With no agreement in the offing with on treatment for his line-of-duty injury, Wichita Falls Police officer Tim Putney will go before a judge July 26 to gain approval for previously denied spinal surgery, his wife, Chelsea said.
The Putneys believe the surgery will remedy a back injury he sustained in the line of duty July 11, 2017, and get him back to patrolling the streets.
In another May development, a new doctor issued an opinion on Tim’s injury without physically examining him. But the court date is the latest twist in Tim’s month-long workers compensation case.
Wednesday evening, Chelsea was cautiously optimistic the upcoming hearing would favorably resolve for Tim the dispute over whether he should have the surgery.
“At least we have a date to look forward to,” Chelsea said.
A more informal attempt to resolve the dispute fell flat Wednesday. Tim and his attorney took part in a supplemental benefits resolution conference Wednesday afternoon.
The conference is an informal meeting allowing the parties involved to discuss their dispute before a benefit review officer from the Texas Department of Insurance-Division of Workers Compensation, according to the TDI website at www.TDI.Texas.gov.
Chelsea Putney and her husband, Wichita Falls Police Officer Tim Putney, are having a lot of difficulty getting the surgery he needs after injuring his back in a fall against a concrete curb while detaining a subject in July 2017. Torin Halsey
The TDI fast tracks a first responder’s request for a benefits review conference.
Chelsea said a date and time for the hearing – 10:30 a.m. July 26 -- was the sole result of the conference Wednesday. She was not sure of the location yet, but Tim’s supporters can attend the hearing, she said.
Ahead of the conference, Christi Klyn, city director of human resources/civil service, said the city has no influence in the review officer’s final decision during Wednesday’s conference.
The process is moving forward as the TDI-DWC, state law and guidelines mandate, Klyn said.
It’s worth nothing the city relies on third-party contractors such as Edwards Risk Management and Starr Comprehensive Solutions to handle its workers compensation claims.
In another development, Tim received a report dated May 14 with a determination from Dr. R. David Bauer, an orthopedist specializing in spinal disease and founder of the The Spine Center in Garland.
His report was in response to a city contractor’s request to “determine whether the mechanism of the injury caused or aggravated any of the disc pathology found in the lumbar spine,” according to a page of Bauer’s report provided by Chelsea.
“I did not have the opportunity to examine the patient,” Bauer wrote.
He relied on previous medical records and reports, he wrote.
Tim’s fall “would be considered minor trauma,” Bauer wrote. “Short-lived backache associated with minor trauma is very common.”
But episodes of serious low-back pain usually arise spontaneously or are associated with daily activities instead of any kind of trauma, he wrote.
Chelsea said two other doctors have previously recommended spinal surgery to correct injury-related issues that led to her husband walking with a cane.
A third physician, Dr. Steven Doores, withdrew his report denying Tim’s need for surgery and withdrew from the officer’s case in a letter also dated May 14. Doores is a plastic surgeon and state-designated workers compensation doctor.
As she did Doores’ opinion, Chelsea considers Bauer’s determination invalid.
“It seems like to me that this shouldn’t be allowed at all since he hasn’t examined Tim,” Chelsea said.
She doesn’t think Bauer had the full story of how Tim was hurt, either, she said.
Klyn declined to comment on Tim’s case Wednesday, referring to a previous statement that the city isn’t at liberty to discuss his medical claim.
The Putneys contend Tim’s medical care has stalled out since the city’s contractors haven’t approved the spinal surgery for the injury sustained when he was attempting to handcuff a suspect.
The teen repeatedly kicked him in the leg and knee until Tim fell backward onto a concrete curb with the suspect atop him, Chelsea has said.