Impairment rating evaluations (IREs) provide an important tool in the Pennsylvania workers’ compensation system. Where a claimant has made a full recovery or is clearly capable of returning to the workforce, the employer has well-established options for terminating or modifying a claimant’s benefits. However, where a claimant has not made a full recovery and a return to the workforce is disputed, the employer’s options are extremely limited. This is where the IRE process is crucial.
The IRE process allows employers who have paid two years of total indemnity benefits to have a claimant examined by an impartial IRE physician. The IRE is conducted according to guidelines published by the American Medical Association and results in a calculation of a claimant’s whole body impairment rating. If a claimant is found to be less than 50 percent impaired, the employer may begin the process of modifying a claimant’s benefits from a status of “total” to “partial.” This does not alter the amount of money a claimant receives on a weekly basis, but it does provide a cut-off date of 500 weeks or approximately 10 years for payment of future wage loss benefits. It should be noted that the IRE process does not affect a claimant’s right to ongoing medical benefits.
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