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As of January 2008, the American Medical Association is releasing its latest (6th) edition of its Guides to the Evaluation of Permanent Impairment. For all attorneys practicing in the workers' compensation arena or physicains evaluating patients within the worker's compensation scheme, use of these Guides is important.
Like it or not, those of us working in the Iowa workers' compensation system, are intimately familiar with and spend countless hours reviewing the AMA Guides to the Evaluation of Permanent Impairment. The Guides are recognized in Iowa as prima facie evidence of the total permanent disability owed for scheduled member injuries. See 876 IAC 2.4. The impairment raitngs offered by these Guides are also recognized factors in determining industrial disability awards in unscheduled injury claims.
Issuance of the 6th Edition of the AMA Guides will likely cause some upheavel within the Iowa worker's compensation system. More likely, the new edition of the Guides will simply cause additional headaches and research for those of us trying to interpret and apply the new Guides to existing and future claims. All employers and insurance carriers should immediately begin asking the treating or evaluating physicians to utilize the 6th Edition of the AMA Guides when rendering impairment ratings to ensure that the most current medical evidence is obtained.
Here is the cheapest place that I have found to purchase the 6th Edition of the AMA Guides. Happy reading to all of you lucky individuals that get to read this 600+ page book!
Posted by William H. Grell on January 2, 2008 6:35 AM
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