(1) Subject to
sections 146B, 146C, 146D and 146E, a worker’s degree of impairment is
to be evaluated, as a percentage, in accordance with the WorkCover Guides.
(2) If a worker and
the employer do not agree about the evaluation of the worker’s degree of
impairment, it is to be assessed by an approved medical specialist or, if this
Act so provides, an approved medical specialist panel.
(3) A request for
assessment by an approved medical specialist is to be made in accordance with
the regulations.
(4) For a case in
which the evaluation of the degree of impairment of the worker involves taking
into account a recurrence, aggravation, or acceleration of any pre-existing
disease that was to any extent asymptomatic before the event from which the
injury or injuries arose, the WorkCover Guides are not to provide for a
deduction to reflect the pre-existing nature of that disease to the extent
that it was asymptomatic before that event.
[Section 146A inserted: No. 42 of 2004 s. 109.]