Workers Comp Help
Lightning Strike Injury At Work
I work at a call center using phones and headsets all day. On Sept. 7th there was a bad thunderstorm that came through Morganfield , Ky. The lightning hit a transformer outside our building, I had a loud explosion come through my headset and knocking the headset off my head.
I experienced pain, dizziness, blurred vision, ringing in my ears, it seemed that I blacked out for a few seconds. It seemed like chaos, the fire alarms were going off and the ringing and headaches were getting worse. I was all jittery and confused.
Since the alarms were going off we thought the building was hit by the lightning and was going to leave the building till one of our supervisors came by and told us to sit back down and answer calls , that the alarms went off due to the vibration of the lightning strike. The fire department was dispatched and was surprised that people were still in the building. I then informed the supervisor as to what happened and was told that it would be reported to Human Resources.
I was taken to the hospital and released being told that if the headaches and ringing continued to see my physician. I did go to my doctor who sent me to an E.N.T. who stated that he didn't doubt that the ringing was caused to a loud explosion from the headset. They put me on a tranquilizer and a pain pill for the headaches, this medication made me very groggy and I was in a constant state of confusion, so my doctor put me off work and wanted me to go to a clinic that specializes in problems with the ears.
The doctor made the appointment and the insurance company refused to authorize this because they wanted me to go to their doctor, so I did and was told by their doctor that people around my age start to loose their hearing and that ringing is a common factor of this. My doctor didn't agree with this and kept me off work . During this time I was refused compensation for being off work being told by the insurance adjustor that if he feels it is compensible that he would pay for the time being off work.
The Insurance decided to send me to another E.N.T. and his findings were in favor of me stating that the explosion in my headset was the cause of the ringing and headaches. So the insurance compensated me from Sept. to Dec. They also agreed to send me to this clinic in Jan. to have my ears checked again .This is the same clinic the Drs. wanted me to go to in Nov.
During this whole time they refused to pay for prescriptions that my doctor was prescribing because the adjustor felt that the meds were not fitting for my condition even though 2 different doctors prescribed the same thing. I had to pay for them myself to get relief from the pain in my head. I have been reimbursed for these that I have paid for, but have not been released to go back to work yet . I was notified by the insurance that they made the appointment for the clinic after i had called my corporate office asking who this man is to decide what the treatment should be when 2 separate doctors agreed that I should go.
The adjustor got very nasty with me raising his voice to me because I had asked to see his A.M.A. certificate. Where do the insurance people get off acting like they are the doctors and refusing treatment meds that doctors prescribe. I have since been to the clinic and the doctor that I saw was very sympathetic and did say that he was sorry that nothing can be done except to continue the Xanax and the Ultram. There is not treatment for this and it will either go away or it will continue for the rest of my life. This has taken a toll in my life robbing me of the quiet times for relaxation. I am going back to the Dr. today hopefully to be released back to work which they do not know if there is a position for me due to the fact that I cannot use headsets for the phones.
My main concerns for all this is that during this whole ordeal the Hartford Insurance adjuster does not recognize my physician and has never contacted him on any treatment and the nurse case manager has never been to one of the appointments, especially at the clinic which they asked where the nurse was , they thought it strange that there wasn't one there, also Hartford Insurance made the appointment but refused to send any records from prior exams from any of the Doctors I have seen. Thank God I took what copies I had.
Thanks for letting me tell the tale of the Insurance Gods that control our lives without any medical training to override our Doctors orders.