A 40 year old forester with an elbow injury resulting in loss of motion and a 50% upper extremity impairment has what rating?

A 40 year old forester with an elbow injury resulting in loss of motion and a 50% upper extremity impairment has what rating?

• A. 25%
• B. 28%
• C. 31%
• D. 40%

Answer: (C)

Understanding how upper-extremity impairment is translated into a whole-person impairment under the AMA Guides is key. For an elbow injury that reduces motion, you first assign an impairment percentage to the upper extremity. That limb impairment is not the final number for the whole person; you convert it to a whole-person impairment using the standard conversion table for the upper extremity. In this case, an elbow with loss of motion that amounts to 50% impairment of the upper extremity translates to a 31% whole-person impairment. The age or occupation doesn’t change this conversion—the rating reflects impairment magnitude, then is expressed as a percentage of the whole person.

Understanding how upper-extremity impairment is translated into a whole-person impairment under the AMA Guides is key. For an elbow injury that reduces motion, you first assign an impairment percentage to the upper extremity. That limb impairment is not the final number for the whole person; you convert it to a whole-person impairment using the standard conversion table for the upper extremity. In this case, an elbow with loss of motion that amounts to 50% impairment of the upper extremity translates to a 31% whole-person impairment. The age or occupation doesn’t change this conversion—the rating reflects impairment magnitude, then is expressed as a percentage of the whole person.