QUESTION: When rating impairment after total hip replacement using the AMA Guides to the Evaluation of Permanent Impairment (AMA Guides), Sixth Edition, I know that if using range of motion (ROM) as a stand-alone method, one would add the percentage lower extremity impairments (LEIs) for each of the six hip motions, and the total is the impairment rating. When using the diagnosis-based impairment method, I have always assumed that if all motion impairments are mild, that is a good result, and I have selected class 2 in Table 16-4, Hip Regional Grid (6th ed, 515). However, I read the report of another physician who, using the same diagnosis-based method, noted mild deficits in all six hip motions, added the percentage impairments for each, and selected class 3, a fair result with a higher rating. Whose logic is correct?...
