Builders and Contractors Exchange
Weekly Bulletin: 15 May 2006
Using Pre-Injury Physical Demands Analysis Forms To Determine Whether an Employee Can Return to Full Duty Work
By: Brian Sykes
It is a good idea to complete and maintain physical demands analysis forms for classifications of employees at your company. If an employee is injured, you will have a prepared physical demands analysis form (job description) to forward to your workers' compensation carrier. The physical demands analysis form should list the specific physical requirements of the employee's pre-injury job.
The more detailed the physical demands analysis form, the more useful it will be. For example, you might determine that the employee's pre-injury job requires the ability to lift 35 pounds floor to waist, one to two hours per day; and lift overhead 50 pounds one to two hours per day. Other physical requirements might include ability to bend, walk, stand, kneel, and squat. Obviously, the job description will be unique for each employee because of that employee's specific job requirements.
In addition, the physical demands analysis form may vary from work site to work site, depending upon the project on which the employee is working at the time of the injury. It is recommended that the employee's immediate supervisor complete the physical demands analysis form. If an employee is injured at work, the physical demands analysis form can be useful in determining when and if that employee is able to return to full duty work.
When an employee is released to light duty following a work injury, it is important to have the treating physician(s) identify the employee's precise physical limitations. Sometimes, the treating physician(s) will determine these restrictions based upon their examination of the employee. In other instances, the physician(s) send the employee to a facility where a functional capacity examination ("FCE") is performed. During the FCE, the examiner, generally a physical therapist, takes objective measurements of an individual's physical ability to perform a battery of exercises. The FCE can also be used to identify persons who are not putting forth full effort, which may be an indication of malingering.
Significantly, it is not necessary that the employee be released to work with no restrictions in order for the employee to perform his or her full duty work. An employee with light duty restrictions may be able to perform his or her full duty job as long as the physical requirements of the full duty job (as identified on the physical demands analysis form) do not exceed the work restrictions assigned by the treating physician. For instance, a doctor could assign work restrictions of no lifting greater than 20 pounds. As long as the employee's pre-injury job does not require any lifting greater than 20 pounds, then the employee is capable of performing his or her full duty job, even though there are still assigned light duty work restrictions.
We also recommend that you send the completed physical demands analysis form to the treating physician(s) for review and approval. Once the physical demands analysis form is approved (assuming it is valid and lists all of the actual physical requirements of the job), then the employee should be expected to comply with any work within his or her approved physical capabilities.
If you have any additional questions or this or any other workers' compensation issue, please contact one of Vandeventer Black’s attorneys.
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This article is meant to bring awareness to this topic and is not intended to be used as legal advice.