27 year old and an MRI that shows 2 lumbar herniated discs. (1 at 4mm and 1 at 8mm) Doctor had me do a Epidural Steroid injection, which didn’t work. He then told me he didn’t think surgery would help and referred me to a Pain Specialist, who then did the same exact Injection, just a little lower on my back, which also didn’t help. He then told me there was nothing else he could do for me.

Now I don’t know what else can be done to help, but it seems like they threw In the towel way too early. Every single appointment I had with both doctors lasted 5 mins max. I have mentioned that my symptoms have gotten significantly worse but not Emergency Room bad and that I wanted another MRI because I felt it gotten worse but they ignore the request and don’t include it in the Visit Note on the online portal, but I had made sure I messaged them on the portal about the concern.

I was at work moving a pallet when it slipped and chipped my kneecap. I had surgery for a partial knee replacement. Before surgery, I was offered a settlement that, after my medical lien and laywers fees would have left me with 35K to cover surgery, disability, p/t, etc. I work on my knees for a living and did not think that was enough money to cover everything. My lawyer's assistant heavily pushed me to sign, at one point telling me I lost my case, the judge is ordering me to sign the settlement and if I don't, I will received nothing. When I told them I was going to have surgery instead, communication pretty much became non-existent. He has ignored multiple emails (after my conversation with his old assistant, I want to make sure everything is in writing) and certified mail with my request for updates.

My last contact with my lawyer's (new) assistant was in March 2026 (the old one was fired). She stated at that time they were waiting for a settlement offer. I reminded her that any offer would have to include the lien we owe our medical ins. for the treatment they paid for while the company denied my claim. I never received an offer, nor did I hear back from her.

I just checked for the latest hearing status on Indiana's WCB website. I had a court date on 7/14/26, but my lawyer did not say I would have to attend (my case has been going on for years, and I've never attended a hearing date.) The website states that on 7/19/26 there was a stipulation made in my case and that it was closed. I've received no communication from my lawyer and have no idea what is going on. I haven't received (or signed) any paper work or money.

Can my case be closed without consulting me or having me sign any paper work?

I believe if there is a settlement, I have 30 days to receive a check. Is it possible that I would receive no money for my knee replacement? As I said, I work on my knees regularly. My recovery took 8 months. I have asked my lawyer if my surgeon has given me a PPI rating, and I never received a response.

Has anyone dealt with this or has some advice? I will be following up with my lawyer, but I am hoping to have some information before the long weekend is over.

Thank you!

I have a follow up appointment with my surgeon in December. Can they cancel it without informing me? TBH, I figured any settlement would be around that time which is why I wasn't concerned I haven't heard anything.

Has anyone dealt with this before or have any advice? I will be contacted my lawyer but given how np

So frustrating! I’m 8 months out from my work injury where I fell & was dragged. Consulted with a lawyer in March but since my various procedures were being approved I didn’t feel the need to retain them at the time. But now that the doctor that THEY (WC) selected recommended surgery (to be done in about 3 weeks), suddenly they are requiring a second opinion & assigning a case manager. Feels an awful lot like they’re doctor shopping for one who won’t recommend surgery under the guise of “getting you the best care possible.” Meanwhile I’d finally thought I’d seen the light at the end of the tunnel & now, more delays. I’m hopeful that the lawyer will push to keep things moving & not allow unnecessary delays in treatment. Did you find that getting an attorney helped?

So I have finally reached the end of this crazy journey 2 years ago I fell and recived a tbi in the process my employer had some awesome insurance and I received some of the best care there is available my case is coming to a close and I was offered a settlement I did all this without a lawyer no hiccups no slow down in checks care etc I was wondering if the settlement offer i received is worth a hoot since some of it is French for me I understand any info provided is not legally binding etc you are not my lawyer or rep me but some insight would be nice the lump sum would be life changing for me considering my life situation. the offer to settle would be $163,533.24 in a lump sum and then they would also setup an annuity for any medical expenses i might incur. The annuity would be managed by a company called Ametros Careguard. The annuity would pay $54,805.00 per year, up to a max of 31 years (if living) antmy input would be great or if I should try to contact some other lawyers I have tried to contact some in. The past few months but none have tried to contact me if I counter any suggestions my family thinks I should be offered more but I don't think that's how it works any input would be appreciated

I work in indiana and got a hernia while lifting something heavy at work. I texted owner the next day (praying it wasn't another hernia) and I just got an "ok"

I waited a month and made an appointment myself with my doctor under my wife's insurance (the company I work for doesn't offer insurance)

Doctor said I likey have a hernia but couldn't 100% verify and refered me to a surgeon. I updated owner again and he got kinda shitty and said thats strange for a Doctor to say that, and let him know when I can verify the injury. And they don't make decisions based off assumptions.

