The central question in this case is whether the workers’ compensation laws preclude an impairment rating and associated award of permanent partial disability (PPD) benefits to an injured worker on account of impairment associated with a condition known as Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS) where a claimant is not diagnosed with CRPS under the criteria listed in Chapter 16 of the American Medical Association Guides to the Evaluation of Permanent Impairment, Fifth Edition (AMA Guides, or Guides), but where a qualified expert confirms the existence of the condition pursuant to other legally admissible standards sufficient to meet a reasonable medical certainty. The Commissioner of the Department of Labor (DOL) and the trial court both concluded that 21 V.S.A. § 648(b) denies the Commissioner discretion to assign an impairment rating and thus award PPD benefits for impairment associated with CRPS where the CRPS diagnosis does not meet the diagnostic standards in Chapter 16 of the AMA Guides. We reverse.
Sunday, July 7, 2013
Workers Comp: SCOVT reverses DOL re PPD for CPRS; allows AMA Guide impairment rating without AMA diagnosis!
Brown v. W.T. Martin Plumbing & Heating, Inc., 2013 VT 38 (21-Jun-2013)(Robinson, J.)
The central question in this case is whether the workers’ compensation laws preclude an impairment rating and associated award of permanent partial disability (PPD) benefits to an injured worker on account of impairment associated with a condition known as Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS) where a claimant is not diagnosed with CRPS under the criteria listed in Chapter 16 of the American Medical Association Guides to the Evaluation of Permanent Impairment, Fifth Edition (AMA Guides, or Guides), but where a qualified expert confirms the existence of the condition pursuant to other legally admissible standards sufficient to meet a reasonable medical certainty. The Commissioner of the Department of Labor (DOL) and the trial court both concluded that 21 V.S.A. § 648(b) denies the Commissioner discretion to assign an impairment rating and thus award PPD benefits for impairment associated with CRPS where the CRPS diagnosis does not meet the diagnostic standards in Chapter 16 of the AMA Guides. We reverse.
The central question in this case is whether the workers’ compensation laws preclude an impairment rating and associated award of permanent partial disability (PPD) benefits to an injured worker on account of impairment associated with a condition known as Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS) where a claimant is not diagnosed with CRPS under the criteria listed in Chapter 16 of the American Medical Association Guides to the Evaluation of Permanent Impairment, Fifth Edition (AMA Guides, or Guides), but where a qualified expert confirms the existence of the condition pursuant to other legally admissible standards sufficient to meet a reasonable medical certainty. The Commissioner of the Department of Labor (DOL) and the trial court both concluded that 21 V.S.A. § 648(b) denies the Commissioner discretion to assign an impairment rating and thus award PPD benefits for impairment associated with CRPS where the CRPS diagnosis does not meet the diagnostic standards in Chapter 16 of the AMA Guides. We reverse.
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