Been Sitting For Two Months, Is It Time To Move On?

so about two and a half months ago, I was getting out of my truck and rolled my ankle, moments after I blacked out from lack of food as well as an overwhelming amount of pain. I decided to do the right thing and tell my company that I had suffered an injury. they got me to see a doctor at the local hospital and everything checked out alright. few days later they got me back to their home terminal yard to see some of their own doctors.

for the next month or so they have been sending me to all sorts of doctors to get all sorts of different texts, roughly saw been 80 and 90 different doctors during that time. pretty much every single one of them either referred me to another doctor for an evaluation or to another doctor to get some sort of test, whether it was an mri, ct, eeg, ekg whatever it all was.

after all that the company I'm with changed my status with them from being on a work injury hold to a personal injury hold and had me sit around a hotel near their terminal for another week or so. they were nice to enough to put me up in a hotel on their dime while I was staying until my status was changed. after a few days of paying for the hotel myself I wasn't going to be able to afford to stay there any longer.

since I'm new to this company they would allow you to go home between training phases, since I had not gone home yet to this point I asked if I could now go home for a few days while this gets figured out.

so I've been home for about three weeks now, continuously calling doctors and company representatives nearly every day trying to figure out what's going. I've called hundreds of times, very rarely ever getting through to somebody, almost always have gone to voicemail, I'd leave messages but never get any calls returned from them. so its getting to the point where I've had no substantial evidence that I shouldn't be driving and nobody will tell me exactly why I'm not driving

so I guess my question is, should I just continue to wait or try looking for another company to drive for or what? any input is appreciated

Welcome aboard Jason!

Wow, that's a tough one. I would at least start putting feelers out there and get some conversations going with other companies just in case you can't get this company to get you back in a truck pretty quickly. If you can get an offer from another company I would approach your current company and basically tell them something to the effect of:

"Listen, I really need to get back to work. I've been trying and trying to get you guys to bring me back and get things rolling again but it's been weeks and nothing has been done. I have another company that's interested in bringing me onboard but I'd rather stay with you guys. If you can get me rolling again quickly I'm ready to go. If not, I'll have no choice but to go with the other company because I simply can't afford to be out of work any longer."

That kind of stuff tends to work pretty well. The office personnel at trucking companies tend to be swamped with work and they'll put something on the back burner as long as you'll let them. Once their backs are against the wall they'll usually get moving on something.

Just be very kind and pleasant, but firm. Do not raise your voice. Do not threaten anyone or place blame. Just keep it super simple and super friendly - "Please bring me back quickly or I'll have no choice but to move on to another company."

That's how I would handle it.

Thanks Brett, all sounds like great ideas!

thank you also for a great website, it was here that helped me figure out which companies to consider, awesome job on an awesome website!

Nothing else to add really. I would just like to wish you luck in this ordeal. Its very unfortunate and I hope you get back to trucking soon! Keep us updated on this.

Jason,

You need to cover your tracks on this one. Here is what I would do.

1. Call your Dispatcher or Terminal manager for the last time. Record the date and time you call and any summary of what is said. 2. If you don't get through call Personnel. Same as above concerning records. 3. If you do not get through to them call Human Resource. Same thing again with records. 4. If no contact then go their website if they have one and use the 'contact us' button if they have one. Give a full account of what has taken place. You need to create a paper trail to cover yourself. Tell them that you are giving "NOTICE OF INTENT TO WITHDRAW FROM EMPLOYMENT" with the company in (TWO WEEKS) state the date, if this issue is not resolved before the specified date. Print a copy of that email before you send it.

All this will serve as your proof to any future companies that you tried to resolve the issue. Giving a notice is very important. I know you are frustrated but you have to hang in there just a few more days. Begin looking for other work. Be honest and up front with them about the situation. Offer your proof and records of your trying to resolve the issue as well. Your impression on a future company is equally important.

Also, I would ask in my letter for all medical records concerning this issue. You have a legal right to them. If they are denied let me know and I will advise you on the process of filing a FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT. It is very simple and works every time.

Cover your basis. It hurts me deeply that they are doing this to you, but I am afraid that they are wanting to you to quit which absolve them of any legal holdings. They could say anything they wanted to if you just quit without a notice and proper documentation.

VERY IMPORTANT! You have done nothing wrong. This was a work related accident. You did right in notifying them. Good Job! But they see you now as a liability and they are doing what most companies would do in this situation. It is a old insurance/compliance protocol to cover their own butts.

Keep us informed of what has happened. I will subscribe to this post so I know what is going on. Good luck. If you have further questions or just want advice please let us know.

God Bless.

The easiest way to get your medical records, is have your personal doctor contact your employer and request them....they CANNOT deny medical professionals the medical records of their patients..period. But I"m like Tracey...sometin' dont smell right....I'd have me a paper trail that will show exactly what transpired... Good Luck...and keep us updated... And if you don't have a problem with it, I'd love for you to pm me the name of the company..I have a sneaky suspicion its the same one who did the same thing to my brother some years ago....just curious..

Got a call from the company today and they want me to come down to the yard to as they put it ''sign some release forms'' took me about 45 minutes to explain to them that I'm some 1600 miles away from the yard now. spoke with several representatives that insisted if I spent less time arguing with them over how long it'd take I could have already been down there by now.

I'm getting a little more concerned that they think I'd spend that much time or money to just sign a few papers that quite possibly won't be any sort of medical release. after all that they decided that faxing it to me was okay. the papers just had to do with where my paychecks were getting sent. not sure why I would have had to go 1600 miles for that but whatever

and yes Tracey I've been keeping track of who I talk to, when I talk to them, what I talk to them about, what issues were resolved, what issues came up, phone numbers, emails, pretty much anything short of a full fledged background check.

I'm not sure if I mentioned this before and maybe everybody here can put in their two sense on it, but when the original injury happened, it was classified as a ''work'' injury, after awhile it got changed in my companies system so that it would become a ''personal'' injury. is that legal, standard practice, or just something that my company does?

thanks again for everybody's help, everybody is quite nice and informative here

Jason,

You are doing well to being keeping such great records. That is what I like to hear.

No, they cannot just change a work related injury to a personal injury. That was one of the things that concerned me the most when you told us in your first post. OSHA (Occupational Safety & Health Administration) has strict standards. Work and Non-work related injuries is covered under 1904.5 of the 29 CFR regulations. Let me find you a link right quick.

Here is the link: https://www.osha.gov/pls/oshaweb/owadisp.show_document?p_table=STANDARDS&p_id=9636

This will give you a little fire power with your company and a understanding of what is and is not a work related injury.

They are covering their basis right now. They are showing that you are being paid, so that you cannot claim workmen's comp. They know they are at fault and are only going to try hard to get you to let them do whatever they want. Not the kind of company I would want to work for. They know the risk in putting a inexperienced driver in a truck, with or without a trainer. I would bet that you have not signed any waiver regarding liability on the company's part while you are training? I know years ago they used to do that, but laws changed and now they cannot do that.

Check out the link from above. Familiarize your self with the terminology and the codes. You may need this yet still, if they decide to terminate you without just cause. They will use the injury but that would not be a smart move.

What did they say about you giving notice? Did you give one?

I would ask why it was changed to a "personal" injury and what the criteria is that they used to determine that.

Have you received a check from them ever since this happened. What is the check called? Their should be a code and label for what they are paying you for, such as, " personal leave".."medical leave".

I know it is the weekend, so not much will happen. Keep me posted on anything that breaks or if you have more questions.

God Bless.