Work related injury and going back to work. ?

Question

Last Monday I fell and badly bruised my left side and possible cracked a rib. The doctor said x-rays would show a hair lined fracture? He gave me an excuse note to take 3 days off to recover. I'm still in a good amount of pain. And usually I don't take a lot of time off from work. But I feel bad for my co-workers since they have to cover my section. Am I doing the right thing to fully recover then go back to work? Or should I be considerate to my co-workers and just put up with the pain and work. I was originally planning to go back to work Tuesday after Labor day.

Answer 1

Hi,

Each state has different laws regarding their work-related injury patients and what benefits the injured worker is entitled to. I have done quite a bit of injured worker nursing/consulting in Washington and Oregon. If you can give me your state of residence I can get more accurate information.

Now, to your specific question, it is always better to heal completely before returning to work, so that you don't re-injure yourself, and possibly lose more time. Your concern for your friends and co-workers is commendable. You don't mention what type of work you do and that would be helpful as well. If you are doing heavy lifting or a lot of physical activity in your job, I'd definitely advise you to take the time off. There is nothing that would be done for a hairline fracture, but bone injuries are always painful. You probably bruised the rib bones as well as the soft tissue, and that can take weeks to heal. That doesn't mean that you should stay off until the bruised bone is completely healed but I would definitely take the three days.

If you let me know what state you are in, and what kind of work you do, I can give you more specific answers. Take care.

Jingles