On June 1, 2018, the Court of Appeals of Kansas ruled, in
Pardo v. UPS, that a portion of the workers compensation law requiring the use of the 6th Edition of the
American Medical Association (AMA)
Guides to rate disability for injuries occurring after January 1, 2015, was unconstitutional as applied to the claimant in the case.
According to the decision, use of the
AMA Guides 6th Edition prevented the assignment of an impairment rating for the claimant's second work-related injury on the same shoulder, which resulted in a denial of workers compensation benefits for the subsequent injury. The court found that the mandatory use of the 6th Edition unconstitutionally deprived the claimant of an adequate remedy for his injury because he was not able to collect workers compensation benefits.
The court severed the unconstitutional portion of the statute
as applied to the claimant and remanded the case to be considered under the previous (4th) Edition of the
AMA Guides.
The decision may be appealed. NCCI will monitor for further developments and any potential impacts on the workers compensation system.
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