I made the mistake of seeing Avengers Endgame twice in a week before doing a major memo involving an LWEC determination (spoiler alert) and had a crazy idea to first map and then analyze the decisional framework that is LWEC. The entire point of stare decisis is so that cases aren’t decided based on an arbitrary interpretation of the statute/regulation each time, but that prior decisions are used to guide future determinations. There are well over a thousand decisions out there within the past 5 years which make findings on LWEC and only a handful are ever used again.
But I’m going to see them all, record the relevant information the Board used to reach its conclusion on LWEC, and try to develop a useful tool to help navigate the chaos that is LWEC. There was also the hope of finding some helpful case law around the way, but as I’m starting in 2015 (so there will only be new cases on one side of the analysis) subsequent confirmation will be required.
One such tidbit is from the week of 05/25/2015, indicating that Severity E & F for the neck and E for the lumbar spine are all considered in the moderate impairment range. Staples Inc (WCB# G0349242, 05/28/2015), Mcquay (WCB# G0063261, 05/28/2015) & NYCHA (WCB# 00809250, 05/29/2015).
Be sure to check back for further updates!