 |
 |
to fill out a simple form to connect to Personal Injury Lawyers in your area.
|
|
|
|
|
Labarge v. Zebco12/20/1988
Rehearing Denied March 7, 1989.
ALICE L. LABARGE, PETITIONER,
v.
ZEBCO, NORTHWESTERN NATIONAL INSURANCE, AND THE WORKERS' COMPENSATION COURT, RESPONDENTS.
James E. Lowell, Tulsa, for petitioner.
Thomas E. Steichen, Kevin D. Berry, Rhodes, Hieronymus, Jones, Tucker & Gable, Tulsa, for respondents.
ORDER OF THE WORKERS' COMPENSATION COURT VACATED; REMANDED WITH DIRECTIONS.
The opinion of the court was delivered by: KAUGER, Justice.
The dispositive issue on appeal is whether the medical evidence submitted by the respondent, Zebco (employer), complied with the A.M.A. Guides to the Evaluation of Permanent Impairment pursuant to 85 O.S.Supp. 1987 Ch. 4, App., Rule 20. We find that the medical report was not competent evidence because it did not comply with Rule 20, and that it could not be used as a basis for the trial court's decision.
On March 16, 1985, petitioner, Alice LaBarge (employee), was injured while operating a forklift for her employer. Dr. L. performed surgery for two ruptured discs caused by the accident. The employee filed a claim for workers' compensation benefits claiming injuries to the left knee, left leg, left hip and back. She received temporary total disability payments until August 27, 1985, when the parties mutually agreed to terminate the payments. On April 10, 1986, the employee filed for continuing medical treatment and permanent disability attaching a medical report from Dr. K. which concluded that the employee had suffered 40% disability to the whole body. On August 29, 1986, the employee amended her petition to add the issue of psychological overlay resulting from the accident.
At the trial on September 8, 1986, the employee objected to the competency of Dr. L.'s medical report submitted by the employer because it failed to follow the percentages of disability delineated in the AMA Guides. The Guides provide that each operated disc must be accorded a minimum of 5% impairment. Although Dr. L. performed the operation which involved two of the employee's discs he rated the employee as having 5% impairment to the whole body. Over the employee's objection Dr. L's medical report was admitted into evidence. The trial court found that: (1) the employee had sustained an accidental personal injury arising out of and in the course of employment; (2) the employee had sustained 12% permanent partial disability to the body as a whole as a result of the injury to the back; (3) the employee did not sustain permanent partial disability to the left hip, left leg or left knee, and; (4) it reserved the issue of psychological overlay for further hearing. The employee appealed the order to the Review Panel. The Review Panel found that the order of the trial court was neither contrary to law nor against the clear weight of the evidence. The trial court was affirmed, and the employee appealed.
The employee contends that a medical report which does not rate the employee's impairment according to the A.M.A. Guides, and which does not explain any deviation from those Guides, is not competent evidence. We agree. Medical reports must comply with the A.M.A. Guides as provided by the legislature in Rule 20.
Here, Dr. L.'s report consists of four letters and a discharge report. Three of the letters are neither signed nor verified. One letter has the physician's signature. However, it contains an unsigned verification statement rubber stamped at the bottom. The discharge report is signed, but it does not contain a verification statement. The unverified discharge summ
Page 1 2 3 4 Oklahoma Personal Injury Attorneys
Personal Injury Lawyers
|
| |
to fill out a simple form to connect to Personal Injury Lawyers in your area.
|
|