Opinion ID: 2468742
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The Caps/Multipliers

Text: Rather than challenging the rationality of the caps, or maximum multipliers, on permanent partial disability, plaintiffs challenge the method used to arrive at the impairment rating which, under the statute, is used in conjunction with the multipliers to determine the maximum award. Nonetheless, we begin our inquiry with that threshold question: Are the caps, or multipliers, contained in Section 241 rationally based? A valid criticism of our workers' compensation system prior to the 1992 reforms which included the challenged statutes was that awards for similar impairments varied widely across the state. The multipliers substantially reduce the possibility of similarly situated workers with like injuries and anatomical disability ratings receiving vastly different awards. Reasonable uniformity in statutory awards is a legitimate state interest. Additionally, the caps provide employees, employers and their insurers with a measure of predictability since all awards have defined outer limits. Predictability in the law is obviously a desirable and legitimate legislative objective, one that serves the interests of the parties, bench, and bar. In addition to providing a degree of uniformity and predictability, the caps serve the state's interest in keeping workers' compensation insurance premiums from escalating to the point that industry cannot afford them, a well-known factor driving the reforms of 1992. Newton v. Cox, 878 S.W.2d at 110 (It is conceivable that the General Assembly concluded that the contingency cap [on attorney's fees in medical malpractice cases] would further the purposes the Medical Malpractice Act by reducing malpractice insurance costs... .). Finally, it is important to note that the caps are not absolute and do not apply in every case. Tenn. Code Ann. § 50-6-242 (1995 Supp.). Trial courts have the discretion to exceed the caps in cases where the disabled employee faces the substantial vocational obstacles specifically set out in Tennessee Code Annotated Section 50-6-242. [7]