I'm "Back"

Now that we are past our introductions, I really want to dive into a topic that is near and dear to my heart this week. If the title didn’t give it away, I’m “back”. I am both back with another blog and talking about back injuries, or at least injuries to the body as a whole. That’s what is known as a pun. Pretty funny right? Not only do you get legal advice here, but you get a real gut busting joke to start your day. I like to call that a twofer.

Enough about how funny I am. Let’s dig into what you are really here for. Since I will be speaking at our Firm’s upcoming seminar on body as a whole injuries, I thought I would give you a little taste of what is to come.

First off, what exactly is an injury to the “body as a whole”, as we like to say. Basically, it is an injury to any part of the body that is not a scheduled member. What is a scheduled member then? I will dive into that another time. However, for the purposes of this blog, it is generally the head, neck,  back, heart attack, etc. You will notice there is a new tab entitled “USEFUL LINKS”. There, you will find our quick reference guide for your assistance. On the middle right section on the first page, there is a list of scheduled members. While it can get more complicated, for our purposes, a body as a whole injury is basically any injury to anything not delineated in that list.

As you will grow accustomed to here, I want to simplify topics so that hopefully anyone reading can understand. Evaluating a claim from an exposure standpoint for a body as a whole injury can be as complicated as anything we do. We look at a variety of factors, including (but certainly not limited to): the permanent restrictions assessed, pre-injury vs. post-injury wages, a claimant’s educational background, work history and geographical location of where the injury occurred.

When a claimant is placed at maximum medical improvement (MMI), you will generally receive a permanent partial impairment rating to the body as a whole.  If you do not remember anything from this post, remember this one detail. WE DO NOT PAY AN IMPAIRMENT RATING TO THE BODY AS A WHOLE IN MISSISSIPPI. EVER! Every state is different, and if you are a claims adjuster, you may juggle multiple states. But please, please do not pay a rating to a body as a whole injury in Mississippi. A person is statutorily owed the value of the impairment rating to a scheduled member, which will be discussed at another time, but is not owed any automatic payment for being assessed a permanent partial impairment rating to the body as a whole.

Let me provide you with an illustration. Let’s take two 55 year old men living in MS. Person #1 (let’s call him John), dropped out of school in the 9th grade and began working. He began on a construction team and is now a roofer. He has spent his entire career working with different construction companies. He lives in the Mississippi Delta, which is considered one of the poorest areas in the US (and is also where I am proudly from). Most of the employment opportunities there are blue collar. Prior to his injury, he was making $1,000.00/week.

Now let’s take a look at Person #2 (who we will call Tom). Tom was born and raised in Jackson, MS (which is the capital of MS for those of you who can’t remember all of your capitals from elementary school). He graduated high school in the top of his class and attended Ole Miss afterwards where he studied chemistry. He later decided on medical school and became a pediatrician.  He has performed that job for nearly 2 ½ decades now. He is making $4,500.00/week while working in Jackson at his own clinic.

Both John and Tom had a freak accident at work, injuring their backs. They both had identical surgeries and are assessed the same final opinions of a 5% rating to the body as a whole and light duty restrictions of no lifting greater than 20 pounds. (Remember, we do not pay the 5% rating!)

If you know much about the construction field, particularly roofing, you know that John can’t go back to work doing that job. In fact, it would be almost impossible to find John much, if any work, in the construction field with 20 pound lifting restrictions. That leaves a presumption that he is permanently and totally disabled, assuming the employer did not bring him back to work. With a very limited educational background and a history of only doing construction work, how can John make a living? Chances are, he can’t. This case involving John very well may end up being a maximum benefits case from an indemnity standpoint. Even if he was able to work the cash register at the local grocery story, odds are he could not make enough weekly to avoid getting a maximum award.

What about Tom? Tom literally has the exact same final medical opinions and is the exact same age. Surely he is permanently and totally disabled too, right?

If you know much about pediatricians (I have 2 kids ages 2 and under, with one at home with the flu currently), there is no heavy lifting involved. Would the 20 pound lifting restrictions preclude Tom from performing the usual acts of a pediatrician? I would argue that Tom could literally return to work doing the exact same job and not be hindered in any way by the 20 pound lifting restriction, making this a very minimal case. These restrictions would have no impact on Tom’s ability to make the same or greater wages as he would return to his pre-injury job.

Have you ever heard an attorney tell you “it depends”? Such an attorney term, right? Well that’s a very common answer in evaluating claims as to the body as a whole. Take the example of the two men of the exact same age living in the same state with the same restrictions where one ends up being found permanently and totally disabled while the other results in very limited exposure.

This is obviously a brief overview of evaluating disability to the body as a whole, and if you are interested in a more detailed discussion, please join us at the upcoming Markow Walker seminar where I will be giving a lecture on the topic. Information can be found under the USEFUL LINKS page.

P.S. I have had lots of feedback so far, which I greatly appreciate. Please share my blog with anyone you think might be interested. Also, if you leave a comment and would like some response, please leave your email as it only shows the information you leave. Finally, if you would like to be added to the email list that I send when the blog is updated, let me know and I will gladly add you.