I was injured in March, upper back pain, treated with rest, etc. (mentioned it to my boss, but didn't ask for WC teatment). I then was reinjured in May when I asked to see a WC doc.

At that time I was misdiagnosed with muscle strain, sent to PT. I finally got an MRI ordered in June which showed a severely herniated disc at C6-C7. I used all my sick leave covering times I was out with pain in April, May and June- never more than 2 days at a stretch.

Now I am told I should have surgery. I'll be out for 2 weeks of recovery. Employer says I need to use 3 sick days (which I don't have, so it will pull from vacation) then will *eventually* get a check for 60% of pay from WC. I can't afford to lose the wages and don't think I should lose 3 more leave days for treatment of an injury that wasn't my fault!

Does this sound right? Do I have appeal options to somehow get 100% of my wages and not lose more leave? At what point does one contact a lawyer?

(Not to mention, they still haven't fixed the equipment- another coworker has been hurt since I was.)

No, you can not get 100% of your wages under WC. The amount you are eligible for under WC is set by statute and is nearly always one third (the % varies a tiny bit by state) your average weekly wage. It is tax exempt however.

The first 3 days are not permitted to be paid by WC by law. There is a provision that allows the insurance company to pay them retroactively if you have been out for over a certain amount of time, but from the get go, the insurance may not pay those first three days because the law says that they can not. I would call the insurance carrier to find out when the first check will be cut and what they need in order to minimize the time it takes to get you a check.

Do you realize this post is from August? The OP has not been back. If you have a question you are more than welcome to start a thread and ask it but hi-jacking dormant threads with your own issues is frowned upon.