IRE in PA Workers’ Comp Cannot be Done Until Injured Worker Reaches MMI

Under the most recent amendments to the Pennsylvania Workers’ Compensation Act, passed in 1996, once an injured worker in PA has received total disability benefits for 104 weeks, the workers’ comp insurance company can obtain an Impairment Rating Evaluation (IRE). If the work-related injury results in a whole body impairment rating of less than 50% (as almost all injuries do – this is an impossibly high standard), the PA Workers’ Compensation Act says the injured worker is changed from “total” disability status to “partial” disability status.

While this change from total to partial disability status does not change the amount of workers’ compensation benefits the injured worker receives, it does start the clock running regarding how long the benefits can be received. Partial disability benefits in PA are payable for a maximum of 500 weeks.

I go through this background, so that you understand the significance of a recent case decided by the Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania, Combine v. WCAB (National Fuel Gas Dist. Co.). In this case, the Court held that a PA workers’ compensation insurance company cannot get an impairment rating until the IRE doctor first determines that a claimant has reached “maximal medical improvement” (MMI). Any obstacle in the path of the insurance carrier is certainly a benefit to claimants.

According to the American Medical Association’s Guides to the Evaluation of Permanent Impairment, which are used in Pennsylvania to determine impairment ratings in workers’ comp:

“MMI represents a point in time in the recovery process after an injury when further formal medical or surgical intervention cannot be expected to improve the underlying impairment. Therefore, MMI is not predicated on the elimination of symptoms and/or subjective complaints. Also, MMI can be determined if recovery has reached the stage where symptoms can be expected to remain stable with the passage of time, or can be managed with palliative measures that do not alter the underlying impairment substantially, within medical probability…”

When an injured worker has been out of work for 104 weeks, or when an IRE is sought by the workers’ comp insurance company, it is important for the injured worker to discuss his or her specific case with an experienced PA workers’ comp attorney.