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York v. Burgess-Norton Mfg. Co.12/18/1990
es v. Sun Refinery & Mktg., 790 P.2d 1073, 1081 (Okla. 1990), which was mandated on May 4, 1990, we held that:
"Henceforth, and until such time as cases shall come before us tried after mandate herein, when a medical report which is the sole basis for an award or denial of award is held to be incompetent or non-probative as evidence under Rule 20 of the Rules of the Workers' Compensation Court, this Court will reverse the judgment on which it is based and remand for further proceedings, . . ."
I concur here because this cause preceded Gaines. The Workers' Compensation Court heard this matter on March 24, 1988. I write to re-emphasize that when cases reach us which have been tried after May 5, 1990, employers and employees alike must present competent evidence of injury at the time of trial - there will be no more "overs". This rule is necessary to preserve judicial economy, and to assure that there will be a meaningful end to litigation.
SIMMS, Justice, dissenting;
I must respectfully Dissent. I submit the majority opinion is predicated upon an erroneous premise, that is, AMA Guidelines must be applied and the tests required thereby given by the examining physician even though that physician finds the patient has no lung disease and "0" impairment.
As I read 85 O.S.Supp. 1986 ยง 3 (11), the purpose of the Guide is to evaluate impairment, not to determine if in fact an impairment exists. Rule 20(3)(i) requires the statement of substantial compliance with the Guides to be in reference to detailed factors upon which an evaluation of permanent impairment is based. The medical report in question concludes there is no permanent impairment. This conclusion was based upon the doctor's objective findings which, he observed, cannot be changed.
I would hold the medical report to be competent and admissible, however, I would leave to the trier of the facts the determination of what weight, if any, should be given the report.
Simply put, it is my position that a physician need not resort to the Guides to evaluate impairment where there is no finding of impairment.
I am authorized to state that Justice DOOLIN joins in the views expressed herein.
Page 1 2 3 4 5 6 Oklahoma Personal Injury Attorneys
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