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S1093.......................................by COMMERCE AND HUMAN RESOURCES
WORKER'S COMPENSATION - Amends existing law relating to worker's
compensation benefits to provide that evaluations of permanent impairment
shall only be made by a qualified physician.
02/04 Senate intro - 1st rdg - to printing
02/07 Rpt prt - to Com/HuRes
]]]] LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF IDAHO ]]]]
Fifty-eighth Legislature First Regular Session - 2005
IN THE SENATE
SENATE BILL NO. 1093
BY COMMERCE AND HUMAN RESOURCES COMMITTEE
1 AN ACT
2 RELATING TO WORKER'S COMPENSATION BENEFITS; AMENDING SECTION 72-424, IDAHO
3 CODE, TO PROVIDE THAT EVALUATIONS OF PERMANENT IMPAIRMENT SHALL ONLY BE
4 MADE BY A QUALIFIED PHYSICIAN.
5 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Idaho:
6 SECTION 1. That Section 72-424, Idaho Code, be, and the same is hereby
7 amended to read as follows:
8 72-424. PERMANENT IMPAIRMENT EVALUATION. "Evaluation (rating) of perma-
9 nent impairment" is a medical appraisal, made only by a qualified physician,
10 of the nature and extent of the injury or disease as it affects an injured
11 employee's personal efficiency in the activities of daily living, such as
12 self-care, communication, normal living postures, ambulation, elevation,
13 traveling, and nonspecialized activities of bodily members.
STATEMENT OF PURPOSE
RS 14496
This measure clarifies that evaluations of permanent physical
impairment are to be prepared only by competent individuals, namely
qualified physicians. It reinforces the legislature's intention
that impairment evaluations are to be medical evaluations. Due to
the wide variety of industrial injuries and occupational exposures
that Idaho's workers face, the growing complexity of the medical
factors that must be considered, and the increasing specialization
of the medical field, the law should assure that evaluations or
"ratings" of permanent physical impairment are performed only by
individuals with appropriate medical training, background and
expertise. Nothing in this provision is intended to preclude or
limit the Industrial Commission, as the trier of fact, from
averaging, apportioning, or otherwise weighing impairment ratings
prepared by qualified physicians. "Physician" is already defined
in Idaho Code Section 72-102(24). The term "qualified physician"
also appears in Idaho Code Sections 72-102(18) and 72-433(1).
FISCAL NOTE
NONE
Contact
Name: Senator John Goedde
Phone: 332-1331
STATEMENT OF PURPOSE/FISCAL NOTE S 1093