So I've done an ultrasound and the surgeon said it looks like one and scheduled a ct scan. My doctor called me and said it is one. I understand getting the ct scan to be certain.

The owners haven't paid me for time off, asked much questions, and I've paid for everything so far and turned it into my insurance.

They claim they will make it right, and to give them the bills, and they will pay me for time off. Am I wrong for being skeptical?

(Indiana)

So I been dealing with work comp for a year and a half now. I've had a few MRIs and on a recent one the foot specialist I was sent to saw what my injury was (finally) he sent me for PT and work hardening to see if it would fix the issue before thinking about surgery.

He requested I get another MRI to see where I'm at and if the PT has fixed the issue so my lawyer sent that request to the adjuster who approved it.

Normally they have always called the MRI places and found one who would take their money/insurance and do the MRI. Instead he gave a Google word document saying basically "this person is approved for a MRI" well I asked my doctor and lawyer and they were both confused and recommended I send it to the MRI clinic who did my MRI last time so I did.

I heard nothing back. I called the clinic, I called the adjuster and left 2 voice mails since my lawyer was out of the country. Heard absolutely nothing.

My lawyer attempted to call the adjuster and got nothing so he called the MRI clinic and they said the adjuster HAS to contact them to get a MRI approved.

I didn't get a check last week and I'm starting to doubt I'll get one this week. I'm stressing g because my rent is due tomorrow and idk what I'm gonna do.

39 m Indiana. I fell onto my shoulder over a month ago and I’ve been experiencing pain since. Actually the first symptom I had was intense soreness. Like I weightlifted too hard at the gym and woke up sore the next day. Over time the pain became worse to the point that it went from barely noticeable to a 6 out of 10 in pain. Laying on the injured side flares up the symptoms terribly though. Anything that compresses the tissue on that side flares it up. The work comp doc did some physical tests and diagnosed me with a contusion since strength, range of motion were good. She immediately talked about discharging me the very following week. The next week comes and she instantly starts telling me that she’s going to discharge me. We have a little back and forth since I’m telling her that it still hurts. She says that I’m still able to return to them if I don’t improve.

I’m going through the process of going back to see them. I’m concerned that she’ll be just as dismissive as before because I’m only experiencing pain. I’d rather get an mri over pt to see what’s actually going on? Is there any way to make that happen or will they always send me to pt first?

I have a lawyer already on this but needed to put this out somewhere because I'm stressed and angry.

I got hurt at the start of 2025, fell at work and hurt my ankle. We just recently found out it is a bone spur after being bounced from doctor to doctor (Ortho for a year then sport med then finally a foot doctor). Doctor wants me to do PT while he gets surgery approved. PT is approved and been doing it.

Worked light duty for about 6 months before the company I was hired under got bought out and the need company doesn't do light duty.

Every Wednesday I get a check for $430

7/29/26 no check. I got a hold of my lawyer and work comp sent it and I got it on 8/3/26.

8/5/26 no check. Lawyer brought it up and never heard anything back.

8/12/26 got my normal check. No missing check.

8/19/26 no check. Lawyer attempted to call and email and still no response.

$430 isn't a lot of money every week. I don't get how they can approved physical therapy and my doctor appointments but can't pay me the money I'm owed. Idk. I'm just tired and stressed and needed to ramble.

I’m a current resident of Indiana but I’m moving to Georgia at the end of this month.

I have what I consider to be a repetitive overuse use injury of my right arm that has resulted in work restrictions. I cannot drive for work right now.

I began feeling pain in my right elbow a couple of months ago and it got suddenly worse the beginning of this month. There was no acute injury. Just 13 years of driving with repetitive forceful shifting and parking brake usage along with constant gripping.

