The AMA has classified injuries, particularly those seen in auto accidents producing injuries to neck & back (Spine), into “Specific Disorders of the Spine” so that evaluators and adjudicators involved in injury claims could arrive at the same level of understanding and degree of impairment.
Specific Disorders Of The Spine Include:
It is vital that the doctor has an understanding and knowledge of both the forces that are in action that produce the different “Injury Severity Types” in order to diagnose and treat them as well as represent them according to standards of the AMA related to the Specific Disorders of the Spine.
A court ruling in the case Almaraz-Guzman II En Banc Decision, the physician is charged with providing a whole person impairment (WPI) rating utilizing any chapter, table, page or method in the AMA Guides that most accurately reflects the injured 's impairment. The opinion must be substantial evidence. (Almaraz-Guzman II En Banc Decision).
Not all physicians are trained to produce an impairment rating.