I feel so depressed and afraid because of back injury, I got hurt at work and I feel so helpless-no,Useless!?

Question

got hurt on the job in aug.2004, in Texas, at a huge corporation. Now I am still hurting, was fired in feb.2005 for not being able to return back to work, and the insurance company is and has been denying all claims for medical therapy and medications--no income, no relief, and my career is over!! i have undergone 5 different surgeries on lower back since incident, and am better, but by no means the energetic and productive young woman I was almost 3 years ago! I am only 28 years old, and I am so scared to do anything that I am feeling afraid of the whole world outside my apartment, even!! I was employee of the Year for the state of Texas(only 2 chosen!! out of over 700,000 employees in this state alone!)and was an established and successful Manager of Sales and retail Store and responsible for all the employees in the store as well as the work itself--which they have ripped from me-I truelly love me-but, I cannot find her...I feel like I have been erased from everything that mattered

Answer 1

Hey Jen, I know it feels like the world is caving in on you but you must try to think positively. You can get help from resource groups for managing pain and anxiety. Check under pain management in the yellow pages of your phone book. Sometimes it takes many years to recover from a back injury and you must consider that you may have it for life. But that does not mean that your life is over. You might want to consider retraining yourself in an occupation that doesn't require physical strength. I don't know what your financial situation is like but you may have to consider hiring a lawyer to get the insurance company to cough up. Do you have any family or friends available to rely on for moral support. At times like this you can't afford to be shy to ask. I know that I probably didn't offer much encouragement, but you must make an extensive effort to pull yourself up. If you want to chat about this you may contact me by im. Good Luck and hang in there! Remember that most things that are bad today will change tomorrow.

Answer 2

You need to stop focusing on your pain and start focusing on what you can do, what is good in your life. The injury was a long time ago but the psychological scars take the longest to recover. Go out and do something to make yourself smile, and remember hurt doesn't always equal harm

Answer 3

Have you checked Texas Dept. of Rehabilitative Services?
www.dars.state.tx.us
I don't live in Texas, but that is what I found when I did a web search.
It is listed as "The primary state agency for Texas for retraining/rehabilitation services for people with disabilities."
I can't say "I know how you feel," because I can't even imagine what you are going through. All I can say is that I, a complete stranger, am rooting for you, and praying for you. Please hang in there, and pull through!

Answer 4

Didn't your employer have workmans comp. insurance? Everyone I've ever known who has gotten injured on the job filed a claim with workman's comp. and got their medical treatment and medications paid for through that. Look into why your company didn't file a claim.

Answer 5

File a worker comp case. if you don't know how, get an attorney who specializes in workers comp. The company/work comp insurance not only has to pay for all your treatment and surgeries, they have to also pay for your disability and pain and suffering. You should also file for state disability, they pay you, while you cannot work.

Answer 6

Have a look at the book "Explain Pain" by David Butler - he is a PT from Austrailia who has written all about how a person's brain processes pain. . .may be helpful for you. (It is not an overly technical read, btw - pretty engaging.)

Good luck.

Answer 7

What part of :"get a personal injury lawyer, the kind that you see advertised on t.v." DON'T you understand??!!