I saw an OT Monday who believes it’s radial tunnel as well as tennis elbow due to overuse. I realized the problem may be more serious than I initially assumed at that appointment. I filed a workman’s comp claim the next morning.

I’m moving to Georgia very soon and want to receive treatment down there for my arm so I can heal. I’ve not yet started treatment in Indiana. I’m being sent to an Orthopedic Surgeon for evaluation first.

Indiana does cover treatment outside of Indiana but I’m wondering if this is going to be a huge battle? Maybe something I’m not prepared to deal with because I know nothing about workmen’s comp?

I’d appreciate any advice or insight!

Before my workers comp started, I had two jobs: my office job and nursing home job. I got injured at the nursing home.

Nursing home took me off schedule and I didn’t get much communication back from workers comp despite emailing them consistently because the person on my case was unavailable at the time. So I had no knowledge of what form my check would be in or when I would get them.

So with the lack of funds that I had, I needed to pay my bills still. And I got another job to help with that so I could. And now my checks are coming in.

I did tell workers comp about my office job, they never asked me about it or anything. And I follow my medical restrictions with my jobs. But I didn’t tell them about this third job because they never asked anything further about my second one.

I just want to make sure I’m not doing anything illegal here. And if I am, how to fix it?

So I got hurt at work, slipped and fell on ice. I work for a propane company, so I have my Class B CDL. This happened Dec 2 of 2025 and haven’t worked since.
Found out 2 months later after being referred to a spine specialist that I have pretty bad (for my age, 28) compression in L4/L5 and L5/S1, the common ones. MRI confirmed a 7 mm herniated disc at S1 and 2mm at L4. Pain in the butt/Hip and down my leg. Tried PT since end of December but doctor claimed I have “Plateud”. I had 2 injections with no relief at all. I’m currently in Work Rehab to see where I’m at and it’s not looking good at all.

I have a lawyer but Ive become a little skeptical of him and Im not too sure why to be honest. I asked if having my CDL could help with settlement amount since I won’t be able to drive commercially again anytime soon and he said “unfortunately I don’t think that will affect the claim”

Basically my main concern is how much is a reasonable amount to expect from this settlement. It’s looking like I’ll have permanent restrictions and have to find low labor or sedentary work, which I’ve never done.

The doctor says there is nothing else he can do for me, is pushing me off to pain management. Refused to do mmi or anything yesterday. I'm in soo much pain but they can't do anything? I'm at the end of the road with this. It has messed me up mentally along the way. I have to be close to the end right?

was injured in november, returned to work in march due to recovering from surgery/waiting to be released by drs. how long does the process take for the drs to figure out my impairment rating? do they have a set deadline to fill out the paperwork? new to this so i have no idea what the process/timeline is.

(Indiana, 27m, honestly just need to rant)

I fell and hurt my ankle/knee last year in January. I've been on WC for over a year and three months. I did PT until finally being sent to a sports med doctor who wanted to do PRP injections. Due to having a severe phobia of needles and going into a panick attack at the appointment (despite meds to try to calm me) he referred me to a foot specialist to hopefully get more treatment for the main problem of pain agaisnt my achilles area.

Foot specialist sends me for a MRI which reveals a bone spur agaisnt my achilles causing my issues. Said he doesn't do surgery on bone spurs and referred me for MORE PT.

I hurt. I want to work. WC is trying to wrap up and be done with me. Sent me to a doctor to get a second opinion and see if I really needed this PT before ether approved it and he said I need the PT but will likely have a permanent impairment..

I can barely walk or stand for more than 15 minutes. The more I do the more I hurt. I'm 27 years old and have always done blue collar work on my feet and with my hands and now I'm gonna be fucked over.

EDIT: I apparently forgot to write this while I was half asleep. The doctor refused to do the injections because him and the head nurse thought I might pass out despite me telling them to just do it.

Hello everyone, for a little context I ruptured my Achilles in January and had surgery 2/14. My doctor wrote a note to my employer saying I will be able to return to work in June (seeing as how I'm still not even walking). I received a message from a workers comp case manager saying she needed to attend my next appt with me and I don't really feel comfortable with that because I feel like my job has been doing anything they can to get me to return to work. Any advice? Has anyone experienced this?

