Proposed Legislation Would Fix High Court's Protz Decision, Revive IREs

House lawmakers have followed through on a pledge to draft a legislative fix to revive the impairment rating evaluation process. House Bill 1840, sponsored by Reps. Rob Kauffman, R-Franklin, and Garth D. Everett, R-Muncy, specifies that physicians conducting IREs would have to use the sixth edition of the AMA Guides to the Evaluation of Permanent Impairment. The state Supreme Court on June 20 declared Section 306(a.2) of the Workers’ Compensation Act unconstitutional, blocking IREs. The high court ruled 6-1 in Mary Ann Protz v. Workers’ Compensation Appeal Board (Derry Area S...