AMA Guidelines for Workers’ Compensation

How is Workers’ Comp Regulated?

Every year, thousands of workers are injured on the job. By filing for workers’ compensation, they could have their resulting medical expenses covered by their employer’s insurance. But how can they know if they receive a fair amount of compensation? What prevents them from receiving a lesser payout than another employee in their state with a similar injury or disability? This is where the American Medical Association (AMA) comes in.

Determining Permanent Impairment

The AMA is responsible for publishing and distributing the “Guides to the Evaluation of Permanent Impairment” to qualified physicians. This publication-now in its’ sixth edition-is used as a reference for doctors in order to properly and regularly determine the level of an injured worker’s impairment or disability. If a person is impaired, they have suffered damage or injury that does not affect their ability to perform their job or live their day to day life. This could be temporary impairment, but if they reach maximum medical improvement (MMI), they are permanently impaired. However, if their work productivity or day-to-day living is affected, they are disabled, either temporarily or permanently.

Without such guidelines, the diagnoses of each person’s injuries, impairment, and/or disability would be irregular and so would the amount of compensation they received. Even with the AMA guidelines in place, it is still wise to hire a Walnut Creek workers’ comp lawyer to help ensure that your doctor provides a satisfactory diagnoses that brings you maximum compensation for your workplace accident. To speak with such a lawyer, call Brand Peters PC today.