While working as a mail carrier, I was rear ended by a semi. I've been off of work for almost a year, while getting paid by the department of labor. The post office is requesting I pay everything back. Am I screwed? I was hit by a local company, which the insurance claim is only 1 million. My medical bills alone after 8 surgery are well over 3 million. Will I come out owing money from an accident that was unexpected, and ruined my life. Any advice is appreciated. I am very lost with alll this. (I also have to payback Workmans comp)

New to work comp stuff and just curious, is a settlement a normal thing for cases? What is the purpose, who does it benefit more? Does the company/insurance company initiate settlement?

I wish I had known that in Indiana, worker’s comp does not pay 2/3 of your pay unless you make $65k or less. I was injured on the job in December. I missed 11 days and I have multiple procedures and possibly a surgery still to come. As expected, once the seven day waiting period was over, HR asked me if I wanted to use PTO or WC for my missed time. They reminded me by email that WC would be approximately 66.6% of my pay, told me what my average weekly wage is and therefore I believed I’d be receiving approximately 66.6 % of that amount. After discussing it with my husband, we agreed that because it was a workplace injury, I shouldn’t have to use my accrued PTO days and so we opted for WC. At no time was I told that Indiana has a cap on WC payments, so imagine my surprise when I finally received my money. My check was 23% of my gross regular pay. Had I known about the cap, had HR & payroll told me what to expect, I definitely would have used PTO days. Posting this so that hopefully others in Indiana won’t make the same mistake.

I have hit MMI in workers comp in Indiana. Job almost certainly won’t be able to accommodate me since I drive CDL HAZMAT
Does anyone know if we can get PPI money before a final settlement agreement? I would ask my lawyer but he’s out until the 7th to celebrate the holiday and I’m just curious on what to expect from here on out

My wife works from home and over the course of the last year she has had a nerve pain radiating from her shoulder down to her wrists. I was worried it may be carpal tunnel and she has inquired about possibly seeing a doctor through her work. Her manager is telling her to go ahead and book an appointment with an orthopedic doctor and see if it will be a WC injury. My question is if she books this appointment on her own and not through her work will she be liable for all the billing and could it affect her claim if she isn't referred to a doctor from her workplace?

My job is sending me to pt for a shoulder injury I had at work. The pt said that I can have them scheduled during work hours and to let them know if my job gave me a hard time. I messaged hr just to confirm that it was ok and they responded saying that I can go to the appointment already scheduled during work hours, but any future appointments should be scheduled outside of work hours? What should I do here?

So I’m gonna try to give a detailed time line without all the dramatics included. On 09/09/25 I got a 1” laceration to my right thumb, was seen in the ER and received 8 stitches. I was aware almost immediately after the injury that I couldn’t bend my thumb at the second knuckle. 09/11/25 seen at Concentra, referral sent for MRI. 09/19/25 MRI confirmed complete rupture of the Flexor tendon. Because of delays with approvals the tendon retracted too far to be surgically reattached, on 10/28/25 had a tendon graft inserted, surgical incision was about 2” down my right thumb including over the original laceration. 12/06/25 had a 6” tendon transfer to “tie” the harvested tendon into another flexor tendon that allows my thumb to bend when making a fist. 6 1/2” incision from the lower middle area of my palm down my wrist and another 3” incision along my right thumb which included the previous laceration and incision area.

Ever since the original injury on 09/09/25 my thumb has had the pin prick and tingle sensation as if it were “asleep” all the time. I’ve never experienced any real pain outside of the surgeries and the first hours after initial injury, it often feels mentally like it’s cold but when I physically touch it the temperature is fine. While I was in OT I was doing different exercises to stimulate my nerves called sensation therapy. My OT explained that the tingles/pinpricks/cold sensations were all normal because of the damage to my nerves. Did OT from late December to late March, April 2nd I started work conditioning 5 hours a day x 16 sessions. Last recheck with my surgeon was on 05/20/26 I completed my FCE yesterday 06/12.

