Missed Something the First Time? How Permanency Evaluations Can Change Your Claim

For many injured workers, a permanency evaluation feels like the point where questions should finally have answers. But what happens when your condition doesn’t improve the way everyone expected? If you’re still struggling months later or facing additional treatment, you may be wondering whether your injury was fully accounted for the first time around.

At Sawers & Sackel, we help injured workers throughout Buffalo and Western New York with workers’ compensation claims involving permanency and extremity injuries. Understanding how permanency evaluations work can help you determine whether your current condition is being accurately reflected in your claim.

What’s a Permanency Evaluation?

At some point during a workers’ compensation claim, your doctor may perform a permanency evaluation. This assessment is used to determine whether a work injury has resulted in any lasting loss of function and, if so, how significant that loss is.

These evaluations often take place after you’ve completed treatment or your condition has become more stable. Rather than focusing on your symptoms at their worst, the evaluation looks at the limitations that remain after recovery.

In New York, permanency evaluations are especially important for certain extremity injuries. Injuries involving the shoulder, arm, hand, leg, foot, hearing, or vision may qualify for a Schedule Loss of Use (SLU) award. The findings from the evaluation can play an important role in how that award is calculated.

Even after a permanency evaluation is completed, the story doesn’t always end there.

What Happens If Your Injury Turns Out Worse Than Expected?

Not every injury follows the path doctors initially expect. While some workers recover and move on, others continue to experience problems long after a permanency evaluation has been completed. You may start questioning your original rating if:

• You need additional treatment or surgery
• Your range of motion becomes more limited
• Pain, weakness, or stiffness continues to interfere with daily activities
• New testing reveals damage that wasn’t fully understood before
• The affected body part isn’t functioning the way you expected it would

When workers begin noticing these kinds of changes, it’s natural to wonder whether the original permanency evaluation captured the full extent of the injury.

What a Higher Permanency Rating Could Mean for Your Claim

When an injury turns out to be more serious than originally believed, a treating doctor may perform a new evaluation and conclude that the original permanency rating no longer reflects the extent of the injury.

The insurance carrier may agree with that assessment, or it may rely on its own medical examiner and dispute the new findings.

When there are competing opinions, the medical evidence becomes especially important. If the updated evaluation shows a greater permanent loss than what was originally documented, it can affect the value of the SLU award.

When a Work Injury Turns Out Worse Than Expected

If your injury turns out to be more serious than originally believed, the permanency evaluation may not tell the whole story.

When questions come up about a permanency rating, the answers are often found in the medical evidence and the details of the claim itself. At Sawers & Sackel, workers’ compensation is all we do. If you have questions about your permanency rating or claim, schedule a meeting or call 716-202-2367.