Dr. Bajakian has a Masters Certification in the performance of A.M.A. Permanent Medical Impairment Rating Examinations.

Is this important to know?
Yes, if you have been injured in a car accident or other traumatic incident that you are entitled to financial compensation. Special testing and evaluation procedures that Dr. Bajakian has been trained to perform will enable him to assess your physical condition and calculate an exact percentage of impairment based on the American Medical Association’s Guides to Physical Impairment.

What exactly is an impairment rating?
Impairment rating is an estimate of the severity of human impairment based on acceptable medical standards. Various reference books, including the AMA Guides, provide a standard method of analysis to evaluate, report on, and communicate information about impairments to any human organ system.

According to the AMA Guides, impairment is an alteration of an individual's health status that has been assessed by medical means. Impairment is used to describe a static or stable condition that has had sufficient time to allow optimal tissue repair and that is unlikely to change, in spite of further medical or surgical therapy. In other words, any impairment such as anatomic or functional abnormality or loss after maximal medical improvement (MMI) has been achieved.

The purpose of impairment rating is to provide a representation of impairment using a generally accepted system to estimate the degree to which an individual's capacity to carry out daily activities has been diminished by illness or injury. Activities of daily living (ADL) include the following tasks: self-care, personal hygiene, preparing and eating food, communication (both spoken and written), maintaining posture, standing, sitting, caring for home and personal finances, walking, traveling, recreational and social activities, and work-related activities. An individual with impairment may or may not have sufficient capacity to meet the demands of a particular professional position or occupation.

How is an impairment rating performed?
First, Dr. Bajakian would gather information to document the nature of the impairment and its consequences. He would review the patient's medical history, other specialist’s reports, as well as office and hospital records. Dr. Bajakian utilizes multiple sources of information to promote objectivity and eliminate bias. For purposes of evaluation, the medical condition should be stable and unlikely to change in the future, in spite of further treatment. Treatment warranted at this point is palliative (for the alleviation of symptoms), rather than restorative.

Dr. Bajakian would not only obtain clinical information from medical records but also through performance of a comprehensive physical examination of his own. This examination would include:

• Physical examination
• Orthopedic examination
• Neurological assessment
• Electronic Range of Motion testing
• Electronic Muscle Testing
• Surface EMG Scanning to objectively document paraspinal muscular disparities and abnormalities
• Thermal Scanning to detect and measure autonomic nervous system disturbances relating to spinal nerve root impingement and resulting dysfunction
• Spinal x-rays to document areas of residual impaired spinal mechanics
• Determination of patient’s current physical abilities through a thorough Activities of Daily Living Assessment

The impairment rating process provides the data necessary for calculating an actual numerical percentage of impairment derived from the above mentioned evaluations, in addition to inclusion of other relative testing such as MRI’s, CT scans, Neurological evaluations, Orthopedic evaluation, etc.

Dr Bajakian realizes that the strength of medical support for an impairment estimate depends on the completeness and reliability of medical documentation and it his attention to detail that enables him to provide some of the most thorough and comprehensive reports available.

Is Impairment and Disability the same?
No. In fact, many people confuse the terms impairment and disability. Disability refers to an individual's inability to complete a task or a duty. Disability is an alteration of the individual's capacity to meet personal, social, or occupational demands or statutory or regulatory requirements because of a documented impairment. Disability arises out of the discrepancy between the limitations placed on an individual with an actual impairment and external tasks that must be performed (such as the physical demands of his or her job).

My treating Doctor doesn’t perform such examinations, is it possible to still obtain an impairment rating?
Yes. For many years Dr. Bajakian has provided this service to not only his peers but also to attorneys who felt that their clients needed additional documentation to support their claims for settlement. It should be fully understood that Dr. Bajakian’s role in such matters is to provide an honest, objective, and concise determination of a patient’s physical status and at no time does he render treatment to another doctor’s patient.

Should you have any questions or concerns about this subject please feel free to contact Dr. Bajakian’s office directly.