[Michelle]

My biggest advice here is call a lawyer!!!! Laws change from state to state, but my wonderful attorney got my ADR approved while the device was still in clinical trials! (Because the FDA shut down the study while considering full approval, I didn't get it until after approval though.) But IT IS POSSIBLE!! It takes some effort, but I fully believe it's worth it. Some companies are starting to believe that they're better off spending the little extra now, and hope for fewer future problems, and less time off work post-op. Even if you don't hire a lawyer, most will talk to you once for free. Ask them. I don't think WC can deny you Partial Total Disability while recovering from ADR (even if they don't pay surgical costs), so long as your recovery doesn't go beyond what would be reasonable for the fusion. But it varies state to state. Sorry, all my experience is in Colorado. But it is possible to get them to pay for the surgery. Question is can you wait long enough to fight them? Ask your WC primary doc for a referral to a surgeon who does fusion as well as ADR. Once the WC primary gives his consent for you to see that doc, it should be easier. Insist. And call a lawyer. Good luck!!