Atkins Decision--Payment of Permanent Partial Disability Ratings/New Procedural Change (Chairman Buck Lattimore's August 12, 2003 memo)

TO: All Interested Parties

FROM: Chairman Buck Lattimore

DATE: August 12, 2004

Please provide a copy of this memo and form to everyone in your organization affected by this change.

RE: Atkins Decision—Payment of Permanent Partial Disability Ratings/New Procedural Change

The procedure for submission to the Commission of Forms 21/26 for payment of permanent partial disability compensation (PPD) has been affected by the recent Supreme Court decision in Atkins v. Kelly Springfield Tire Co., __ N.C. ___ (No. 10PA03 filed June 25, 2004). This decision in effect upheld the Court of Appeals’ decision at 154 N.C. App. 512, 571 S.E.2d 865 (2002), which held that in order to approve an agreement for permanent partial disability compensation, the Industrial Commission must review the full and complete medical reports, as required by N.C. Gen. Stat. §97-82(a) and not just the relevant ones as indicated in Rule 501(3) of the Workers’ Compensation Rules. The Court of Appeals specifically held that the review of a Form 25R—Evaluation for Permanent Impairment was not sufficient to meet the statutory requirement that the Commission review full and complete medical reports.

In order to comply with the mandate of the appellate courts, the parties must submit to the Commission the complete medical records related to the injury which are known to exist, as well as a newly-adopted Form 25A (linked to this memo below and found on our website at http://www.comp.state.nc.us/ncic/pages/form25a.pdf). The Form 25A includes a certification by the parties that complete medical reports known to exist in the case have been filed with the Commission. The Form 25A must be signed by a representative of the self-insured employer, carrier, administrator, or their attorney, and by the employee or their attorney. Effective Monday, August 23, 2004, our Claims Section will not approve and will return any Forms 21/26 for payment of PPD submitted without complete medical reports and a Form 25A.

Your continued cooperation and compliance with these directives is appreciated by the Commission.

Form 25A—Certification of Complete Medical Reports (G.S. §97-82),
Microsoft® 2000 Document File with Form Fields