The 1996 amendments to the Pennsylvania workers' compensation law provided insurance companies with the right to request Impairment Rating Evaluations (IRE's). IRE's are very different from the Independent Medical Examinations (IME's) discussed previously in this Survival Guide. Impairment Rating Evaluations are a tool used by the workers' compensation insurance company to start a 500-week eligibility clock on a seriously injured worker. Starting this clock places a limit on how long and, therefore, how much the workers' compensation insurance company will have to pay to the injured worker. The workers' compensation insurance company gets to start the Impairment Rating process and controls the records which are reviewed by this physician.

Pennsylvania law sets out specific requirements regarding when an Impairment Rating Evaluation may be requested. Pennsylvania law also provides a way to challenge an Impairment Rating Evaluation and gives the injured worker the right to select his/her own doctor to perform a separate Impairment Rating Evaluation. All of these rights are important. The Impairment Rating Evaluation cannot be requested by the insurance company until an injured worker has been receiving full workers' compensation benefits for two years. However, if you have been out on workers' compensation for more than 6 months, you should call us so that we can develop strategies to prepare for an Impairment Rating Evaluation.