Vision & Hearing Loss Cases
TULSA WORKERS’ COMPENSATION VISION AND HEARING LOSS CASES
where compensation is payable for an injury resulting from cumulative trauma, the last employer in whose employment the employee was last injuriously exposed to the trauma during a period of at least ninety (90) days or more, and the insurance carrier, if any, on the risk when the employee was last so exposed under such employer, shall alone be liable therefor, without right to contribution from any prior employer or insurance carrier. If ther is no employer in whose employment the employee was injuriously exposed to the trauma for a period of at least ninety (90) days, then the last employer in whose employment the employee was last injuriously exposed to the trauma and the insurance carrier, if any, on the risk when such employee was last so exposed under such employer, shall be liable therefor, with right to contribution from any prior employer or insurance carrier.
For the loss of an eye, two hundred seventy-five (275) weeks. permanent loss of use of a eye shall be considered as the equivalent of the loss of such eye.
Objective evidence necessary to prove physical or anatomical impairment in occupational hearing loss cases may be established by medically recognized and accepted clinical diagnostic methodologies, including, but not limited to, audiological tests that measure air and bone conduction thresholds and speech discrimination ability. As always, any medical opinions addressing compensability and permanent impairment must be stated within a reasonable degree of medical certainty.
deafness from industrial cause, including occupations which are hazardous to hearing, accident or sudden trauma, three hundred thirty (330) weeks, and total deafness of one ear from industrial cause, including occupations which are hazardous to hearing, accident or sudden trauma, one hundred ten (110) weeks. Except as otherwise provided herein, any examining physician shall only evaluate deafness or hearing impairment in accordance with the latest publication of the American Medical Association’s “Guides to the Evaluation of Permanent Impairment” in effect at the time of the injury. the guides shall be the exclusive basis for testimony and conclusions with regard to deafness or hearing impairment. and all evaluations shall include an apportionment of injury causation.for the permanent partial loss of hearing or sight of an eye, seventy percent (70%) of the employee’s average weekly wage during that portion of the number of weeks in the foregoing schedule provided for the loss of sight of an eye which the partial loss of use thereof bears to the total loss of hearing or sight of an eye.
The State Industrial Court previously had published the Snellen Chart as the criteria for measuring and calculating the percentage of eye impairment in a single eye. This method of rating eye injuries has been accepted and approved by the ophthalmological Section of the American Medical Association. Physicians may continue to use these criteria in the future. The workers compensation act privides that eye impairment is a scheduled member loss. That section states that loss of an eye shall be compensable by the payment of a specified number of weeks of permanent partial disability benefits. however, industrial blindness, in both eyes, according to 85 section 3 3(20), means the claimant is permanently and totally disabled by statutory definition regardless of claimant’s capacity to earn any wages in any occupation. Therefore, any computation or conversion of any loss of vision in one eye into the whole man (as done by the American Medical Association’s “Guides to the Evaluation of Permanent Impairment”) is clearly incorrect according to Oklahoma law. However, partial loss of vision in both eyes may be combined into the whole man provided that the physician states the evaluation of the loss of each eye separately and then evaluates the combination.
the physician should consult with the “Guides” regarding the equipment necessary to test the function of eyes and for the methods of evaluation. the following Snellen Chart may then be used for computing the percentage if visual efficiency. It should be noted that all measurements shall be based upon uncorrected vision.
The court recognizes that visual acuity for distance and near is only one of the functions of the eye. Therefore, the physician may wish to consider the visual fields and ocular motility with absence of diplopia. Evaluation of visual impairment may be based upon all three of these functions. Although they are not equally important, vision is imperfect without the coordinated function of all three.
A physician may deviate from this method of evaluation or may use some other recognized method of evaluation PROVIDED the deviation or the method of evaluation is fully explained.
Oklahoma case law has defined industrial blindness as being 20/200. Therefore, the court has modified the Snellen Chart to show 100 percent loss to an eye at 20/200 even though the Chart whould normally show such loss to be 80 percent. Likewise, it is not necessary to show the percentage loss of vision above 20/200 since there can be no loss greater than 100 percent.
The “Guides to the Evaluation of Permanent Impairment” of the American Medical Association shall be used to evaluate permanent impairment caused by hearing loss where the last exposure occurred on or after June 1, 1987.
Hearing loss in only one ear shall be rated under the AMA Guides as a monaural hearing loss. Hearing loss in both ears shall be rated under the AMA Guides as a binaural hearing loss and shall not be converted to a whole person rating. The guides or modifications thereto or alternative system or method of evaluating permanent impairment or modifications thereto shall be the exclusive basis for testimony and conclusions with regard to deafness or hearing impairment.
Loss of Use: Permanent loss of use of a eye shall be considered as the equivalent of the loss of such eye.
For the permanent partial loss of use of a member, loss of hearing or sight of an eye, seventy percent (70%) of the employee’s average weekly wage during that portion of the number of weeks in the foregoing schedule provided for the loss of such member or sight of an eye which the partial loss of use thereof bears to the total loss of use of such member, loss of hearing or sight of an eye.
The compensation for the foregoing specific injuries shall be in lieu of all other compensation except the benefits provided in section 14 & 16.
Where a compensable injury results in the loss of one or more eyes the employer shall furnish such prosthetic devices as may be necessary as determined by the court in the treatment and rehabilitation of the injured workman. Where a workman sustains a compensable injury arising out of and in the caurse of his employment which results in damage to a prosthetic device with which such workman is equipped, the employer shall repair or replace such device.