Practice Areas

• Workers' Compensation
• Personal Injury
• Social Security Disability

Firm News

• Workers Compensation: North Carolina Industrial Commission shows we beat both AIG and Zurich in proving that this truck driver for a brick company had two separate accidents which both injured his knee, ultimately disabling him....
• Workers' Compensation: North Carolina Industrial Commission says Liberty Mutual must provide yardcare and housecleaning to an injured brickmason....
• Workers' Compensation: North Carolina Industrial Commission rules that a restaurant dishwasher who slipped and fell, and was taken straight to an emergency room has proven that he was injured on the job....
• Workers' Compensation: North Carolina Industrial Commission sanctions against the insurance company for failing to accept a claim when our client, an insulation installer, was in an auto accident....
• Workers' Compensation: North Carolina Industrial Commission: The Vocational Rehabilitation Professional, from Page Rehabilitation, had a "strained interpretation of suitable employment and the duration of her proposed job search raises serious questions as to whether her objective was to benefit plaintiff or defendants."...
• Workers' Compensation: North Carolina Industrial Commission rules against The Hartford Insurance Company and holds that a nurse who was still on her employer's property when she was hit by a car is within the course and scope of her employment and entitled to workers' compensation benefits....
• Workers' Compensation: North Carolina Industrial Commission finds that Diebold and Broadspire MUST pay weekly benefits even after they fired the injured worker from her "light duty" job....
• North Carolina Industrial Commission: OTP Lawyers stepped in to save an injured plumber whose original lawyer couldn't get the job done against Key Risk....
• North Carolina Industrial Commission: Facing down the Argonaut workers' compensation adjuster in a disputed carpal tunnel case...
• North Carolina Industrial Commission: In this case with Kemper Insurance company the NCIC found that the employer, Cintas, "schemed" to fire plaintiff while she was on light duty....

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Library

Workers' Compensation

• Workers' Comp Tips
• My Employer Says They Don't Have Workers Comp Insurance
• Ten Ways to Wreck Your Workers' Compensation Claim, Online Edition
• What is the Present Value of Money and Why Should I Care?
• Five Ways Doctors Can Hurt Your Case

Personal Injury

• How Uninsured Motorist Insurance protects you in a personal injury claim.

Social Security Disability

• Five Social Security Disability Tips
• What on Earth is a Workers' Compensation Offset?
• What People Applying For Disability Need To Know

General

• The Ten Worst Insurance Companies

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Testimonials

"From the initial interview until the check came I was treated like family. I have and will continue to recommend you to friends and family."

"I was impressed with your firm from the beginning... Although I'm sure you are totally busy with cases I always felt as though mine were the only one you were handling. All my calls were promptly returned and I really appreciate that."

"You were right up front about what the workers' compensation adjuster would try to do. I did not know anything about workers' compensation laws. I think your firm did an amazing job for me and my family."

"You were abale to spot the problems immediately and fix them."

"There's no way I could have gotten the same results without your help."

"Your office a very, very profesional office. You have always treated me with great respect, honesty, and integrity."

"You absolutely are the experts in Workers' Compensation law. You never made me feel foolish."

"You know every aspect of workers' comp and used that to my benefit."

"You were very knowledgeable and treated me with utmost respect."

"I never had another worry after hiring you."

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The Dreaded Functional Capacities Evaluation

The Dreaded Functional Capacity Evaluation (FCE)

It can be very frustrating when it seems like no one understands the pain you are in. A lot of our clients complain about this to us. Their boss doesn’t seem to get it, the rehabilitation nurse only talks about how soon they can return to work, and the doctor doesn’t act like he’s listening to what they are saying.

The worst reaction to this scenario is to play up your symptoms in an effort to get the doctor’s attention. Unfortunately many physicians are skeptical of workers compensation claimants already. Thus if you appear to be exaggerating in any way the doctor will assume that you are just trying to stay out of work. Although it is completely unfair the doctor will likely put you in the stereotype that the insurance companies have spent millions of dollars creating.

What you probably don’t realize is that much of the doctor’s physical examination of you is designed specifically to see if you are telling him the truth. Every time he asks you to bend, twist, or tell him if something hurts he is expecting a specific response. He’s trained to know what actions will cause which responses.

If there starts to be a separation between your verbal complaints (called subjective complaints) and what he can physically demonstrate (called objective complaints) he will assume that you are not credible. That means he’ll listen to you even less than you accused him of doing initially.

This becomes an issue in physical therapy when you take the Functional Capacities Evaluation (FCE). The FCE is designed to see what you are physically capable of doing. Your doctor will likely order an FCE before he releases you with permanent restrictions.

Given what is at stake with this it is very tempting for many injured workers to not overdo it any. Unfortunately the FCE is a pretty sophisticated test. Most of today’s FCEs use computerized software to pick apart everything you say and do in an effort to sniff out any inconsistencies. For instance, at the outset of the FCE you will be told to give full effort on all parts of the examination. During the course of the three-hour testing your back, which was injured in a fall at work, begins to really kill you. But the physical therapist wants you to keep squeezing handgrips to determine your grip strength. You’re thinking to yourself “What on earth does this have to do with my back?”

The answer is both nothing and everything. Obviously a back injury shouldn’t affect your grip strength. So it has nothing to do with your back injury. On the other hand if you give inconsistent effort on the handgrip test the computers will flag you as having “symptom magnification.” That’s semi-polite medical terminology for calling you an exaggerator. That probably isn’t at all true, but it doesn’t matter what either you or we think. The FCE report will go to the doctor and to the insurance company before you ever see a copy of it. And stamped all across it will be the claim that you are a symptom magnifier.

In our experience doctors react very negatively to this. It is not unusual for them to just assign very limited restrictions on the assumption that nothing you’ve told them was accurate. Thus in an effort to get someone to listen to you you’ve ended up with just the opposite.

So what are you supposed to do? We recommend that you are honest but through in your description of your symptoms and limitations. Never say that you hurt “all over.” Be specific. Tell your therapist specifically where it hurts. If certain activities cause you discomfort, say so. If they don’t, don’t be afraid to say that they don’t.

It is also important that you put forth a full effort. However, being able to lift something once in a therapist’s office is a lot different than doing it a hundred times a day at work. This is especially the case with commission-type jobs where speed and efficiency are a must. Your doctor should take this into consideration. Of course, it is your responsibility to make sure the doctor is fully aware of your job description (and not just the employer’s version but the real version). If you are concerned that the FCE is not an accurate representation of your capacity to do your old job, let the doctor why you feel that way. Quite often the pain and symptoms don’t flare up fully until hours after the exam. We encourage clients to contact the therapists and let them know if you have an increase in symptoms following the FCE so they can document it in your record.

Usually, the FCE marks the end of your medical treatment. Very soon, the doctor will likely release you and assign permanent restrictions. Your restrictions will place you into one of four categories: heavy, medium, light and sedentary. Depending on your restrictions, you may or may not be able to return to your pre-injury employment. Thus, the permanent restrictions you receive will have a huge impact on the outcome of your claim.

At the end of the day, an FCE is something that shouldn’t be feared, but should be respected. The final result should be an accurate representation of your ability to function on the job, everyday and not just in a controlled setting. The best way to achieve this is through honest and thorough communication with your physical therapists and doctors.