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Conversion Corner
 Want to overpay PD? Didn't think so! But failing to correctly "convert" is the surest way of overpaying PD.
No, I'm not trying to get you to change religions. Rather, I just want to ensure that you (and the reporting physician) don't make rating mistakes that will always cost you money.
We all know that the reporting physician must, at the end of the AMA-based report, provide a WPI (whole person impairment). The AMA Guides defines whole person impairment as an estimate of the "impact of the impairment on the individual's overall ability to perform activities of daily living, excluding work" (p. 4). But the AMA Guides uses lots of numbers that are not whole person impairments. These non-WPI impairment values include digit numbers, hand numbers, upper extremity numbers, and lower extremity numbers. Before rating an impairment for FEC, age, and occupation, always make certain the number you are rating has been properly coverted to WPI.
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100% thumb |
= 40% Hand (Table 16-1, p. 438) |
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40% hand |
= 36% Upper extremity (UE) (Table 16-2, p. 439) |
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36% UE |
= 22% WPI (Table 16-3, p. 439) |
Assuming the injured worker is a 37-year-old adjuster (inside), this rates:
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16.06.01.01 – 22 – [1]24 – 111G – 27 – 27 |
By contrast, had you failed to convert, you would have paid:
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16.06.01.0 – 100 – [1]100 – 111G – 100 – 100 |
Remember! Fail to convert, and the defense will always lose out. And the injured worker will always end up being the (sometimes BIG) winner!
Don Barthel, Esq. is a founding partner of Bradford & Barthel, LLP.
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Conversion Corner
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