The Role of DPTs in Performing Functional Capacity Evaluations (FCEs) in Personal Injury Cases

The Role of DPTs in Performing Functional Capacity Evaluations (FCEs) in Personal Injury Cases

by | Dec 17, 2024 | Uncategorized

In personal injury cases, assessing an individual’s ability to return to work or perform daily activities is a critical component of litigation. One of the most effective tools for this assessment is a Functional Capacity Evaluation (FCE). While several healthcare professionals are qualified to conduct FCEs, Doctors of Physical Therapy (DPTs) are particularly well-suited for this task due to their expertise in movement, rehabilitation, and functional recovery.

In this blog post, we’ll explore the role of DPTs in performing FCEs and how their specialized training makes them valuable experts in personal injury cases.

What is a Functional Capacity Evaluation (FCE)?

An FCE is a comprehensive evaluation designed to objectively measure an individual’s physical abilities and limitations following an injury or illness. The primary goal of an FCE is to determine whether the person can safely return to work, and if so, under what conditions or with what modifications. These evaluations also assess whether a person qualifies for disability benefits, or what future medical needs and accommodations may be required.

The FCE typically assesses several functional areas, including:

  • Strength (lifting, carrying, pushing, pulling)
  • Endurance (sustained physical activity)
  • Range of motion
  • Postural tolerance (sitting, standing, and walking)
  • Coordination and dexterity
  • Work-related tasks specific to an individual’s job

The results provide valuable data that attorneys, insurers, and medical professionals use to make informed decisions regarding return-to-work recommendations, settlement amounts, and rehabilitation plans.

Why DPTs are Ideal for Conducting FCEs

Doctors of Physical Therapy (DPTs) are uniquely qualified to perform FCEs due to their in-depth knowledge of human movement, physical rehabilitation, and injury recovery. Here are several reasons why DPTs are ideal candidates to conduct these evaluations:

1. Expertise in Movement and Biomechanics

DPTs undergo extensive training in human biomechanics, the science of movement, and rehabilitation following injuries. They are skilled in understanding how the body functions after an injury and can accurately assess limitations in strength, flexibility, endurance, and mobility. This makes them particularly adept at determining what physical tasks an individual can perform and under what conditions.

DPTs not only measure performance in specific activities but also identify compensatory movement patterns that might lead to further injury if the individual returns to work too soon. This insight is critical in making well-informed recommendations about returning to work or establishing long-term work restrictions.

2. Understanding of Job-Specific Demands

A key aspect of an FCE is evaluating whether an individual can meet the physical demands of their specific job. DPTs are trained to assess functional capacity in relation to real-world activities, making them especially proficient at translating clinical measurements into practical job-related tasks.

For example, if a patient works in construction, a DPT will assess their ability to lift heavy objects, climb ladders, or stand for extended periods. For someone in an office job, they may evaluate tolerance for prolonged sitting, repetitive motions, or light lifting. By tailoring the FCE to the individual’s job requirements, DPTs provide a more accurate picture of whether an injured person can safely return to work.

3. Holistic View of Recovery

DPTs take a holistic approach to their evaluation, focusing not just on the site of injury but on the overall physical and functional recovery of the individual. In the context of an FCE, this means they assess how the injury impacts the entire body and its ability to perform work-related tasks.

They also consider the long-term implications of returning to work too soon. For example, a DPT may recommend job modifications or specific work restrictions to prevent re-injury or the worsening of chronic conditions, thereby protecting the patient’s long-term health while also helping employers understand the physical limitations involved.

4. Data-Driven and Objective Approach

FCEs conducted by DPTs are highly data-driven. Through standardized tests and objective measurements, DPTs provide clear, measurable, and quantifiable results regarding an individual’s functional abilities. This objective approach is particularly valuable in legal contexts, where evidence-based data can make a significant difference in case outcomes.

An FCE report generated by a DPT includes detailed assessments of an individual’s performance during various tasks, quantifiable data (e.g., how much weight they can lift, how long they can walk or stand), and specific recommendations for returning to work or requiring further treatment.

