El Dorado Hills, CA asked in Employment Law and Workers' Compensation for California

Q: In 2003 I received retraining with work restrictions-no more than 2 hours typing per day. How can I lift restriction?

The final exam Doctor noted my age (21 then) and said if I'm doing better in a decade or so I can probably get a judge to lift my work restrictions. My husband is unemployed and we're now on welfare and I need to make a better life for our kids.

My diet changes have stopped all muscle and joint pain. Please help me, I need to be able to type throughout the day to make a livable income but can't find any helpful information.

1 Lawyer Answer
Nancy J. Wallace
Nancy J. Wallace
Answered
  • Workers' Compensation Lawyer
  • Grand Terrace, CA
  • Licensed in California

A: It will cost MONEY because the doctor won't write a report for free.

This report is at least 13 years old... it has been destroyed by the physician's office and the attorneys' offices. it might be in a govt claim folder but it was probably destroyed as well...those don't last much past 10 years unless the judge orders them out of storage...

...which means YOU are the only one in the whole world who knows about your work restriction.

While I cannot counsel you to lie, if you were perhaps to forget a 13-yr=old work restriction and just tell the employer you have no work restrictions, it would be virtually impossible for a would-be employer to locate any evidence there was any work restriction.

In the alternative, you can pay an orthopedic surgeon to visit you, go through the old report and any medical records for the past 13 years, and issue a supplemental report that you have rehabilitated the joint and no longer have any work restrictions. The insurer/employer only pays for medical reports when there is a dispute, it does not appear the insurer would concur there is any medical-legal dispute, so it would be tough for any WCAB judge to order the adjuster to pay for a new supplemental report.

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