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Rule 23. Eye Impairment

Oklahoma Statutes AnnotatedTitle 85. Workers' Compensation

Oklahoma Statutes Annotated
Title 85. Workers' Compensation (Refs & Annos)
Chapter 4.--Appendix. Rules of the Workers' Compensation Court of Existing Claims
T. 85, Ch. 4, App., Rule 23
Rule 23. Eye Impairment
Currentness
A. The criteria for measuring and calculating the percentage of eye impairment shall be pursuant to this rule. A physician may deviate from the method of evaluation provided for in this rule or may use some other recognized method of evaluation, if the deviation or the method of evaluation is fully explained.
B. Loss or loss of use of an eye is subject to the schedule of compensation provided in 85 O.S., Section 333(E). Industrial blindness (a visual acuity for distance of 20/200), in both eyes, constitutes statutory permanent total disability per 85 O.S., Section 308(36), regardless of the employee's capacity for gainful employment. Permanent impairment for loss of vision in one eye shall not be converted to the body as a whole. Permanent impairment for loss of vision in both eyes may be combined into impairment to the body as a whole only if the physician rates the loss of each eye separately and then evaluates the combination. It is not necessary to show the percentage of permanent impairment for loss of vision above industrial blindness since there can be no loss greater than one-hundred percent (100%).
C. Physicians should consult the American Medical Association's “Guides to the Evaluation of Permanent Impairment” regarding the equipment necessary to test eye function and for methods of evaluating vision loss. The following Snellen Chart may then be used to compute the percentage of visual efficiency and percentage of permanent eye impairment. Evaluation of visual impairment may be based upon visual acuity for distance and near, visual fields and ocular motility with absence of diplopia.
D. All measurements shall be based upon uncorrected vision; provided, implantation of an intraocular lens is not a “correction” to the claimant's vision within the purview of this rule. When an artificial lens is surgically implanted to replace the removed lens, it is a permanent restorative device and determination of impairment to vision is based on anatomical or functional loss of sight remaining after the lens is implanted.
SNELLEN CHART
Snellen
Notation
for distance
Snellen
Notation
for near
Percentage of Visual
Efficiency
Percentage Loss of
Vision
(Okla.)
Comp. Rate in Weeks (Okla.)
For injuries occurring
on and after 08-26-11
20/20
14/14
100.0
0.0
0.0
20/25
14/17.5
95.7
4.3
11.83
20/30
14/21
91.7
8.5
23.38
20/35
14/24.5
87.5
12.5
34.38
20/40
14/28
83.6
16.4
45.10
20/45
14/31.5
80.0
20.0
55.0
20/50
14/35
76.5
23.5
64.63
20/60
14/42
69.9
30.0
82.50
20/70
14/49
64.0
36.0
99.0
20/80
14/56
58.5
41.5
114.13
20/90
14/63
53.4
46.6
128.15
20/100
14/70
48.9
51.1
140.53
20/120
14/84
40.9
59.1
162.53
20/140
14/98
34.2
65.8
180.95
20/160
14/112
28.6
71.4
196.35
20/180
14/126
23.9
76.1
209.28
20/200
14/140
20.0
100.0
(Industrial Blindness)
275.01
1 Source: 85 O.S. 2011, Section 333(E).

Credits

Formerly Rule 33, adopted July 12, 1990, effective November 1, 1990. Amended June 22, 1995, effective July 1, 1995; September 29, 1997, effective November 1, 1997; February 22, 2000, effective April 15, 2000; January 22, 2002, effective March 1, 2002. Corrected effective February 6, 2002. Renumbered Rule 23, amended effective January 30, 2006. Amended effective March 6, 2012; May 14, 2012.

Footnotes

1
Source: 85 O.S. 2011, Section 333(E).
Workers' Compensation Rule 23, 85 O. S. A. Ch. 4, App., OK ST WORK COMP Rule 23
Current with amendments received through April 15, 2024. Some rules may be more current, see credits for details.
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