Section 4660.1 Of Article 3. Disability Payments From California Labor Code >> Division 4. >> Part 2. >> Chapter 2. >> Article 3.
4660.1
. This section shall apply to injuries occurring on or after
January 1, 2013.
(a) In determining the percentages of permanent partial or
permanent total disability, account shall be taken of the nature of
the physical injury or disfigurement, the occupation of the injured
employee, and his or her age at the time of injury.
(b) For purposes of this section, the "nature of the physical
injury or disfigurement" shall incorporate the descriptions and
measurements of physical impairments and the corresponding
percentages of impairments published in the American Medical
Association (AMA) Guides to the Evaluation of Permanent Impairment
(5th Edition) with the employee's whole person impairment, as
provided in the Guides, multiplied by an adjustment factor of 1.4.
(c) (1) Except as provided in paragraph (2), there shall be no
increases in impairment ratings for sleep dysfunction, sexual
dysfunction, or psychiatric disorder, or any combination thereof,
arising out of a compensable physical injury. Nothing in this section
shall limit the ability of an injured employee to obtain treatment
for sleep dysfunction, sexual dysfunction, or psychiatric disorder,
if any, that are a consequence of an industrial injury.
(2) An increased impairment rating for psychiatric disorder shall
not be subject to paragraph (1) if the compensable psychiatric injury
resulted from either of the following:
(A) Being a victim of a violent act or direct exposure to a
significant violent act within the meaning of Section 3208.3.
(B) A catastrophic injury, including, but not limited to, loss of
a limb, paralysis, severe burn, or severe head injury.
(d) The administrative director may formulate a schedule of age
and occupational modifiers and may amend the schedule for the
determination of the age and occupational modifiers in accordance
with this section. The Schedule for Rating Permanent Disabilities
pursuant to the American Medical Association (AMA) Guides to the
Evaluation of Permanent Impairment (5th Edition) and the schedule of
age and occupational modifiers shall be available for public
inspection and, without formal introduction in evidence, shall be
prima facie evidence of the percentage of permanent disability to be
attributed to each injury covered by the schedule. Until the schedule
of age and occupational modifiers is amended, for injuries occurring
on or after January 1, 2013, permanent disabilities shall be rated
using the age and occupational modifiers in the permanent disability
rating schedule adopted as of January 1, 2005.
(e) The schedule of age and occupational modifiers shall promote
consistency, uniformity, and objectivity.
(f) The schedule of age and occupational modifiers and any
amendment thereto or revision thereof shall apply prospectively and
shall apply to and govern only those permanent disabilities that
result from compensable injuries received or occurring on and after
the effective date of the adoption of the schedule, amendment, or
revision, as the case may be.
(g) Nothing in this section shall preclude a finding of permanent
total disability in accordance with Section 4662.
(h) In enacting the act adding this section, it is not the intent
of the Legislature to overrule the holding in Milpitas Unified School
District v. Workers' Comp. Appeals Bd. (Guzman) (2010) 187
Cal.App.4th 808.
(i) The Commission on Health and Safety and Workers' Compensation
shall conduct a study to compare average loss of earnings for
employees who sustained work-related injuries with permanent
disability ratings under the schedule, and shall report the results
of the study to the appropriate policy and fiscal committees of the
Legislature no later than January 1, 2016.