Endorsement of Endurance Rehab

If anyone has any kind of injury that requires physical therapy, I highly recommend Endurance Rehabilitation.  I was referred to Endurance by one of the Industrial Commission judges who had treated there, and I couldn't be more pleased with the treatment I've received.  Having gone through extensive rehabilitation for a previous knee injury on two occasions, I know that having the right physical therapist can make a huge difference in your outcome following surgery.  You can learn more about Endurance Rehab on their website at http://www.endurancerehab.com/ 

Although I haven't treated there personally, many of my clients have also spoken highly of Strength Training International or S.T.I. Physical Therapy.  I would recommend them as well. 

Chad T. Snow is an attorney with Snow, Carpio, and Weekely. He has offices in Phoenix and Tucson, Arizona who represents those injured on the job.  He can be reached at (602) 532-0700 or (520) 647-9000. 

Doctors Aren't Always Right

I had a doctor testify in a hearing today who I normally respect but who had it all wrong in this case.  At issue was whether or not walking on crutches and placing all of one's weight on their non-injured foot can aggravate an underlying asymptomatic condition in their heel.  This doctor, who shall remain nameless, testified that it is impossible for someone to develop increased pain in the uninjured leg/foot from placing all their weight on it while recovering from surgery. 

I've never wanted to take the stand and testify worse than I did today.  I had surgery on my right knee three weeks ago and have been using crutches and placing all my weight on my left leg.  And guess what?  My left leg hurts worse than the one that had surgery!  It just goes to show that doctors can have their opinions - but they are just that - opinions.  I've had doctors in other cases testify that knee injuries shouldn't result in any restrictions on prolonged sitting.  Bullcrap.  I can only sit comfortably for about 30 minutes until my right leg falls asleep and I need to stand for a few minutes. 

Some other things I've learned to believe my clients more since my injury:

1.  Using crutches for long periods of time hurts your hands, wrists, and shoulders.
2.  It is hard to sleep after an injury like this, which makes you tired all day, and makes it hard to concentrate.
3.  It would be hard to survive if I wasn't able to work and had to wait to litigate my workers compensation claim. 
4.  Doctors make you wait in their waiting rooms much much much longer than lawyers. 

Chad T. Snow is an attorney who practices exclusively workers compensation and Social Security Disability in Phoenix and Tucson, Arizona.  He is the founder of Snow, Carpio, and Weekley, who can be reached at (602) 532-0700 or (520) 647-9000. 

My Work Comp Claim Was Denied - What to Do?

Anyone following this blog will know that I filed my recent knee injury as a workers compensation claim.  Well, just like many of my workers (workmans) comp clients, I received a Notice of Claim Status denying my claim.  Many times a carrier will deny a claim simply because they only have 21 days to accept or deny the claim and they don't have enough information yet to make a decision.  It's always easier for a carrier to accept a denied claim than deny an accepted claim. 

I have filed a request for hearing with the Industrial Commission of Arizona (needs to be done within 90 days of the date of the denial Notice, otherwise, that notice is final).  The hearing should be scheduled to take place about three months from now.  In the meantime, the carrier (SCF in this case) will schedule a deposition with one of their attorneys to ask me questions (under oath) about my injury, medical treatment, job, past medical history and time lost from work. 

I always tell potential clients that any time a claim is denied, requires surgery, or may result in permanent impairment or restrictions, that they should retain an attorney who practices exclusively workers compensation claims in Arizona.  Let's see if I follow my own advice!

Chad Snow is an attorney who practices workers comp in Arizona, with offices in Phoenix and Tucson.  He can be reached at (602) 532-0700, (520) 647-9000, or his website of Snow, Carpio, and Weekley.

Recovering from Knee Surgery

It's 2:45 a.m. the morning after I had knee surgery to repair a torn Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL), medial meniscus and lateral meniscus.  I had the surgery performed by Robert Mileski, M.D.  I've been sending many of my clients to Dr. Mileski over the years and his patients always seem to get very good results.  One of the benefits of seeing thousands of people injured on the job every year is seeing which doctors get the best results, I guess.  A few observations: 

1.  Percocet is awesome.
2.  Surgery is never as bad as you think it's going to be. 
3.  I had the same surgery on my left knee 17 years ago and medical advances in that time are amazing.  In 1994, I stayed in the hospital for 4 days after surgery.  I left the surgicenter within 2 hours this time.  My 94 surgery left about 11 inches of scar on my left leg, I'll have about an inch and a half and three arthroscopy holes this time. 
4.  There is a new medical device made by Maldonado Medical that is a sleeve that goes around the knee and circulates cold water.  It is unbelievably effective at keeping swelling and pain down (sure beats a bag of frozen peas!!!).  If you have surgery, I highly recommend picking one up. 

As I blogged before, I've filed this as a workers compensation claim.  I'm still waiting to hear if it's accepted or denied. I'll keep you posted.  Percocet....is.........kicking...............in..............................................

Snow, Carpio, and Weekley are Arizona workers (workmans) compensation attorneys with offices in Phoenix and Tucson.  He blogs on a variety of Arizona Workers Compensation related topics and can be reached at (602) 532-0700 or (520) 647-9000.