5. Trusted Legal and Medical Witnesses

DPTs, due to their specialized training and licensure, are regarded as credible expert witnesses in personal injury cases. Their ability to explain the scientific basis for their evaluations, coupled with their objective findings, often holds significant weight in court.

In cases where the plaintiff’s future earning capacity or ability to return to work is in dispute, the expert testimony of a DPT can help establish the extent of physical limitations, whether temporary or permanent, and their implications for the individual’s future.

The Process of a Functional Capacity Evaluation by a DPT

A typical FCE conducted by a DPT follows these general steps:

  1. Initial Assessment: The DPT will gather the patient’s medical history, details about the injury, and any relevant work information. This helps them understand the physical demands of the individual’s job and their specific limitations.
  2. Physical Testing: The DPT will then conduct a series of tests to assess the patient’s physical abilities, such as:
    • Lifting and carrying weights of various sizes
    • Pushing and pulling activities
    • Postural tests (sitting, standing, bending)
    • Walking or stair-climbing tests
    • Dexterity and coordination tests (for jobs requiring fine motor skills)
  3. Job-Specific Testing: The DPT may incorporate specific tasks related to the individual’s job, such as lifting specific items, operating machinery, or performing repetitive movements for a designated period of time.
  4. Report and Recommendations: The results are compiled into a detailed report that outlines the individual’s functional limitations, what tasks they can perform, and under what conditions (e.g., modified duties or part-time work). This report includes specific recommendations for work restrictions or accommodations to ensure a safe return to work.

Conclusion: The Value of DPTs in Conducting FCEs

Functional Capacity Evaluations are a critical component in determining an individual’s ability to return to work after a personal injury. DPTs, with their deep understanding of human movement and functional recovery, are ideally positioned to conduct these evaluations. Their expertise in tailoring assessments to specific job demands, combined with their data-driven approach, ensures that the recommendations provided are both accurate and comprehensive.

For attorneys handling personal injury cases, a DPT-conducted FCE is a valuable tool in advocating for fair settlements, securing appropriate work accommodations, and ensuring that clients return to work only when it is safe and feasible. Injury Reporting Consultants specializes in working with personal injury attorneys to deliver expert, unbiased Functional Capacity Evaluations that help drive favorable outcomes in litigation and mediation.

If you’re in need of expert FCEs or other medical-related reports, contact Injury Reporting Consultants today to discuss how we can support your case and help ensure a just resolution for your clients.

Function Based Case Management Strategies

Function Based Case Management Strategies

by | Jul 24, 2023 | Uncategorized

A decade ago, the way the personal injury cases were analyzed and valued was typically via diagnoses, impairment ratings, and imaging studies. Multi-trauma diagnosis that were correlated with positive imaging findings of fractured bones, herniated discs, and ligamentous tears; etc. were substantial evidence that the injured’s  impairments were somehow catastrophic and warranted an appropriate settlement. 

Those days are long gone and providing the insurance company with that level of documentation and evidence of impairment is subpar. It no longer educates the insurance company on how the injuries that your client has sustained, equate to a loss of functional ability to return to their previous level of function and engage in their life the way they did prior to the collision; more specifically, their ability to perform work related activities, activities of daily living, and leisure activities. 

Today, case management MUST be centered around your client’s functional loss from the collision, slip-and-fall; ect. The question you must ask yourself when going through a case is, “how do the impairments that have been documented through treating practitioners and experts, equate to a functional deficit that leads to a disability?”

What if you had an extensive evaluation that you could present to the insurance company that would confirm the diagnosis, impairment rating, and / or imaging studies, and would actually quantify their severity? This evaluation exists and is the only trial-tested, objective, reliable, and valid way to determine how their injuries affect their livelihood. If you haven’t guessed it, the evaluation I’m referring to is the Functional Capacity Evaluation.  

