Case Reviews Work Capacity Guides Impairment Ratings
Chronic Pain Syndrome Ratings

All of the examples below give you further documentation
or proof of your injuries, impairment and disability for a judge,
jury, insurance company or anyone else involved in your case.

Spinal Impairment Rating - A written report which documents the percentage of impairment(damage) to your spine caused by your condition(s) and to your body as a whole.   The Spinal Impairment Rating is given in the form of a percentage.  This process now gives you ANOTHER way to document your injuries to a judge, jury or claims adjuster. This is a service that should not be over looked by you or your attorney.


Example: John has a low back injury from an accident.   It is determined that John has a Spinal Impairment Rating of 45% whole person.  That means that John's low back injury has caused him a 45% loss of his body functioning as a whole.   

Convert Whole Person Impairment to Regional Spine Impairment - This is a process where we take your existing Whole Person Spinal Impairment Rating and convert it into your Regional Spinal Impairment Rating to more accurately show how much impairment has occurred in a particular area of your spine.

Example:  A nurse suffers an on the job injury to her low back.  She has had various treatments that did not help and is now at maximum medical improvement.  It is determined that her Whole Person Spinal Impairment Rating is 28%.  Therefore, the patient also has a Regional Spine Impairment Rating of 37%.  This means that 37% of her lumbar spine is impaired or not functional.

Functional Capacity Assessment - An assessment of how much physical capability a person's spine can do after some type of injury, relating to job tasks and everyday living; based upon a Spinal Impairment Rating.  The Functional Capacity Assessment measures how much of your job tasks your spine can do AFTER treatment for your injuries.

Example:  A construction worker has been treated for a low back injury and has a Spinal Impairment Rating of 30%.  It was determined that their main occupational task is lifting.  Their Functional Capacity Assessment is 75%.   The Functional Capacity Assessment shows that the patients spine can now only do 75% of the task of lifting.

Spinal Disability Evaluation - Through the use of a Spinal Impairment Rating, we can determine a person percentage of disability for their job tasks.

Example:  A fireman whose main job task is lifting has had an injury to his low back and has a Spinal Impairment Rating of 30%.  His Spinal Disability Evaluation is 25% for the job task of lifting.

Chronic Pain Syndrome Rating - This is an impairment rating for pain only, due to an already established Chronic Pain Syndrome.

Example:  A 42 year-old woman presents with a history of migraine headaches.   She wants a Chronic Pain Syndrome Rating for her Short Term Disability and Long Term Disability documentation.  She has supporting documentation from her treating physicians of an established Chronic Pain Syndrome due to her migraine headaches.

Independent Medical Exam - An exam performed by a doctor who is not the patients treating physician.  This type of exam is commonly called an IME or Second Opinion.  An IME gives you the ability to have an unbiased or independent examination and diagnosis of your condition.  This service is used in cases where there is controversy over the patients overall condition, prognosis and diagnosis.

Example:  A woman was injured in an automobile accident one year ago.  She has been receiving treatment for her injuries and is about to be released from care.  There is a discrepancy between the parties involved over her final diagnosis and prognosis.

Work Restriction Documentation - This is a written document which uses the information from the patients Spinal Impairment Rating to determine how much lifting the patient can do either on the job or at home.  It is given in the form of work restrictions but is also considered valid for non-occupational situations.

Example:  A man was injured and thus has a 28% permanent impairment rating of his low back.  It was determined that his disability for lifting requires documentation.  We supplied him with a Work Restriction Documentation: limiting him to Sedentary Work with a restriction to lifting no more than 5 lbs. MAXIMUM, occasionally throughout the workday.

Lost Pre-Injury and Capacity Documentation - A written document which gives Guidelines for Work Capacity in the form of Lost Pre-Injury status and Work Capacity status.

Example: A person has suffered neck and low back injuries from an automobile accident.  We determined from her Spinal Disability Evaluation that she has a Spinal Disability Rating of 25%.  Lost Pre-Injury Capacity: Disability precluding heavy lifting, repeated bending, stooping and crawling.  This individual has also lost approximately HALF of their  pre-injury capacity of lifting, bending stooping and crawling.
 

Scoliosis Impairment Rating - Tells you in terms of a percentage (25%, 40%, 60%, 75% etc.) exactly how much impairment that your scoliosis has caused to your whole body. 

Example: A 32 year-old woman has a thoracic scoliosis measuring 40 degrees.  Her scoliosis decreases her ability to sit and sleep.   After we further analyze her x-rays, it is determined that her Scoliosis Impairment Rating is 32% Whole Body. 

Regional Scoliosis Impairment Rating - This figure, in the form of a percentage, shows how much impairment is involved in a particular region of the spine i.e. neck, mid-back, low back.

Example: A person presents with a Scoliosis Impairment Rating of 32%.  Her Regional Spinal Impairment Rating is 80%.  In other words her scoliosis has caused 32% of her entire body to be impaired and 80% of her thoracic spine is impaired.  Therefore only 20% of her thoracic spine is functional.

Case Review - File Review - A written report based upon your medical file records that you provide stating if your diagnosis, treatment and prognosis are all applicable to your condition. Utilization Review, Peer Review and File Review are all other names for Case Review.

Example: A person has been in an accident and diagnosed with whiplash.  After 6 months of treatment, the patient feels that they are not getting any better.  Case Review suggests that the patients' physician alter their treatments and place the patient on sedentary work restrictions for 2 months.

Note:  All of the above definitions and fictional examples are presented for demonstration purposes only.  In no way does the above information reflect or define your condition, impairment or disability.  Consult a licensed physician for specific recommendations and treatment.

Contact Information

Dr. Gerald R. Lapinsky, DC, CSDE, DABDA

Postal address

P.O. Box 7644  Phoenix, AZ  85011-7644

Telephone

       602-997-2273

Electronic mail

Information: information@AccidentHotline.net

DISCLAIMER: The information contained on this web site is not intended to alleviate, improve, maintain or cure medical and/or non-medical condition(s).  This material does not constitute medical and/or legal advice.  This web site is intended for informational purposes only.   Consult a licensed physician for specific recommendations and treatment.

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