West Virginia Code of State Rules › Agency 162 - Consolidated Public Retirement Board › Title 162 - LEGISLATIVE RULE CONSOLIDATED PUBLIC RETIREMENT BOARD › Series 162-09 - West Virginia State Police › Section 162-9-5 - Disability Examinations

Current through Register Vol. XLI, No. 28, July 12, 2024
5.1. Any member
				whose mental or physical fitness to perform the essential duties of a law
				enforcement officer is at issue in any application or petition for state
				disability retirement shall, upon request of the Board, submit to any mental or
				physical examinations determined necessary by the Board, in its discretion, for
				proper disposition of the alleged disability application or petition. The cost
				of the examinations, when requested by the Board, shall be at Board expense.
				The member shall cooperate fully with the Board in the scheduling of the
				examinations, and shall appear at such time and place for scheduled
				examinations as requested by the Board. Failure to cooperate fully in the
				examination process may result, in the Board's discretion, in the denial of the
				disability application. Further, the Board shall provide advance notice to the
				member that should he or she fail to appear at the time and place for scheduled
				examinations requested by the Board, he or she may be held responsible for some
				or all fees charged by the physician's office for that scheduled
				exam.
5.2. Any physician who
				performs examinations under this rule for the purpose of determining a member's
				fitness to perform the essential duties of a law enforcement officer shall have
				access to and may review any and all medical and factual records, reports or
				other information pertaining to the member which have been gathered by the
				Board pursuant to this rule, and which are relevant to the physician's full and
				fair evaluation of the member's disability status.
5.3. At the conclusion of any physical or
				mental examination of a member under this rule, the examining physician or
				physicians shall furnish to the Board a report which states the physician's
				findings and opinions regarding the nature, extent and cause of the member's
				allegedly disabling injury or illness. The examining physician's report shall
				also state his or her opinion as to whether or not the member's disability, if
				any, is likely to be permanent. The Board shall only consider a medical report
				if the author of the report is a licensed practitioner of his or her profession
				in West Virginia or the jurisdiction in which he or she is located.
5.4. In the Board's discretion, the report of
				the examining physician and all other relevant evidence pertaining to the
				allegedly disabling injury, as well as information concerning the essential
				duties of a law enforcement officer, may thereafter be submitted for review to
				a vocational consultant who has been selected by the Board. In those cases, the
				vocational consultant shall then provide the Board with a written opinion as to
				whether or not the member is mentally and physically capable of performing the
				essential duties of a law enforcement officer and, if not, whether or not the
				member retains the mental and physical capability of performing other types of
				gainful employment.
5.5. Subject to
				any confidentiality and disclosure limitations set forth in state or federal
				law, the member and the Agency shall, upon request, be provided with a copy of
				the examining physician and vocational consultant reports which have been
				generated in the disability evaluation process under this rule.
5.6. The Agency may also require a member who
				intends to or who has applied for a state disability retirement to submit to an
				examination by a physician of its selection, either prior to or following the
				member's examination by a physician selected by the Board. The report of that
				examination shall be provided to the Board for consideration in the disability
				determination process, and a copy of the report shall be made available to the
				member upon written request to the Agency. Failure of the member to submit to
				an examination by a physician selected by the Agency may, in the Board's
				discretion, result in the denial of the disability retirement
				application.
5.7. The member or the
				Agency may pursue review by vocational consultants of their choosing following
				receipt of the report of the Board selected vocational consultant. If a
				supplemental vocational review is requested, the cost of the review shall be at
				the expense of the requesting party.