The Functional Capacity Evaluation is designed to take the injured evaluee through a thorough series of functional tasks that allow the evaluator to determine functional impairments. These tasks measure fine / gross motor control and dexterity inadequacies, positional tolerances, lifting and carrying deficits; etc. and make valid conclusions reguarding the functional limitations found during testing and how they equate to functional impairments.  

Functional impairments are the new gold standard of documentation in personal injury cases. The functional impairments discovered through the functional capacity evaluation will help guide you through your demand letter settlement request and help pave the way for other experts involved in the case to make more holistic opinions on the permanency of your client’s impairment.  

Dr. Brad Poppie has over 20 years of personal injury experience providing care as a treating doctor, coordinating rehabilitative case management, and expert trial testimony services.  If you have a client that you would like to discuss their need for an expert report, please contact me directly at 720-982-2000 or email me at: brad@injuryreportingconsultants.com

Dr. Brad Poppie, DPT, CLCP, CFCE, CSCS
Doctor of Physical Therapy
Certified Life Care Planner
Medical Cost Projection Specialist
Certified Functional Capacity Evaluator
Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist

 

How the Rehabilitation Doctor Drives Success in Personal Injury Cases

How the Rehabilitation Doctor Drives Success in Personal Injury Cases

by | Feb 1, 2022 | Uncategorized

From a healthcare standpoint, personal injury cases can involve a wide array of professional disciplines including medical, chiropractic, physical therapy, speech therapy, and psychology to name just a few.

These different healthcare specialties not only treat the patient to help them return to their prior level of function, but each discipline can offer specific insight into the patient’s progress and future prognosis.

Many times, however, an expectation is put upon the treating medical doctor to give an opinion about the overall prognosis of a patient. While medical doctors can say whether they think a person has achieved maximum medical improvement, they typically have to consult with the patient’s rehabilitation doctors to determine the patient’s actual rehabilitative potential. The difference here is that medical doctors diagnose and treat pathology and rehabilitation doctors such as physical therapists, evaluate and treat dysfunction.

To further break this down consider this: If you asked a physical therapist to prescribe certain medications or read an MRI report, they wouldn’t be able to do so because it’s out of the scope of their practice and not licensed in this field. On the other hand, if you asked a medical doctor to perform a physical therapy rehabilitative treatment regimen they would not be able to successfully treat this patient because they simply aren’t trained in doing so. Each respective discipline, both medical and rehabilitative, have their own unique training and skill sets that give them credibility to opine on specific aspects of the patients’ overall prognosis.

Now knowing that your patient’s medical doctor can only opine on a portion of your client’s injury and recovery, you can see why a collaborative approach with various healthcare professionals is critical when determining a patient’s overall prognosis. When the question “what is the patients’ rehabilitative potential” or “has the patient achieved maximum medical improvement” is inevitably asked in trial, if the appropriate experts are not in line to give an expert opinion on this topic, it will be difficult to prove to a jury if maximum medical improvement or maximal rehabilitative potential has been achieved.

As a Doctor of Physical Therapy, I have testified in trial numerous times against medical doctors ranging from orthopedic surgeons, physiatrists, and interventional pain physicians. Most often, the opposing opinion of these experts is different from mine in regards to the improvement of the patient.

It’s not necessarily that their opinion is wrong, it typically comes down to their opinion being based off of the client’s pathological condition and if that diagnosable condition has been cured or if there is an impairment that still exists. From the rehabilitation doctor’s perspective, we are looking at the overall rehabilitation potential of the patient and whether their function will improve or regress over time; thus providing a rehabilitative prognosis.

From a medical standpoint, the person may have reached maximum medical improvement from a disease or pathology standpoint, but the doctor of physical therapies’ view is if the person has reached maximum rehabilitative potential. The physical therapist has the education, experience, and expertise to opine on this question with certainty and should be integrated into determining the overall prognosis of the patient.

Make sure you provide the insurance company and or jury members both the medical doctors’ AND rehabilitative doctors’ opinions in order for an accurate and well-rounded prognosis to be made.

Want to learn more about IRC and the services we provide? Visit our channel, Personal Injury Today for informative videos, or visit our website to set up a free case consultation.