1 Hour MCLE; 1 Legal Specialization in Workers’ Compensation Law. You must register in advance to participate.

The AMA Guides 5th Edition Chapter 17 is primarily focused on establishing Whole Person Impairment for the Lower Extremities. There are multiple Tables and Examples in this chapter that we just use to begin the analysis aimed at arriving at an accurate and complete assessment for this region of the body. It is critically important to understand the anatomy and function of the lower extremities on a person’s ability to engage in activities of daily living. As in all the other chapters, we must start with the medicine! Understanding the interaction of the bones, muscles, joints, nerves and vascular circulation in the legs is often overlooked, but plays an enormous role in properly selecting the most appropriate WPI. Equally as important is addressing what if any other medical conditions, or surgical procedures have affected the lower extremities’ WPI. On the other hand, Chapter 18 of The AMA Guides plays a unique role in our analysis in California. It is kind of a unicorn in the determination of pain and psychological impairment. Here, statutory language and case interpretations are as important to the end result as in any other chapter in the Guides. Use of the “words” and “numbers” contained in this Chapter has been used in numerous creative calculations by the medical community to different ends. Here too, understanding the medicine and jumping off from there is the only way to obtain an accurate and complete Whole Person Impairment related to medical conditions referred to in this chapter. Speaker: Sherry Grant.