I’d like to be able to say this didn’t happen all the time. But I cannot do that because it does. Here are the basic facts:
- Our client, an animal control officer hurt his back on the job
- The initial treating physician took him out of work
- The Key Risk adjuster picked another doctor
- The new doctor returned him to work on light duty
- The injured worker returned to work on light duty
- The adjuster filed a Form 28T and stopped his checks
- The employer fired him for “lack of organization” which had allegedly been cleared prior to the injury.
Does this happen every time Key Risk or other insurance companies return people to light duty work? No. But it happens a lot. And in most cases, like this one, it takes several months — and sometimes over a year — for the Industrial Commission to turn the checks back on again.
This article was written by Todd P. Oxner
