Your doctor releases you to light duty work. You must go back to your employer where you were injured and see if they have light duty work available for you. If your employer does not have light duty work, you must look for light duty work within your work restrictions in good faith. Look for 3-4 jobs per month and keep a record of them. Most employers will not hire you, but the law requires you to look for work. Remember to ask your doctor each time what your work restrictions are, if any.
When you are seeing a doctor, don’t exaggerate your symptoms. For example, never say your pain is 10 out of 10, or that you never get out of bed. If you over-exaggerate your symptoms, the doctor is not likely to believe you. It is o.k. to say that you have good days and bad days, and that sometimes you are able to do more things than other times. This includes filling out questionnaires in doctors’ offices. Never indicate that your symptoms affect you to the most severe level possible. If they move you, pull you, touch you and it doesn’t hurt do not say it hurts, if it hurts then say it hurts. There is no need to exaggerate your symptoms. Simply be honest.
Be aware that occasionally insurance companies do surveillance of injured workers. You do not need to become paranoid and think that you are always being followed; just do not act one way in the doctor’s office and another way in public. If you tell the doctor you cannot do certain activities and you are caught doing them on surveillance, a judge will probably not believe you. Remember your work restrictions, if you do not know your work restrictions you will not know what you can or cannot do. Knowing your work restrictions is essential to your case.
Keep our office informed. If you move, tell us. If your phone is disconnected, let us know how we can get a hold of you. If AHCCS or your private healthcare insurance will pay for your surgery because the workers’ compensation carrier is failing to authorize, under Arizona law we must provide the insurance carrier adequate notice in writing of your upcoming surgery for them to be possibly liable for it in the future. Do not have a surgery without telling us first. If you see a new doctor or are treating with another doctor please tell us. We must be aware of all the doctors that are treating you. We can represent you best when we know everything about your case.
Your attorney is always willing to meet with you to discuss your case. However, just like with your doctor, you need to make an appointment first. We are usually busy throughout the day going to court, depositions, and meeting other clients. Make sure you let our staff know the purpose of your appointment so the attorney knows what your meeting will be about.
Be careful what information you put on public social media sites. Insurance carriers have become very skilled at getting negative information about injured workers from social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, or MySpace. Be aware that information you put on public social media sites can be used against you in court even if your profile is set to private.
You can reach any of our staff anytime at their e-mail address, which is (the person’s first name) @snowcarpio.com. For example, Mr. Snow’s e-mail is chad@snowcarpio.com, Mr. Carpio’s is alex@snowcarpio.com – the same for everyone in the firm. This is often the best way to get a hold of us and get a quick response. You can also see all of our services at Snow, Carpio, and Weekley. However, if it is something complicated or you do not have access to email please call us to set up an appointment.