'Most Recent' AMA Guideline Mandate Unconstitutional

A narrowly divided Commonwealth Court last week declared that the state Legislature abrogated its duties under the state constitution by blindly adopting whatever standards the American Medical Association chooses on how to rate claimants' disabilities. The four-judge majority said that Section 306(a.2) of the Workers' Compensation Act, which provides that impairment ratings must be established using the most recent edition of the AMA Guides to the Evaluation of Permanent Impairment, puts "unchecked discretion completely in the hands of a private entity." This, the majority...