What Is an Impairment Rating Evaluation (IRE) in Pennsylvania?

The IRE: A Deadline That Can Quietly Limit Your Benefits

If you have been receiving total disability workers' compensation benefits, there is a clock running in the background. After you have received 104 weeks (two years) of total disability, Pennsylvania law lets the insurer request an Impairment Rating Evaluation (IRE). The IRE is how an insurer tries to convert your status from "total" to "partial" disability—and partial disability benefits are capped at 500 weeks. For someone with a lasting brain injury, that limit matters enormously.

What Actually Happens at an IRE

At an IRE, a specially qualified physician examines you and assigns a whole-body impairment percentage using the applicable edition of the AMA Guides. Under current Pennsylvania law (the Act 111 framework enacted after the Protz decision):

• An impairment rating below 35% allows the insurer to change your status to partial disability—starting the 500-week clock.
• A rating of 35% or higher means you remain classified as totally disabled, with no 500-week cap.

Importantly, being moved to "partial" does not immediately cut off your checks. The dollar amount often stays the same at first—but the 500-week limit now applies, which is why the IRE is so consequential.

Why Brain Injuries Are Especially Tricky to Rate

Traumatic brain injuries produce symptoms—memory loss, headaches, mood changes, fatigue, cognitive slowing—that are hard to capture in a simple percentage. A rushed or unsympathetic evaluator can dramatically understate how disabling your injury truly is. That is why the choice of physician, the completeness of your medical records, and skilled advocacy all matter.

How to Protect Yourself

• Do not ignore an IRE notice. Deadlines to respond and to appeal are strict.
• Bring complete records—neuropsychological testing, imaging, treating-doctor reports.
• Know that IREs can be challenged. The validity of the rating, the qualifications of the physician, and the method used are all potential grounds.
• Get counsel before the exam, not after the damage is done.

How We Help

An IRE is a legal turning point disguised as a doctor's appointment. Certified Workers' Compensation Specialist Michael Cardamone handles IRE strategy directly—preparing you, scrutinizing the rating, and appealing when it's wrong. If a third party contributed to your injury, we coordinate that claim with heavyweight personal injury colleagues.

Facing an IRE? Talk to Us First—Free

Before you attend an impairment evaluation, get advice on how to protect your total-disability status. Call (833) 898-4587—free, confidential, 24/7, no fee unless we win.