Conventional wisdom among applicant and defense attorneys acknowledges that the 05 Permanent Disability Schedule has gone too far. After numerous seminars it is now clear that the AMA guidelines are not internally consistent. For example upper extremity injuries are weighted more heavily when compared with spine injuries. In addition, the competence of physicians in utilizing the guidelines is also inconstent. The one thing that is certain is that permanent disability awards under the 05 schedule will be significantly lower in most cases, from 30-70% lower. This means that undercompensated injured workers will receive even less compensation from their permanent disability awards. I predict that this will mean further consolidation in the applicant attorney's bar and fewer cases being assigned to defense attorneys for litigation.

Rumors abound that the inequities of the 05 schedule will be addressed in the coming legislative session. The current political weakness of the Governator is cited. The desire of Democratic politicians to address these issues is mentioned. Only time will tell if there will be any actual changes that rectify this situation. In the meantime, from the viewpoint of any applicant attorney, we are left with a situation where we must work twice as hard to obtain half as many benefits.