In re Lapinski

In this petition for certiorari, we are asked to determine the basis on which a scheduled permanent impairment award under RSA 281:26 (1977 & Supp. 1983) is to be calculated where the injury and the permanent impairment occurred years apart and where the degree of permanent impairment itself was in dispute.

The petitioner, Diana Lapinski, now thirty-eight years of age, suffered a work-related back injury on September 11, 1975, while *774working as an administrative secretary for Sanders Associates, Inc. She was immediately eligible to collect workers’ compensation benefits and received a weekly…