FUNCTIONAL CAPACITY EVALUATIONS OF INJURED WORKERS IN GEORGIA

In Georgia employees who become disabled, due to injury, and remain out of work for any significant period of time are likely to be sent for a functional capacity evaluation. An FCE is a systematic evaluation process to determine an individual’s tolerance for physical work activities. These evaluations take on many forms. The most common evaluations involve a series of standardized tasks with measured weights and distances, and a trained and presumably an experienced observer to administer the tests. Other methods involve the use of machines to measure peak performance and range of motion. The results of these evaluations are frequently used to direct treatment and rehabilitation efforts, and in legal proceedings, to determine work capacity and eligibility for indemnity benefits.
Physicians, employers, insurers, and claims adjusters often rely upon functional capacity evaluations to determine musculoskeletal capacity to perform physical work, often with legal or occupational consequences. Despite their widespread use in Georgia, a number of scientific, legal and practical concerns persist. FCE’s are based upon a theoretical model of comparing job demands to worker capabilities. The validity of FCE results is best with accurate job simulation and detailed, intensive, assessments of specific work activities. Many times the person performing this evaluation does not know or understand an injured worker’s job. When test criteria are unrelated to an injured employee’s actual job performance, or subjective evaluation criteria are employed, the validity of results is questionable. Many times, the person administering the evaluation makes comments in the final written report about whether or not the worker has put forth maximum effort, even inferring malingering on occasion. The evaluation of sincerity of effort, ability to perform complex or variable jobs, and prediction of injury based on FCE data is problematic and in our opinion subjective and unreliable.
An injured worker who is asked to undergo an FCE should retain counsel to represent them in a workers compensation case. Lawyers should scrutinize both the methodology of the evaluation and the qualifications of the person administering the evaluation. In some cases, the FCE results may be inadmissible under Daubert v. Merrell, 509 U.S. 579 (1993)