HB6180 97TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

LRB097 21508 JLS 69606 b

97TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2011 and 2012
HB6180

Introduced , by Rep. Dan Brady

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:

820 ILCS 305/8.1b

Amends the Workers' Compensation Act. Provides that in making a determination of partial disability, the Commission shall base its determination upon, among other things, objective findings in medical records. Removes a provision that no single factor shall be the sole determinant of disability.

A BILL FOR

AN ACT concerning employment.

Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, represented in the General Assembly:

Section 5. The Workers' Compensation Act is amended by changing Section 8.1b as follows:

(820 ILCS 305/8.1b)

Sec. 8.1b. Determination of permanent partial disability. For accidental injuries that occur on or after September 1, 2011, permanent partial disability shall be established using the following criteria:

(a) A physician licensed to practice medicine in all of its branches preparing a permanent partial disability impairment report shall report the level of impairment in writing. The report shall include an evaluation of medically defined and professionally appropriate measurements of impairment that include, but are not limited to: loss of range of motion; loss of strength; measured atrophy of tissue mass consistent with the injury; and any other measurements that establish the nature and extent of the impairment. The most current edition of the American Medical Association's "Guides to the Evaluation of Permanent Impairment" shall be used by the physician in determining the level of impairment.

(b) In determining the level of permanent partial disability, the Commission shall base its determination on the following factors: (i) the reported level of impairment pursuant to subsection (a); (ii) the occupation of the injured employee; (iii) the age of the employee at the time of the injury; (iv) the employee's future earning capacity; and (v) evidence of disability corroborated by objective findings in the treating medical records. No single enumerated factor shall be the sole determinant of disability. In determining the level of disability, the relevance and weight of any factors used in addition to the level of impairment as reported by the physician must be explained in a written order.

(Source: P.A. 97-18, eff. 6-28-11.)