Torn Meniscus at Work - Denied surgery, can’t make money. What next?
I am writing on behalf of my partner who doesn’t Reddit.
He is 41, and a disabled veteran. As a result of his injuries in Iraq, he is a recovering addict (10+ years) and cannot be prescribed opioids.
He was a machine operator at a well known Big Name.
On Nov 10, 2025 he slipped and fell on coolant leaking from his machine. (Tickets had been placed requesting repair.)
On Nov 11 he returned to work on light duty after being seen by his primary care doctor.
On Nov 12 he was sent home, stating no work accommodations available.
He begin receiving workers comp benefits (on paper, though they took a while to start showing up) at 2/3 of his salary.
Issue is, his salary is HALF of what he was actually making because it doesn’t take into account OT, shift differential, etc. (Actual Salary: $56k - With Extras: $106k)
He saw workers comp doctors who confirmed a torn meniscus via MRI. This was Dec 2025.
At a follow up with workers comp doctors, they confirmed he needed surgery. The pre-surgical appointment was scheduled for March of 2026.
He followed up with his own doctor just after Christmas, 2025 - due to pain. He was given his first pain intervention at this point. (Meloxicam)
He remained off work, but due to the limited compensation, he couldn’t afford his bills.
He took a job elsewhere, with full transparency about the knee injury and employment on both sides. He was promised restrictions and accommodations at his new job.
He stopped taking STD when he began his new job.
On day 4 of the new job, they had done significant walking and he ended up being in severe pain. He overslept his alarm the following day, but called in and reached out to his doctors when it became apparent he couldn’t keep up. He was given a note at this point.
When he returned to the new job, (two days out) they held a meeting where he was told he was being demoted from his management position and his pay docked by almost half as a result of attendance in his probationary period.
His newly assigned position would be manual labor. He wasn’t able to do this job had to resign.
His March pre-surgical appointment was rescheduled to April 2 by the office.
His April 2 pre surgical appointment was then cancelled and he was told he needs to do PT instead and was told to go private pay if he wanted surgery.
It’s now been nearly six months since the injury, he has no income or projected date of knee repair. The injury is getting worse the more he has to use it in the meantime. He has no insurance. He lost his house and his car.
We’ve reached out to a lawyer.
What else can we do?