United States Department of Labor 

Employees’ Compensation Appeals Board 

__________________________________________ 

M.R., Appellant 

and 

DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS, 

VETERANS ADMINISTRATION MEDICAL 

CENTER, Los Angeles, CA, Employer 

__________________________________________ 

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Docket No. 14-1199 

Issued: September 17, 2014 

Appearances: Case Submitted on the Record

Appellant, pro se 

Office of Solicitor, for the Director 

DECISION AND ORDER 

Before: 

COLLEEN DUFFY KIKO, Judge 

PATRICIA HOWARD FITZGERALD, Judge 

JAMES A. HAYNES, Alternate Judge 

JURISDICTION 

On April 29, 2014 appellant filed a timely appeal of a November 18, 2013 merit decision 

of the Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs (OWCP). Pursuant to the Federal 

Employees’ Compensation Act1

 (FECA) and 20 C.F.R. §§ 501.2(c) and 501.3, the Board has 

jurisdiction to consider the merits of the case. 

ISSUE 

The issue is whether appellant has permanent impairment entitling her to a schedule 

award. 

FACTUAL HISTORY 

On October 29, 2007 appellant, then a 41-year-old nursing assistant, filed a traumatic 

injury claim alleging that she sustained a lower back condition while assisting a patient into a 

 1

 5 U.S.C. § 8101 et seq.
2

chair. Dr. Mark A. Goldstein, an osteopath, diagnosed lumbar strain and somatic dysfunction of 

the sacroiliac joint on December 4 and 5, 2007 and January 16, 2008. He noted that appellant’s 

back pain was not radiating, but that she experienced occasional right leg weakness. 

Appellant filed a notice of recurrence of disability on March 11, 2008 alleging on 

March 7, 2008 her pain increased after transferring a patient and that lifting a heavy item 

increased her pain. OWCP accepted her claims for lumbar sprain/strain. 

In notes dated February 8 and 22, 2008, Dr. Goldstein diagnosed piriformis muscle 

spasm, somatic dysfunction of the sacroiliac joint and lumbar strain. He noted on 

February 22, 2008 that appellant’s lumbar radiculopathy had resolved. Dr. Goldstein found that 

she ambulated with stiffness with minimal tenderness of the right sacroiliac joint and mild spasm 

of the piriformis muscles. In February 2008, appellant underwent a lumbar magnetic resonance 

imaging (MRI) scan which demonstrated a small L4-5 disc protrusion with an annular tear of 

uncertain age and no nerve compression. In a note dated April 4, 2008, Dr. Goldstein stated that 

she had reached maximum medical improvement. He found that appellant piriformis muscle 

spasm had resolved as had her lumbar radiculopathy. Dr. Goldstein also diagnosed lumbar strain 

and somatic dysfunction of the sacroiliac joint. He indicated that appellant could not lift over 25 

pounds. 

Appellant requested a schedule award on August 5, 2008. In a letter dated 

February 21, 2013, OWCP noted that she had requested a schedule award and that she had not 

submitted medical evidence of a permanent impairment due to her accepted lumbar sprain. It 

requested additional medical evidence supporting a permanent impairment and allowed appellant 

60 days to submit this evidence. Appellant did not respond within the allotted time. 

By decision dated November 18, 2013, OWCP denied appellant’s claim for a schedule 

award finding that she had not submitted medical evidence of a permanent impairment of a 

scheduled member under FECA. 

LEGAL PRECEDENT 

The schedule award provision of FECA2 and its implementing regulations3 set forth the 

number of weeks of compensation payable to employees sustaining permanent impairment for 

loss or loss of use, of scheduled members or functions of the body. FECA, however, does not 

specify the manner in which the percentage loss of a member shall be determined. The method 

used in making such determination is a matter which rests in the discretion of OWCP. For 

consistent results and to ensure equal justice, the Board has authorized the use of a single set of 

tables so that there may be uniform standards applicable to all claimants. OWCP evaluates the 

degree of permanent impairment according to the standards set forth in the specified edition of 

 2 Id. at §§ 8101-8193, 8107. 

3

 20 C.F.R. § 10.404. 
3

the American Medical Association, Guides to the Evaluation of Permanent Impairment 

(A.M.A, Guides).4

 

No schedule award is payable for a member, function or organ of the body not specified 

in FECA or in the regulations.5

 Because neither FECA nor the regulations provide for the 

payment of a schedule award for the permanent loss of use of the back or spine,6

 no claimant is 

entitled to such an award.7 The Board notes that section 8101(19) specifically excludes the back 

from the definition of organ.8

 A claimant may, however, receive a schedule award for any 

permanent impairment to the upper or lower extremities even though the cause of the impairment 

originated in the spine.9

ANALYSIS 

OWCP accepted appellant’s claim for lumbar sprain. Appellant then filed a claim for a 

schedule award. OWCP denied this claim on the grounds that she had submitted no evidence of 

permanent impairment to a scheduled member. 

The medical evidence consists of a series of reports from Dr. Goldstein addressing 

appellant’s lumbar sprain and other back conditions. Dr. Goldstein indicated that appellant had 

radiculopathy which had resolved. He did not report any condition in either her upper or lower 

extremities. As the only condition diagnosed and accepted involved appellant’s lumbar spine 

with no suggestion of impairment to her upper or lower extremities, she has not supported that 

her employment injuries resulted in permanent impairment of a scheduled member. There is no 

impairment rating for the spine under FECA and no medical evidence in conformance with 

FECA and the A.M.A., Guides to establish permanent impairment. The Board finds that 

appellant has not met her burden of proof in establishing entitlement to a schedule award. 

Appellant may request a schedule award or increased schedule award based on evidence 

of a new exposure or medical evidence showing progression of an employment-related condition 

resulting in permanent impairment or increased impairment to a scheduled member. 

 4

 For new decisions issued after May 1, 2009, OWCP began using the sixth edition of the A.M.A., Guides. 

A.M.A., Guides, 6th ed. (2009); Federal (FECA) Procedure Manual, Part 2 -- Claims, Schedule Award and 

Permanent Disability Claims, Chapter 2.808.6a (January 2010); Federal (FECA) Procedure Manual, Part 3 -- 

Medical, Schedule Awards, Chapter 3.700, Exhibit 1 (January 2010). 

5 W.D., Docket No. 10-274 (issued September 3, 2010); William Edwin Muir, 27 ECAB 579 (1976). 

6

 FECA itself specifically excludes the back from the definition of organ. 5 U.S.C. § 8101(19). 

7 Timothy J. McGuire, 34 ECAB 189 (1982). 

8

 5 U.S.C. § 8101(19); T.J., Docket No. 14-556 (issued July 7, 2014). 

9 Id. 
4

CONCLUSION 

The Board finds that appellant has not submitted medical evidence that she sustained a 

permanent impairment of a scheduled member under FECA. Thus, appellant is not entitled to a 

schedule award. 

ORDER 

IT IS HEREBY ORDERED THAT the November 18, 2013 decision of the Office of 

Workers’ Compensation Programs is affirmed. 

Issued: September 17, 2014 

Washington, DC 

 

 Colleen Duffy Kiko, Judge 

 Employees’ Compensation Appeals Board 

 

 Patricia Howard Fitzgerald, Judge 

 Employees’ Compensation Appeals Board 

 

 James A. Haynes, Alternate Judge 

 Employees’ Compensation Appeals Board