Brandon v. Hillsborough County School Board

The deputy commissioner denied wage-loss benefits because he found that claimant failed to prove any permanent physical impairment under the American Medical Association’s Guide to the Evaluation of Permanent Impairment. Our prior decisions apparently influenced the deputy to consider impairment solely under the guide; and he did not undertake to decide whether, apart from the use of this guide, the evidence proved any permanent impairment. Since the guide is no longer the exclusive basis for determining permanent impairment,1 I would reverse and remand for an initial, factual determination…