The 1996/Act 57 amendments to the Pennsylvania Workers’ Compensation Act implemented dramatic changes in multiple aspects of workers’ compensation practice in Pennsylvania. Employers and insurers believed that the Impairment Rating Evaluation (IRE) would transform Pennsylvania’s workers’ compensation to a system more favorable to them. At the same time, claimants feared it would unfairly benefit employers and disrupt their benefits. Both perspectives had elements of truth and error, and the dispute and uncertainty surrounding IREs continue. This is their saga.

Initially, the idea was straightforward, at least in theory. Once an injured worker had received benefits for 104 weeks, the employer (or insurance provider, as the terms are essentially interchangeable in Pennsylvania workers’ compensation cases) could seek an IRE by an impartial physician certified to perform the exams. If the worker had less than a 50% whole body impairment, their benefits could shift from total to partial disability, which meant future benefits were limited to 500 weeks.