Everything a claims professional needs to work a spine case with Dr. Hobbs: how referrals move, how to read the reports, what the common injuries usually involve, how ratings and IMEs are handled, and a plain-language glossary written for the people who manage these claims.
IMPRESSION: L4-5 disc herniation with foraminal stenosis contacting the exiting nerve root. Mild degenerative disc disease at adjacent levels. No spondylolisthesis.
PLAN: Symptoms consistent with radiculopathy. Continue conservative care; modified duty restrictions documented.
Spine claims are easier to manage when the specialist communicates early and in plain language. Here is what to expect from the first call to the work-status report.
Give the office the general reason for referral and urgency. Patient information moves by phone or through your organization’s secure channel, never through the website.
Imaging with the radiology reports, recent clinical notes, the treatment so far, and any prior operative reports. Complete records let the first visit count.
History, examination, and a review of the imaging. Dr. Hobbs explains the diagnosis to the patient in plain language and starts with non-surgical care whenever appropriate.
Treatment notes and work-status reports go to the employer, adjuster, and nurse case manager. Pre-authorization and utilization review requests are supported with the documentation needed.
Once the patient reaches maximum medical improvement, impairment ratings, IMEs, and second opinions are available on request.
Spine paperwork is long, but each document has one part that carries most of the meaning for a claim.
Read the Impression first. It is the radiologist’s summary. Then ask one question: do the findings match the patient’s symptoms and exam? “Degenerative” findings are common at every age and do not by themselves explain pain.
Lumbar MRI guideLook for the procedure, the levels, and the implants. The procedure name tells you what was done and from which direction. The levels tell you where. The implant list tells you what will show on future imaging.
What fusion involvesGo to the Assessment and Plan, then the work status. The assessment names the working diagnosis. The plan states the next step. The work status states restrictions or duty level, which is what the employer needs.
Decode a full reportGeneral patterns, not predictions. Every case is evaluated on its own findings, and timelines depend on the patient, the injury, and the job.
Most improve with therapy, activity changes, and sometimes injections. Surgery, usually a microdiscectomy, enters the picture when leg or arm symptoms persist or weakness develops.
Whether the nerve symptoms settle, and the physical demands of the job.
Soft-tissue injuries are managed without surgery. Imaging is used to make sure nothing structural is being missed when recovery stalls.
Early activity within restrictions, rather than complete rest.
Injections and therapy first. Decompression surgery is considered when pain, numbness, or weakness does not resolve or is progressing.
How quickly nerve symptoms respond, and whether weakness is present.
The evaluation focuses on what changed after the event. Prior records and imaging are compared with current findings before any plan is made.
Separating new injury from baseline, which shapes both treatment and the claim.
Many heal with bracing and activity modification. Cement stabilization or surgery is reserved for fractures that are unstable or stay painful.
Bone healing and the lifting demands of the job.
Stability is the first question. Stable injuries are managed conservatively; unstable ones may need surgical stabilization.
The injury pattern and the presence of any nerve or cord involvement.
Permanent partial impairment ratings under Indiana’s degree-based system, IC 22-3-3-10, typically completed once the patient reaches maximum medical improvement.
A thorough examination and written opinion by a board-certified neurosurgeon who is not the treating physician, addressing the questions you specify.
A specialist review of a diagnosis or a recommended surgery. If surgery is not the answer, Dr. Hobbs will say so.
Please do not send patient identifiers through the website.
Organized by where a term shows up: the imaging report, the diagnosis, the procedure, or the work-status paperwork. Each entry says what the word means and why it matters for the claim.
No terms match that search. Try a shorter word.
Adjusters, nurse case managers, employers, and attorneys are welcome to call the office directly.
(219) 250-5010Monday – Friday · 8:00 AM – 4:30 PM
Injured workers, adjusters, nurse case managers, employers, and attorneys are all welcome to contact Dr. Hobbs’s office to coordinate care.
(219) 250-5010500 E. 109th Avenue
Crown Point, IN 46307
601 Gateway Boulevard
Chesterton, IN 46304
Page updated . About content and medical review dates.