Tag Archives: rating


Rating for Sacroiliac Joint- Nevada PPD
By Jason Weinstock on December 26, 2014

I have had rating issues come up in the past on how to rate injuries to the sacroiliac joint, and fortunately I had two experienced rating doctors reason that they should be rated under the DRE categories for a low back injury. I say fortunately because some rating doctors would have taken the position that … Continue reading Rating for Sacroiliac Joint- Nevada PPD

Dr. Pirruccello Explains How to Rate Spinal Injuries
By Jason Weinstock on September 28, 2014

Virginia :  The primary purpose of my blog posts is to inform Nevada’s injured workers about the law and the claims process.  However, I occasionally like to offer my readers from the workers’ compensation industry a more detailed analysis of a current issue that requires a working familiarity with Nevada workers compensation claims.   The … Continue reading Dr. Pirruccello Explains How to Rate Spinal Injuries

What’s An Apportionment of Your PPD Award?
By Jason Weinstock on August 30, 2014

Forgive me for not explaining the word apportionment sooner in my past blog posts about permanent partial disability awards on Nevada workers’ compensation claims.   It’s a bad word, and it means subtraction from the percentage of impairment.  It the rating doctor writes in his report that he found you have a 10% whole body impairment, … Continue reading What’s An Apportionment of Your PPD Award?


Can I Hire a Lawyer after I Get My PPD Offer on My Nevada Claim?
By Jason Weinstock on February 23, 2014

  Can I Hire a Lawyer After I Get My PPD Rating?   Yes, you may.  Just make sure that you are getting experienced guidance and good value for paying an attorney fee at this late stage of the claim, and be aware that attorneys’ fees will differ from one attorney to the next on … Continue reading Can I Hire a Lawyer after I Get My PPD Offer on My Nevada Claim?

Hearing Loss in Nevada FIre Fighters
By Jason Weinstock on January 24, 2014

A recent article published in the Journal of Occupational & Environmental Medicine that studied 425 fire fighters from three states showed that more than 40% of the fire fighters had hearing loss in the noise-sensitive frequencies (4 and 6 kHz).  Fire fighters with longer years in fire services demonstrated significantly worse hearing.  The conclusion was … Continue reading Hearing Loss in Nevada FIre Fighters

Rating Physician Richard Kudrewicz Dies
By Jason Weinstock on December 7, 2013

The workers’ compensation community lost one of the most authoritative and fairest rating  physicians on November 30, 2013.  Richard Kudrewicz, M.D. , or Dr. K, as most of us called him, performed about ten times as many permanent partial disability evaluations on Nevada injured workers as most of the rating physicians on the DIR’s rotating … Continue reading Rating Physician Richard Kudrewicz Dies


Time Line for Permanent Partial Disability Awards
By Jason Weinstock on June 15, 2013

 30 days after your doctor says you are stable and ratable, your adjuster must send you a letter scheduling your PPD exam.  (The exam however, doesn’t have to take place within 30 days.)   NRS 616C.490(2). 14 days after your rating exam, the rating doctor should send the rating report to the adjuster. NRS 616C.490(6). 14 … Continue reading Time Line for Permanent Partial Disability Awards

Cost of Rating Exams Up Again: Get It Right the First Time
By Jason Weinstock on March 12, 2013

     Effective February 1, 2013, the Nevada fee schedule that governs health care providers under the Nevada workers’ compensation system, raised the PPD (permanent partial disability) reimbursement to $718.96.    If the rating physician is rating more than two body parts, he or she can charge an additional $240.11 for each additional body part.  For … Continue reading Cost of Rating Exams Up Again: Get It Right the First Time

More Unfair Tactics Against Nevada’s Injured Workers
By Jason Weinstock on March 2, 2013

 The most important benefit under the Nevada workers’ compensation system is the injured employee’s right to get medical treatment.  I have prior blog posts about the limitations on that right that are written into Nevada law, such as the limited right to choose a treating doctor.  I also just wrote about insurers’ attempts to deny … Continue reading More Unfair Tactics Against Nevada’s Injured Workers


Am I Entitled to a PPD Award If I’m Released Full Duty?
By Jason Weinstock on March 14, 2012

 Injured workers, employers, and even doctors on workers’ comp provider lists in Nevada remain confused about whether an injured worker who is able to return to work full duty is entitled to a permanent partial disability award.  Depending on the injury, an injured worker may be entitled to a rating evaluation and an award,  even … Continue reading Am I Entitled to a PPD Award If I’m Released Full Duty?

Should I Agree to the Insurer’s Rating Doctor?
By Jason Weinstock on March 6, 2012

If your treating physician on your accepted workers’ compensation claim in Nevada reports to your claims adjuster that you may have a ratable impairment, you should be scheduled for an impairment evaluation  30 days later.  This evaluation, also called a rating,  will be done by one of the 138 doctors and chiropractors who have been … Continue reading Should I Agree to the Insurer’s Rating Doctor?

Expensive to Obtain a Second Rating
By Jason Weinstock on January 30, 2012

 Each year the WCS Medical Unit of the Division of Industrial Relations (DIR) updates the Medical Fee Schedule that determines the fees for medical services, including impairment evaluations.  Effective February 1, 2012, the current 138 authorized rating doctors may charge $693.31 for up to two body parts.  $231.54  is chargeable for each  additional body part.  For example, an … Continue reading Expensive to Obtain a Second Rating


Terrible New Decision for Injured Workers on PPD Ratings
By Jason Weinstock on December 1, 2011

Just before Thanksgiving, the Nevada Supreme Court published a turkey of a decision that robs injured workers of disability award money.  In Public Agency Compensation Trust v. Blake, 127 Nev. Adv. Op. 77 (2011), the court invalidated a long-standing  DIR regulation that addressed how rating doctors are to account for a prior PPD award for a re … Continue reading Terrible New Decision for Injured Workers on PPD Ratings