Challenge
*Bradley was a 64-year-old forklift operator of five years when he was routinely assisting with unloading an inbound bundle and became injured. On this day, the forks would not align with the pallet, so he attempted to manually move the pallet onto the forklift by pulling the straps. As he continued to pull on them, the straps broke, causing him to fall backward onto his wrist.
Solution
After feeling aching pain in his wrist, Bradley sought initial treatment at an urgent care, and it was there that the was diagnosed with a wrist contusion. He was provided with a wrist splint and released with restrictions, being told that he cannot use his right hand and needed to give it time to heal. He was also set up with an MRI to get a better understanding of the injury. Bradley was to follow up with his provider to schedule the next office visit after the MRI. After hearing of his restrictions, his employer expressed concern and explained to Bradley that he was not able to accommodate the restrictions, needing Bradley to be using both hands while operating the forklift.
Soon after, a Careworks return to work specialist, *Shelley, followed up with Bradley to discuss his MRI results and confirm his next office visit. Bradley explained to Shelley that the advised MRI was not yet completed. Shelley confirmed the MRI was approved and quickly got it scheduled. After the scheduled date of the MRI, Shelley followed up with the provider, when they told her that they had yet to receive the results. Shelley then obtained the MRI report and sent it to the provider to keep the process moving seamlessly and then got Bradley scheduled for a follow up within twenty-four hours.
Result
Based on a review of the MRI report, it could be seen that Bradley had a small chip fracture and no tendinopathy or tendon tears as expected. Shelley was then able to obtain an updated work status of “may return to work with a wrist brace,” and Bradley was able to return to his full duties, even with the restriction. As of today, Bradley is working full duty and is expected to have reached maximum medical improvement at his office visit in four weeks.
*Names changed for privacy purposes.