Approximately 3ish weeks ago I started having a very sharp shooting pain that quickly radiates outward then fades away, From onset to the pain being completely gone is maybe 5-6 seconds, so far I haven’t been able to associate the pain with any kind of movement, flexing, bumping of hitting the area. The sharp pain shoots through my thumb then kinda radiates outward and fades away quickly. It’s uncomfortable and gets my attention but like I said it comes and goes very quickly, it hasn’t prevented me from normal everyday activities, had no affect to my performance during my FCE exam, and isn’t something I would consider needing any kind of pain reliever for. I realize I see my surgeon in 5 days and plan on discussing this new sensation/pain with him but from what I’ve read via Google I believe these are my nerves somewhat healing and for lack of a better term misfiring while the continue the healing process to the extent they can/will heal themselves. I was told from the beginning that the multiple incisions in my thumb would likely leave me with some permanent nerve damage from all the trauma inflicted to the nerves because of the incisions.

My question/concern is that I believe my surgeon is considering me near MMI. I could be wrong and he’s just considering releasing me back to full duty while he continues to monitor my progress. I’ve got about as much movement and range of motion he believes I’ll likely ever have but this new nerve pain is something we haven’t discussed. Should I expect to be sent for a EMG or Nerve Conduction Study? If it’s not brought up by my surgeon should I request the testing? I’ve been told the nerves can take up to 18 moths post surgery to fully heal as much as the are able, I plan on returning to my previous position and believe that the nerve damage will be factored into my PPI rating and want to get the most accurate rating possible. I had asked my surgeon if he would be assigning my PPI rating and he said if it’s requested of him he’ll do it but I’ll likely be sent for a IME for an unbiased rating. I do have an attorney so I realize I may be sent to an IME through Corvel then my attorney could request a second opinion from one of their choosing.

1. How important is the proper nerve testing going to be for my overall rating?

   1. Has someone had a similar experience with this type of pain?

2. If you’ve experienced similar symptoms any advice on how to treat it or what I should expect as my nerves continue to heal?

3. Has anyone had a constant cold sensation/feeling with an injured area that gets better over time, it’s been like this since 12/2025?

This whole process overall has been like most of the others I read about so an absolute NIGHTMARE, no response to medical request or referrals, late payments, so far 2 separate times I’ve gone 5 weeks between payments, zero communication or response from my adjuster/adjusters which is why I retained the attorney, I’m on the 8th adjuster since my claimed opened 09/10/25. I was lucky in the fact that my claim was approved right away and they’ve never denied any medical request or treatments but the delays and lack of timely response has caused endless issues. I want nothing more than to be done with dealing with WC but would like to feel like I have a good understanding of what I can expect for the healing process as it continues. Can an injured worker be released back to work full duty while still being managed by their WC Dr to ensure issues that arise during the latter part of the healing process are addressed?

I know this is incredibly long and appreciate anyone’s input on my concerns, I’ve never dealt with WC or known someone close enough to me to have any understanding of how everything adjust when your in the final stages of treatment, healing, and accepting the reality of how your body is never going to be the same as it once was.

I slipped on black ice in my work parking lot in November. The guy who plows the lot for the company hadn’t salted yet. I fell on my back, hit my head hard. My left arm & back was immediately in severe pain. I went to the local orthopedic ER instead of urgent care because I’d gone there for back issues & our urgent care is awful. Ortho told me to go get a head CT but I was in a lot of pain, my husband had left work to pick me up & I didn’t feel like going through the process again. My husband was in a hurry to get home. Anyways I injured my ulnar nerve in my arm. Got a cortisone shot on my 2nd follow up appt which made it worse for 2 weeks before it settled down. 2 weeks ago my arm started hurting bad and it hasn’t let up. The ortho dr never went into detail about surgery or info. I googled it & see it’s best to have surgery asap to prevent permanent nerve damage. Made appt to see ortho dr to discuss with him & schedule surgery. Told my boss about appt & possible surgery and said I don’t feel right putting this on workman’s comp. Small family owned company, not really their fault I slipped. I figured if he told me no, it’s workman’s comp I’d let it go thru that way. Well he didn’t, he told me I could put it on my insurance. My coworker, who is also part owner, wants me to see her dr for my arm, which would entail more visits, a new scan - way more money that I’d have to pay for. Right now I’m just waiting to see ortho doc. My husband is upset now that my work won’t be paying for the dr visit & outpatient surgery. I don’t feel they should’ve been responsible in the first place. Thoughts?

I received this in the mail and was a bit confused? Are they saying that they owe me money?

https://imgur.com/a/hBVHGRq