Current through Register Vol. 49, No. 13, September 23, 2024
Subpart 1.
Purpose of schedules.
Minnesota Statutes, section
176.105,
subdivision 4, requires the commissioner of labor and industry to adopt rules
assigning specific percentages of disability of the whole body for specific
permanent partial impairments. Parts
5223.0300 to
5223.0650 assign percentages of
disability of the whole body for permanent partial impairment.
Subp. 2.
Applicability.
Unless otherwise specified, parts
5223.0300 to
5223.0650 apply to dates of injury
on or after July 1, 1993.
Subp.
3.
Interpretation of schedules.
In applying these schedules, the rules of construction in
items A to H apply.
A. Only the
categories in the schedules in parts
5223.0300 to
5223.0650 may be used when rating
the extent of impairment. If a category applicable to the impairing condition
cannot be found in parts
5223.0300 to
5223.0650, then the category most
closely resembling the impairment or the percentage of permanent partial
disability based on analogy shall be chosen.
B. If a category represents the impairing
condition, the disability determination shall not be based on the cumulation of
lesser included categories.
C. If
more than one category may apply to a condition, the category most closely
representing the condition shall be selected.
D. If more than one category is necessary to
represent all of the mutually exclusive impairing conditions resulting from an
injury, categories shall be selected to avoid double compensation for any part
of a condition.
E. The percentages
of disability to the whole body as provided in two or more categories shall not
be averaged, prorated, or otherwise deviated from, unless specifically provided
in the schedule. Unless provided otherwise, if an impairment must be rated
under more than one category, the ratings must be combined using the A + B(1 -
A) formula set forth in Minnesota Statutes, section
176.105,
subdivision 4, paragraph (c), where A is the rating with the largest percentage
and B is the rating with the next largest percentage. If there are more than
two impairments, the combination of the largest and next largest percentages
becomes the new A and the third largest percentage becomes the new B. This
process is continued interactively until all percentages are combined.
F. In certain situations as
specifically noted elsewhere in these schedules, the percentages of disability
must be added (A + B) rather than combined. These summed percentages may then
be combined or added with other percentages as appropriate.
G. With respect to the musculoskeletal
schedule, the percent of whole body disability for motor or sensory loss of a
member shall not exceed the percent of whole body disability for amputation of
that member.
H. A category not
found within parts
5223.0300 to
5223.0650 shall not be used to
determine permanent partial disability.
Subp. 4.
Incorporations by
reference.
The technical terms in parts
5223.0300 to
5223.0650 are defined either in
part
5223.0310 or by the documents
incorporated by reference in parts
5223.0300 to
5223.0650. Documents are
incorporated by reference only to the extent necessary for definition or to the
extent specifically referenced in a schedule. The documents incorporated by
reference are not subject to frequent change, although new editions
occasionally may be published. These documents are common medical references
and are conveniently available to the public at the University of Minnesota,
Biomedical Library and are accessible through the Minitex interlibrary loan
system. These documents are as follows:
A. "Adult Normal for the Nine Hole Peg Test
of Finger Dexterity," V. Mathiowetz et al. The Occupational Therapy Journal of
Research, volume 5, pp. 24-38 (1985).
B. Guides to the Evaluation of Permanent
Impairment, published by the American Medical Association, Committee on Rating
of Mental and Physical Impairment, 3rd edition, 1988. This document is also
referred to as the A.M.A. Guides.
C. S3.1-1977 Criteria for Permissible Ambient
Noise during Audiometric Testing, published by the American National Standards
Institute, Inc., 1973.
D. S3.6-1969
(R1973) Specification for Audiometers, published by the American National
Standards Institute, Inc., 1977.
E.
Metropolitan Life Insurance Company Height and Weight Tables, published by the
Metropolitan Life Insurance Company, 1983, and reproduced in the A.M.A Guides,
3rd edition, page 178.
F. F. F.
Plum and J. B. Posner, Diagnosis of Stupor and Coma, 2nd edition, published by
F. A. Davis, Philadelphia, 1972.
G. Dorland's Illustrated Medical Dictionary,
27th edition, published by W. B. Saunders Company, 1988. This document is also
referred to as Dorland's.
H. D.S.M.
III, Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, published by
American Psychiatric Association, 1980. This document is also referred to as
D.S.M. III.
I. Fractures, 2nd
edition, Charles A. Rockwood and David Green, published by Lippencott,
1984.
J. Textbook on Anatomy,
William Henry Hollinshead, published by Harper & Row, 1985.
K. "The Estimation of Areas of Burns," in
Surgery, Gynecology and Obstetrics, by Lund and Browder, pages 352-358, volume
79, published by Surgical Publishing Company of Chicago, 1944. This document is
also referred to as Lund and Browder.
L. Stedman's Medical Dictionary, 25th
edition, published by Williams and Wilkins, 1990. This document is also
referred to as Stedman's.
