ok firstly I tripped on an uneven and loose pavement while walking to work in the morning. I am making a claim against the council which they have been informed about but it has not started yet due to waiting to see how long I am off work amongst other things as this will affect the claim as regarding loss of wages. As for the long term prognosis, that will depend on how long the elbow takes to heal and how well it heals. Could be anything from no serious problems, to possible/probable arthritis in elbow in the future etc. The extreme worst case scenario would involve a replacement elbow eventually but that really would be worst case. I am hoping to be back at work after January which would put the length of time off at around 5 months. Whether I would go back on light or full duties at this point is another story. I am currently a train guard but once I go back (medical pending) then I am due to start training to be a train driver as I was due to start soon but will not be fit in time for the scheduled course. As for heavy lifting, the main thing will be lifting myself from track level into the train. Had a meeting with my line manager today and he has told me that if the Occupational Health doctor/nurse says I am fit for light duties then they can over-rule any line from my consultant.

Hi all, Newbie needs advice here I am currently off work with a broken elbow after falling on the way to work about 7 weeks ago. My elbow was broken in 3 places and required surgery including pins and tension wires being put in place to hold my elbow together. On my last visit to the hospital last week I was told that because it was such a bad injury it was healing slowly and the doctor signed me off for another 3 months while putting me on physiotherapy until my next appointment to the fracture clinic near the end of January. I still cannot straighten my arm, turn my wrist so my palm is face up or lift anything much heavier than a full glass of water. I also wake up each morning with a lot of stiffness in my arm which only eases as the day goes on and I do the exercises given to me by my doctor. When I informed my line manager that I was being signed off for another 3 months he wasn't happy and has sent me an e-mail where he has called it "unreasonable" for the doctor to sign me off from all duties for such a long time and that he is requiring me to attend a occupational health meeting with a view to bringing me back on light duties soon despite my consultant signing me off for 3 months. Can he force me back to work even though my elbow is still broken and due to now being out of plaster in even more danger of damage is someone bumps into it?