Why It Matters

Case Studies

FIRST CASE STUDY - THE VALUE OF ON-SITE THERAPY

An assembly worker was injured on the job while carrying heavy school bus seats, as an employee of a bus and van assembly company.  He experienced low back pain, causing a very stiff back, and preventing him from performing his job.   The injured worker’s doctor treated him conservatively, but he still complained of severe back pain, and continued to be off work.  His employer was unable to accommodate the employee’s physical restrictions at that time.  His inability to return to work caused a hardship for both the company and the injured worker.  The employer did not believe the injured worker could return to work due to the nature of his injury, nor fill the duties of the other available positions.

Sheakley UniComp’s case manager determined that the injured worker and the employer were each very interested in facilitating his return to work.  The case manager obtained agreement from both the provider of record and the employer to initiate on-site therapy.  This allows the therapy to be specifically designed with the injured worker’s actual job functions, and thereby assists in a more timely progression to full duty work.  The case manager actively coordinated with the Sheakley UniComp Vocational Rehabilitation Team to promptly refer the injured worker to a Job Retention Program which enabled the injured worker to continue working.  After being referred, this injured worker was able to successfully return to work with a different job position at the employer within six weeks.  Off-site therapy in this type of circumstance would normally result in a delay of several months prior to returning to full duty work.

Both the injured worker and his employer have expressed their gratitude for Sheakley UniComp’s proactive intervention, and they now realize the value of on-site therapy to their organization.   The injured worker’s return to work impacted his employer financially, both by savings in lost time wages and by increasing their work productivity.  Today this employer is very focused on safety issues, and is fully committed to using on-site therapy as necessary for any future work-related injuries.

SECOND CASE STUDY - CUSTOM DESIGNED RETURN-TO-WORK PROGRAM

A 54 year old female was injured at work as an employee of a large hotel.  In her duties as housekeeper, she strained her back while lifting a roll away bed.  Initially the injured worker felt as if she could continue with her day’s work, but she continued to have pain.  She was diagnosed with lumbosacral strain on examination by her physician, and at that time she was released to return to work light duty.

Two days later, she returned to the physician and reported that the pain was continuing.  Her doctor ordered physical therapy.  Sheakley UniComp’s case manager immediately contacted the employer, provider, and vendor to coordinated the injured worker’s care by initiating this therapy at the work-site.   On-site physical therapy would allow the injured worker the opportunity to have a program tailored to her specific needs in order to benefit her in progressing her ability to perform her full duty tasks in a more timely manner.

The injured worker was able to return to work light duty, while receiving her physical therapy on site, and continuing to make progress.  At this time, the case manager contacted the provider  requesting that he modify the restrictions for this injured worker to facilitate a full duty return to work.  Her therapy was custom-designed through the collaboration of the case manager to progress this injured worker to her original position as a housekeeper.  Even though the injured worker had returned to work almost immediately at light duty, through the efforts of Sheakley UniComp’s case manager, in coordination with her employer, the injured worker was soon able to perform 95% of her full duty tasks.  The expectation is a full return to work.  The employer recently shared with the case manager that she is very pleased with our involvement on this claim.

THIRD CASE STUDY - AGGRESSIVE CASE MANAGEMENT ELIMINATES ADDITIONAL LOST-TIME

A middle-aged female line worker for a very large manufacturing company sustained an occupational injury from repetitive motion while operating machinery.  Her case manager from Sheakley UniComp contacted the employer to discuss the claim.  The injured worker was to have wrist surgery four days later.  The case manager confirmed this surgery with the employer and discussed the estimated return to work date.  The case manager contacted the provider who informed her that the injured worker would be off work for six weeks.  The case manager phoned the employer to make arrangements for return to work when appropriate, and the employer informed the case manager that the injured worker had just told them she was going to be requesting an additional allowance for carpal tunnel syndrome. The EMG had been misread and she would need an additional surgery. 

The case manager immediately called the provider to discuss possibility of dual surgeries.  Doing both surgeries at once was the most reasonable course of action for the injured worker, as she would be at risk for increased post-op complication in her carpal tunnel with the original procedure due to swelling.  By doing them at the same time it would decrease her surgical risk, decrease her over all recovery time, decrease her time off of work, and expedite her relief from symptoms.  All of these would be extremely beneficial to both the injured worker and employer.    The provider agreed and was able to send in written requests for the additional condition and  surgery. 

After consulting with the employer, the case manager spoke with the BWC in an effort to expedite the process of allowing dual surgeries.  The case manager then had the surgery request addressed immediately.

Due to the combined team effort at Sheakley Unicomp, this injured worker was able to have both surgeries done the same day.  This has saved the employer the expense of two operating room fees, two anesthesia fees, two hospitalization fees and countless other duplicate charges.  The employer was very happy with the outcome of this, as they will be saved from an additional lost time situation.  The injured worker will benefit from having had only one surgery, less scar tissue formation, faster relief from all symptoms and an expedited return to work.

The employer stated that she is impressed with Sheakley UniComp’s very aggressive case management style.

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