Assessing Workers' Injuries

Overview

The area of assessing Workers’ Compensation Injuries pertains to cases where clients have sustained a non-catastrophic injury at work and the extent of their injuries make it questionable as to whether they will be able to return to their former job. Examples of such injuries might include herniated lower back discs most commonly L4-5, carpal tunnel syndrome, crush injuries, fractured limbs, etc. When clients are unable to return to their former job and their former employer has no other jobs the client can safely or is qualified to perform, then an exploration of the remaining labor market options must be conducted. This is by vocational experts conducting a Transferable Skills Analysis (TSA) in relation to the clients age, education, medical limitations, past work experience and aptitude potential's. Unfortunately, too many such cases are settled based on a physician's medical impairment rating (i.e., 10% loss to the body as a whole) which has absolutely no bearing on individual’s true vocational handicap. A 48 y/o construction worker earning $10.50 per hour with less than a high school education for example, who has four toes amputated and receives an 11% loss of use of that lower extremity does not truly reflect that person’s impairment. In this situation, the client will likely be permanently relegated to sedentary and some light work, however, due to his lower education, there are fewer job options available, and the majority pay between minimum wage and $7.00 per hour. In this instance, the client has truly sustained an approximate 35% - 55% vocational disability rating which more accurately portrays his work options.

Standard Procedure in Assessing Personal Injury Damages

The same methodological procedures used in our other evaluations and involve discussing with the retaining attorney the merits of the case, obtaining available medical records and tax returns or W-2s for the past three years. We then arrange to interview the client and may/may not perform vocational testing depending on client characteristics. We evaluate the client’s age and work experience, aptitudes and conduct a labor market analysis for available job options and wage remuneration, then compare this with his past wages or potential earning capacity. The summation is all incorporated into the client's report, specific details of which are reported below.

Report Composition

The final report contains basic demographic information about client’s personal and family history, work history, educational history, medical history, current medical and living conditions, testing results (if relevant), and the vocational assessment. The report contains two major elements generally reported by vocational experts; any loss of opportunity or labor market access loss and any potential loss of earning capacity or wage loss. Wage loss versus earning capacity loss are two distinctly different terms that are calculated depending on the clients past work history.

(View a sample Vocational Assessment Report)