Under AMA Guides apportionment is based on?

Under AMA Guides apportionment is based on?

• A. Causation
• B. Medical report of treating physician
• C. Pre-existing disability
• D. Informal rating

Answer: (A)

Apportionment under the AMA Guides is based on causation: deciding what portion of the impairment comes from the work-related injury versus what comes from a pre-existing condition. In practice, you determine the total impairment using the AMA Guides, then allocate that impairment according to whether the impairment is caused by the current injury. The portion tied to the work injury is the apportionment. A treating physician’s medical report can help establish impairment and the link to the injury, but the key factor driving apportionment is the causal connection, not the report alone. A pre-existing disability describes what was present before the work incident, but it doesn’t, by itself, determine how much impairment is attributed to the current injury. Informal ratings aren’t used for apportionment; a formal AMA Guides impairment rating guides the process.

Apportionment under the AMA Guides is based on causation: deciding what portion of the impairment comes from the work-related injury versus what comes from a pre-existing condition. In practice, you determine the total impairment using the AMA Guides, then allocate that impairment according to whether the impairment is caused by the current injury. The portion tied to the work injury is the apportionment.

A treating physician’s medical report can help establish impairment and the link to the injury, but the key factor driving apportionment is the causal connection, not the report alone. A pre-existing disability describes what was present before the work incident, but it doesn’t, by itself, determine how much impairment is attributed to the current injury. Informal ratings aren’t used for apportionment; a formal AMA Guides impairment rating guides the process.