West Virginia Code of State Rules › Agency 162 - Consolidated Public Retirement Board › Title 162 - LEGISLATIVE RULE CONSOLIDATED PUBLIC RETIREMENT BOARD › Series 162-10 - Deputy Sheriff Retirement System › Section 162-10-5 - 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 the Board's
				expense. The member shall cooperate fully with the Board in the scheduling of
				the examinations, and shall appear at the 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 if he or she fails 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 law, the
				member and the Sheriff shall, upon request, be provided with a copy of the
				examining physician and vocational consultant's reports which have been
				generated in the disability evaluation process under this rule.
5.6. The Sheriff 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 his or her selection, either prior to or
				following the member's examination by a physician selected by the Board. The
				cost of the examination, when requested by the Sheriff, shall be at the
				Sheriffs expense. 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
				Sheriff. Failure of the member to submit to an examination by a physician
				selected by the Sheriff may, in the Board's discretion, result in the denial of
				the disability retirement application.
5.7. The member or the Sheriff may pursue
				review by vocational consultants of their choosing following receipt of the
				report of the Board's selected vocational consultant. If a supplemental
				vocational review is requested, the cost of the review shall be at the expense
				of the requesting party.