QUESTION: My question pertains to the rating of impairment for reported facet arthropathy with callus formation and whether this would meet the criteria for alteration of motion segment integrity. A colleague of mine saw a patient at the request of the patient's attorney and opined that bone formation at the C5-C6 facet was an “inherent attempt at arthrodesis” and therefore, per the AMA Guides, Fifth Edition, it would be rated as “alteration of motion segment integrity,” ie, diagnosis-related estimate (DRE) category IV at 25% to 28% whole person impairment (WPI). He suggested the patient met the criteria in Table 15-5, Criteria for Rating Impairment Due to Cervical Disorders (5th ed, 392), “due to a developmental fusion or successful or unsuccessful attempt at surgical arthrodesis.” Three months following the patient's evaluation, a cervical magnetic resonance image (MRI) revealed normal...
