So DH broke his knee..... **UPDATE in FIRST POST**

[Broke Down Ranch]

....and I'm hoping for some advice.

He went in Friday for x-rays of his left knee and found out he has BROKEN the bone that holds the thigh ligament in place at the bottom of his knee - the DR congratulated him on breaking an "unbreakable" bone. He works building armored cars, trucks, and vans. The department where he was working when this happened is called "finishing" where he was required to be on his knees 80% of the day. One day when he was climbing out of the truck his knee "popped" but he didn't think anything of it since it was only mildly painful. Well, after that his knee just steadily got worse and worse until now the mildest little bump sends him to the floor in pain.

Now, he knows when it happened but did not file an accident report because he thought his knee joint just popped, you know? The DR has put him on full work restrictions until he has surgery on his knee. But, she won't put it down as work related since there was no accident report and he wasn't sent there from work. We can NOT live without his paycheck so if he is on work restrictions we need workmans comp but how do we get this without the DR calling it work related?

Thanks in advance for any advice you guys can give.....

UPDATE
He went yesterday morning to see the company DR and have more x-rays done. Apparently our DR uses outdaed stuff because the new x-rays showed even more detail. He DID break that bone....SEVERAL YEARS AGO! What was causing the problem is calcium deposits from the old fracture. Being on his knees all the time had aggravated it and caused fluid to build up. So the DR gave him a steroid shot, sent him home with prescription Tylenol and more steroids, and put him on a "no kneeling/crawling" restriction. So this means NO SURGERY!! YAY!!

Anyway, that's what was found out yesterday....

 

[equine chick]

Have your husband go see a workmans's comp doctor. The company where he works should have somebody they send disability claims to. IF not then he needs to see another orthopedist,(for a second opinion) or a phsyiotherapist doc.(one specializing in therapy). These docs are pretty amazing what they can see from xrays and can help you with claims for disability and workmans comp. Most hospitals have one on staff. Now since he "did not injure on the job" it might be difficult to prove this. I'm making an educated guess here being a Rn but I'm sure his job weakened his knee to cause the break. I've never heard of the knee breaking either but with his job it is entirely possible. Does he have any sick time? You might have to apply for disabllty for the time being. Let me know how things go, wish I could help you more but that's all I can think of right now.

 

[love-my-wolves]

Wow, so sorry for his bad luck! I don't know about the worker comp thing, but my DH broke his knee also, and I was wondering if your DH will be getting a different position? If he is on his knees 80% of the time, he will not be able to do that. It has been over 1 1/2 years since my DH's surgery, and he still cannot kneel. At all. Ever. Sometimes he will walk, and it will just "give out" and he will fall. If he bumps it, it's all over, he's in severe pain. He also broke his "unbreakable" bone, and also some fractures on his kneecap. He had pins put in. I hope you get the workers comp, as we didn't have that, my DH fell off his dirt bike, and landed on the knee. It was hard, very hard. And to still have him in pain, off and on, it sucks. Good luck, I hope everything works out for you! Steph

 

[ginasmarans]

No advice here,just a supportive,ouch! My hubby broke his ankle last year and it was not until then that I realized how much I depended on him. Sure made me appreciate him more.

 

[mangled]

Most workman's comp. claims require that all injury reports must be filed within 24 hours of the initial injury. So, if it's been a while, there's really no chance of getting the company to pick it up as workman's comp. Too mant people have tried to rip off their employers by claiming out of work injuries. I'm NOT saying this is what your husband did, I've just had a similar experience, and it was incredibly frustrating.

I'm a nurse by trade, and while lifting a bariatric patient off the floor, I twisted my knee. It didn't really hurt too badly, so I blew it off, figuring it was just a pull. I was off the weekend, took it easy to rest my knee, but when I got back to work Monday and began rounds, pushing the med cart, etc., it really started to hurt. Got all swollen up, I got to the point where I could barely put weight on it. When I went to fill out an incident report, I was categorically denied any claim, because it had been 72 hours since the injury. I ended up having a torn ACL, which required a surgical intervention, and missed 6 weeks of work, unpaid.

If there is NO accident report, and the company will not file one on his behalf, you cannot claim it as workman's comp. I had to file for a leave of absence and we struggled for the six weeks I was off. My husband was a full time student at the time and I was the only income.

I'd have a serious talk with human resources at your husband's company to see if they are willing to let him claim it on their insurance. Good luck.
Em

 

[SpottedCrow]

Youch!!
I did that falling off a stool while cleaning a shell...took a wedge shaped chunk out of the bone...I immediately went to the Dr. so I was able to claim WC...Of course, my knee was the size of a grapefruit when the manager came in and he saw it.

Good luck..I'd go to a WC dr.

 

[equine chick]

You are right mangled. I know if we have a injury in the slightest the nursing supervisor has to file a report by the next day.

 

[Broke Down Ranch]

I have an update. DH called the HR guy and explained what happened. HR guy put him thru to the safety guy. So DH explains it all over again except safety guy asked for more detail then said I'll call you back. A few hours later safety guy calls back and says "be here 7 in the morning so we can fill out the accident report and WC papers then we'll go to the company DR".....

So it looks like his company is going to work with us about this and not be you-know-whats. Here's crossing my fingers everything goes OK....

 

[Rte.66_chicks]

Wow! They might actually be doing the right thing! That is very encouraging!

 

[amystours]

Hoping it works out for you!!!! I know how it can be with one income!