Maxwell v. Sprint PCS

Summary

The Oklahoma Supreme Court held that scheduled-member injuries under the Administrative Workers' Compensation Act are exempt from evaluation under the AMA Guides and must be compensated under the statutory schedule. The Court also held that statutory provisions deferring permanent partial disability benefits violated due process and constituted an unconstitutional special law. The Workers' Compensation Commission orders in the companion cases were vacated, and the cases were reversed and remanded.

Holdings

1. Scheduled members are exempt from evaluation under the AMA Guides under the Administrative Workers' Compensation Act.
2. An injury to a scheduled member must be compensated under the scheduled-member provisions of 85A O.S. Supp. 2013 § 46(A), rather than as an injury to the body as a whole under § 46(C). Partial loss of use is compensated in proportion to the scheduled loss for the affected member.
3. 85A O.S. Supp. 2013 § 45(C)(5) violates the due process guarantee of Okla. Const. art. 2, § 7. Subsections 45(C)(5)(a)-(e) are invalid and must be stricken.
4. The portion of 85A O.S. Supp. 2013 § 46(C) that makes the deferral provision applicable to body-as-a-whole or other-case injuries is an unconstitutional special law under Okla. Const. art. 5, § 59.

Questions Presented

1. Whether scheduled-member injuries under the Administrative Workers' Compensation Act must be evaluated under the AMA Guides.
2. Whether injuries to scheduled members must be compensated under the scheduled-member provisions rather than converted to impairment of the body as a whole.
3. Whether 85A O.S. Supp. 2013 § 45(C)(5), deferring permanent partial disability benefits for employees returning to pre-injury or equivalent employment, violates the due process guarantee of Okla. Const. art. 2, § 7.
4. Whether 85A O.S. Supp. 2013 § 46(C), by applying the deferral scheme to body-as-a-whole or other-case injuries but not scheduled-member injuries, creates an unconstitutional special law under Okla. Const. art. 5, § 59.

Disposition

reversed_and_remanded