A new report indicates that there may be some problems with the current impairment rating methodology in workers' compensation.
The study, conducted by Brigham and Associates, Inc. (www.impairment.com) reveals continuing problems with erroneous impairment ratings, specifically the AMA Guides to the Evaluation of Permanent Impairment, which is the recognized international standard used to quantify the impact of an injury and disability.
For a two year interval, from June 2006 through June 2008, experts in impairment assessment associated with Brigham and Associates, Inc. reviewed 2,798 impairment rating reports authored by other physicians and chiropractors. The experts disagreed with 2,169 of the ratings (78 percent). Of these reports that were judged to be incorrect, the average original rating was 20.4 percent whole person permanent impairment, and the average re-rating by the expert was 7.3 percent whole person permanent impairment.
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