snowed I asked my NALC president about Grievances nationwide that have been very successful for NRP/NWA issues,he was not able to tell me any that have been found in our favor. What branch of NALC are you with. Thank You cookjcranch@aol.com

yawnee55 /m6030 - My source tells me...

The reason for the postponement of the surgery is a medical issue. The physician has determined that surgery is not appropriate at this time due to the diagnosed condition.

The physician will have to provide a narrative medical report indicating why the surgery has been rescheduled for 01/07/2010. Please secure the statement and forward to your examiner/field nurse if one is assigned. That statement should be acceptable to OWCP.

Thanks Rick. I have a torn achilles tendon. My surgery was actually scheduled for today but last week I was diagnosed with Diverticulitis and I could not be cleared for surgery until I underwent 10 days of antibiotics to kill the infection. Now my surgery has been rescheduled but because my surgeon is so busy and is taking time off in December the first available date is January 7. Hope OWCP doesn't have a problem with that.

Thanks, I'll fax request today!

John828 /m6027 - Yes, You are entitled to a copy of any and all questions/inquiries posed to any SECOP (second opinion physician) or referee physician that DOL/OWCP may send you to.

Write your claims examiner and tell her/him to send you a copy of the SOAF, questions posed to the physician, and any other correspondence furnished to the physician for his/her review before or during your exam.

You may also ask for a copy of your OWCP file. OWCP will tell you that you are allowed one copy of your file. What this means is that after they send you a copy of your file any future requests will need to state ALL DOCUMENTS contained in your file subsequent to your prior copy request.

If you ask for the documents in time and if your CE responds fast enough you may get these things BEFORE the exam.

Am I entitled to a copy of all materials presented by DOL,to a physician for an 'impartial evaluation',ahead of attending required appt.? (I.E. List of soaf,list of questions,copy of all materials presented,...)

yawnee55 /m6017 - My source tells me...

The field nurse will not make you go to any other physician. Only DOL (OWCP) has the authority to schedule a second opinion examination. Having said that, the nature of the surgery will determine the next cause of action. For example, knee or shoulder arthroscopy does not require additional medical development.

It is likely that your surgery has been authorized via your attending physician. The authorization is a pre-requisite to assigning the field nurse and placement to the periodic roll payment.

Edited by author 11-21-2009 03:52 PM
JCranch-
As Rick stated, NO you do not have to allow her in during exam with doctor. You could allow her to come in after the exam. Some have had no problems with their nurse.

Edited by author 11-21-2009 02:05 PM
I have had a nurse show up at a doctor.s appointment. I asked her to to wait outside and she did.
she also came to my home after my surgery to see how I was doing and asked if I needed anything to help with my recovery. After that I never saw another nurse.

JCranch /m6022 - As far as I know - No, you do not. Additionally, if the nurse come into the exam room your physician can ask them to leave the room. I HAVE had my physician do that before.

Snowed
My lawyer said that I do have to allow the nurse into my room with me and the Dr. I do not believe in this because I am shy and unable to discuss my case pain depression while she is there. Do I have to allow the nurse in the room with Dr. and Me?

postaljoe-
I did not have personal experience but READing thru case decisions gave me some insight. Whatever your issue, you need EVIDENCE to back it up. Yes I believe ECAB makes decisions clearer.

Has anyone ever had a claim/case go before ECAB? Please, if you have will you share your experience...how long did it take - what was it like - do you believe you were treated (sorta) fairly - did it seem that ECABs review of your claim was more thorough and made more sense than your CE's and OWCP's. Or anything else you can share about your ECAB experience.

I sure hope I don't have too many problems. It is my intention to recover from my surgery and then return to my route full time. I'm just a little worried about the transition from surgery to light duty and light duty to full duty given the current state of light duty in the Postal Service. I don't want to lose my job, I just want to recover and get back to work. I only have 3 years till retirement. Am learning a lot from this forum. Thanks to everyone who contributes.

yawnee55 /m6013 - In answer to your question my source says...

Once a claim is accepted and placed on periodic roll payment, the claim is assigned to a field nurse. The primary goal is to facilitate recovery and return to some type of employment capacity. It could be light duty to full duty position based on the medical evidence provided by the physician.

The field nurse is under the jurisdiction of the DOL(OWCP). This is a normal routine.

So they can make me go to one or several of their doctors with this nurse even though my surgery is already sceduled with my chosen doctor?