Understanding The Ama Guides

Rev. ed. of: Understanding the AMA guides in workers' compensation. 4th ed. / Steven Babitsky, James J. Mangraviti, Jr. 2008.

The American Medical Association's "Guides to the Evaluation of Permanent Impairment" (or "AMA Guides") is mandated for use in many workers' compensation systems. The "AMA Guides" are now in their sixth edition, and various states are using either the third, fourth, fifth, or sixth edition of the "Guides." In easy-to-follow language, "Understanding the AMA Guides in Workers' Compensation"brings you up to speed with a review of essential concepts... complete coverage of the 4th, 5th, and 6th Edition of the " AMA Guides" ...and a focus on the key changes. "Understanding the AMA Guides in Workers' Compensation" delivers the concise, jargon-free information you need to prepare any case with confidence - and the courtroom-tested tactics to help you win it. Whether you're new to workers' compensation cases or a long-time practitioner, this expertise-filled resource will be an invaluable time and work-saving tool in every case involving the "AMA Guides." This resource is an arsenal of ready-to-use tools, techniques, and tips to help you build a better case from start to finish, including: Expert insight on how physicians should reach impairment ratings - and how to spot mistakes that may compromise up to 80% of all ratings, according to one studyCase-tested guidelines for using the "AMA Guides" to prepare client and physician testimonySample proofs that illustrate how permanent impairment can be established for various injuriesA cross-examination guide that shows how to pick apart an opposing physician's credibility, including word-for-word cross-examinations from real casesDozens of questions to confound opposing witnesses - including case-clinchers like "The Ten Most Difficult Cross-Examination Questions" Convenient digests of federal and state statutes and case law decisions that put a wealth of legal background at your fingertips "Understanding the AMA Guides in Workers' Compensation" has been updated to include coverage of: Which conditions are not adequately covered in each edition of the "AMA Guides"The level of compliance with the "AMA Guides" legally required of a rating physicianWhen rating physicians may deviate from the "Guides" and how to justify or challenge such deviations Which edition of the "AMA Guides" is legally required to be usedWhether the "AMA Guides" are admissible into evidence How to challenge the adoption of the" AMA Guides"What the courts find or do not find persuasive when ratings made under the "AMA Guides "are challenged How the "AMA Guides "relate to scheduled awardsHow to preserve the strongest record for appealWhen exactly a claimant is or is not at maximum medical improvement--for example, a claimant with a condition such as reflex sympathetic dystrophy, which may wax and wane over timeCan a claimant be evaluated for impairment even though he is not at maximum medical improvementWho is qualified to rate impairmentAnd more!

Understanding the AMA Guides in Workers' Compensation

With Understanding the AMA Guides in Workers' Compensation, you'll develop an even better understanding of the new standards, So you'll argue cases more successfully. There are pages of detail on the distinction between 'permanent impairment' and disability, The circumstances under which physicians may express an opinion concerning disability, spine evaluations under the new injury model, and more. You'll also get practical answers to questions such as: 'How do the AMA Guides rate degrees of impairment?' and 'How do they establish a monetary value for a totally impaired body part?' and that's just the beginning. Plus, The book contains state-by-state case-specific information, checklists, and sample proofs. Highlights include: California's adoption of the Fifth Edition of the AMA Guides as part of its 2004 Workers' Compensation Reform Board Certification in use of the AMA Guides and an IME physician's qualifications How to handle impairments not specifically covered under the AMA Guides Additional difficult cross-examination questions for impairment evaluators New sample proof for lumbar spinal cord injury How to rate impairment in a claimant who refuses surgery that would likely be of benefit Whether a rating under the A.A.O.S. manual is sufficient to award benefits Rating TMJ under the AMA Guides And The Recommended Guide To The Evaluation of Permanent Impairment of the Temporomandibular Joint Whether failure to follow the AMA Guides is a question of law or fact Whether a rating physician can invalidate Range of Motion measurements based upon the doctor's observations and clinical experience Whether an administrative law judge (ALJ) can adjust an impairment rating if he or she finds that the rating physician misapplied the AMA Guides Updated case law, statutes, and regulations

The AMA established a guide for the rating of physical impairment of the various organ systems which provides clinically sound and reproducible criteria for rating permanent impairment. Contents include- impairment evaluation; records and reports; the musculoskeletal system; the nervous system; the respiratory system; the cardiovascular system; the hematopoietic system; the visual system; ear, nose, throat, and related structures; the digestive system; the urinary and reproductive systems; the endocrine system; the skin; mental and behavioral disorders; pain.

With this edition of UNDERSTANDING THE AMA GUIDES, you'll develop an even better understanding of the new standards, so you'll argue cases more successfully. There are pages of detail on the distinction between 'permanent impairment' and disability, the circumstances under which physicians may express an opinion concerning disability, spine evaluations under the new injury model, and more. You'll also get practical answers to questions like, 'How do the AMA GUIDES rate degrees of impairment?' and, 'How do they establish a monetary value for a totally impaired body part?' and that's just the beginning. Plus, there's state-by-state case-specific information, checklists, and sample proofs.

This is the accompanying volume to Guides to the Evaluation for Permanent Impairment and highlights changes by comparing the fifth edition with the fourth. Medical and legal analysis demonstrates how the new edition sets out to change the way physicians evaluate impairment and disability and considers the legal implications.