Ruling on 6th Edition Could Give Doctors More Leeway on Impairment Ratings

Kansas business groups are calling it a major win for employers, but others said a long-awaited decision by the state Supreme Court now gives physicians more discretion in determining impairment ratings. The court ruled Friday in Howard Johnson III v. U.S. Food Service and American Zurich Insurance that an appellate court was wrong when it held in 2018 that part of a state law was unconstitutional. The 2013 law had required the use of the much-criticized sixth edition of the American Medical Associations’ Guides to the Evaluation of Permanent Impairment. Claimants' attorneys have a...