Rule Update: Nev. Changes Guidelines of PPI Ratings on Preexisting Impairments

Carson City, NV (WorkersCompensation.com) -- Making determinations on ratings of permanent physical impairment in Nevada is different from what it used to be, thanks to some recent rule updates.

What follows is an overview of what's new:

NAC 616B.77723  

This section involves the guidelines the review board is to use when meaking determinations on ratings of permanent physical impairment as described in Nevada statutes found at NRS 616B.572 and 616B.578.

For the purposes of determining whether a preexisting impairment is a permanent physical impairment:

• If the preexisting impairment of the injured employee arose out of and in the course of her employment and the employee has been assigned a rating of permanent impairment that is no longer appealable, the board may choose to accept the rating for the preexisting impairment if the rating was assigned based on the edition of the American Medical Association’s Guides to the Evaluation of Permanent Impairment that was in effect on the date on which the preexisting impairment was rated.
• If a claim for reimbursement from the account has been served on the administrator pursuant to NAC 616B.7773 but the preexisting impairment has not yet been assigned a rating, the administrator may choose not to make a recommendation on the claim and the board may choose not to rule on the claim until after a determination of rating has been made concerning the preexisting impairment in accordance with the edition of the American Medical Association’s Guides to the Evaluation of Permanent Impairment that was in effect on the date on which the subsequent injury was rated.
• If a claim for reimbursement from the account has been served on the administrator pursuant to NAC 616B.7773 and a rating has been assigned to the preexisting impairment but the rating is not deemed final, the administrator may choose not to make a recommendation on the claim and the board may choose not to rule on the claim until the rating has been finalized in accordance with the edition of the American Medical Association’s Guides to the Evaluation of Permanent Impairment that is in effect on the date on which the rating of the preexisting impairment is finalized.

Under the rule, the board and the administrator are not bound by any agreement between an injured employee and an association concerning:

• The rating of permanent impairment assigned to a preexisting condition or a subsequent injury.
• The edition of the American Medical Association’s Guides to the Evaluation of Permanent Impairment that should be used to assign a rating of permanent impairment to a preexisting condition or a subsequent injury.
• The apportionment of the percentage of disability between the preexisting condition and the subsequent injury.

Forms, email updates, legal, regulatory, and compliance information from Nevada and 52 other jurisdictions across the U.S. can be found on WorkCompResearch.com.

Share This Article: