Opinion ID: 1464969
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: KRS 342.730(1)(c)

Text: KRS 342.730(1)(b) sets forth a method for calculating the income benefit for permanent partial disability under which the benefit is the product of the worker's average weekly wage, AMA impairment, and a statutory factor. As amended effective July 14, 2000, KRS 342.730(1)(c) provides, in pertinent part, as follows: 1. If, due to an injury, an employee does not retain the physical capacity to return to the type of work that the employee performed at the time of injury, the benefit for permanent partial disability shall be multiplied by three (3) times the amount otherwise determined under paragraph (b) of this subsection, but this provision shall not be construed so as to extend the duration of payments; or 2. If an employee returns to work at a weekly wage equal to or greater than the average weekly wage at the time of injury, the weekly benefit for permanent partial disability shall be determined under paragraph (b) of this subsection for each week during which that employment is sustained. During any period of cessation of that employment, temporary or permanent, for any reason, with or without cause, payment of weekly benefits for permanent partial disability during the period of cessation shall be two (2) times the amount otherwise payable under paragraph (b) of this subsection. This provision shall not be construed so as to extend the duration of payments. KRS 342.730(1)(c)3 recognizes that limited education and advancing age impact an employee's post-injury earning capacity and, in certain instances, enhances the multiplier to be applied under paragraph (c)1. Finally, KRS 342.730(1)(c)4 provides that, notwithstanding KRS 342.125, a claim may be reopened at any time during the period of partial disability to conform the award to KRS 342.730(1)(c)2. Since December 12, 1996, KRS 342.730 has limited an ALJ's discretion in determining the extent of permanent partial disability. The formula for calculating income benefits that was enacted at that time was weighted to favor more severely impaired workers who were more likely to have a greater occupational disability. Other considerations were the worker's physical capacity to return to the pre-injury employment and post-injury earnings. Those who were the most severely impaired were entitled to benefits for a longer period of time. See Adkins v. R & S Body Co., Ky., 58 S.W.3d 428 (2001). As amended in 2000, the formula for calculating a permanent partial disability benefit was further refined. The statutory factors in subsection (1)(b) were decreased. In subsection (1)(c), paragraphs (c)1 and 2 were amended, and the word or was inserted between them. Furthermore, paragraph (c)3, which contains additional multipliers based upon age and education, was added. The Board's opinion referred to decisions wherein it determined that the pre-2000 versions of KRS 342.730(1)(c)1 and 2 could be applied concurrently where appropriate. Thus, the legislature presumably knew of those decisions when it inserted the word or at the end of paragraph (c)1 and, by doing so, evinced an intent for only one of the provisions be applied to a particular claim. See Whitley County Board of Education v. Meadors, Ky., 444 S.W.2d 890 (1969). Although the employer maintains that paragraph (c)2 modifies the application of paragraph (c)1 and, therefore, takes precedence, we note that the legislature did not preface paragraph (c)2 with the word however or otherwise indicate that one provision takes precedence over the other. We conclude, therefore, that an ALJ is authorized to determine which provision is more appropriate on the facts. If the evidence indicates that a worker is unlikely to be able to continue earning a wage that equals or exceeds the wage at the time of injury for the indefinite future, the application of paragraph (c)1 is appropriate. Here, the ALJ based the decision to apply paragraph (c)1 upon a finding of a permanent alteration in the claimant's ability to earn money due to his injury. The claimant's lack of the physical capacity to return to the type of work that he performed for Fawbush was undisputed. Furthermore, although he was able to earn more money than at the time of his injury, his unrebutted testimony indicated that the post-injury work was done out of necessity, was outside his medical restrictions, and was possible only when he took more narcotic pain medication than prescribed. It is apparent, therefore, that he was not likely to be able to maintain the employment indefinitely. Under those circumstances, we are convinced that the decision to apply paragraph (c)1 was reasonable. The decision of the Court of Appeals is affirmed in part and reversed in part, and the claim is remanded to the ALJ for further consideration of the claimant's average weekly wage. LAMBERT, C.J., and JOHNSTONE, KELLER, STUMBO, and WINTERSHEIMER, JJ., concur. COOPER, J., concurs in part and dissents in part by separate opinion in which GRAVES, J., joins.