Three months into a workers comp claim for a forklift accident and the carrier (Travelers) just denied my second MRI as "not medically necessary" - i need to vent

i work at a distribution center in Indianapolis, been there 8 years, never filed a comp claim before. march 12 a forklift carrying a pallet of canned goods tipped sideways while i was walking past it and pinned my left leg between the load and a rack. coworkers got it off me in maybe 30 seconds but the damage was already done. ER that night: contusion, suspected meniscus tear, follow up with ortho. employer reported it within the hour, comp file opened the next morning. so far so good.

thats where the smooth part ended. first MRI at week 3 confirmed a medial meniscus tear plus a partial MCL strain. ortho recommended a follow up MRI at 10 weeks to see how the MCL was healing and to decide whether arthroscopic surgery was the right call. travelers approved the surgery consult but denied the follow up MRI saying it was "not medically necessary at this stage of treatment." the denial letter came from a nurse case manager in another state who has never met me, never examined me, and based her determination on "review of the file." my actual ortho who has put hands on my knee three times is on record saying we need the imaging to make the surgical call. but apparently that doesnt matter.

meanwhile the adjuster keeps "checking in" with me about returning to light duty. i can stand for maybe 20 minutes before the knee starts giving out. my employer has been decent about it but the warehouse is not a light duty environment, theres no desk job to put me on. ive been on TTD at 66% of my normal wages for 11 weeks and my mortgage doesnt care that travelers thinks im fine.

i know the playbook here. delay the imaging, push for return to work, hope i give up and just deal with a knee that doesnt fully bend. but i wanted to put this out there because nobody warned me how lopsided this whole system feels when you are the one with the injury. you cant pick your doctor in indiana comp (the employer/carrier picks), you cant just go get the MRI on your own health insurance (they will deny it as comp related), and your lawyer cant even officially appeal until you exhaust the carrier review process. so you wait. and you vent on the internet.