The State Industrial Court previously had published the Snellen Chart as the criteria for measuring and calculating the percentage of eye impairment in a single eye. This method of rating eye injuries has been accepted and approved by the Ophthalmological Section of the American Medical Association. Physicians may continue to use these criteria in the future. The Workers' Compensation Act provides, in

85 O.S., Section 22(3), that eye impairment is a scheduled member loss. That Section states that loss of an eye shall be compensated by the payment of 200 weeks of permanent partial disability benefits. For injuries occurring on or after November 1, 1997, the loss of an eye shall be compensated by the payment of 250 weeks of permanent partial disability benefits. However, industrial blindness, in both eyes, according to 85 O.S., Section 3(15), means the claimant is permanently and totally disabled by statutory definition regardless of claimant's capacity to earn any wages in any occupation. Therefore, any computation or conversion of any loss of vision in one eye into the whole man (as done by the American Medical Association's "Guides to the Evaluation of Permanent Impairment") is clearly incorrect according to Oklahoma law. However, partial loss of vision in both eyes may be combined into the whole man provided that the physician states the evaluation of the loss of each eye separately and then evaluates the combination.

The physician should consult with the "Guides" regarding the equipment necessary to test the function of eyes and for the methods of evaluation. The following Snellen Chart may then be used for computing the percentage of visual efficiency. It should be noted that all measurements shall be based upon uncorrected vision.

The Court recognizes that visual acuity for distance and near is only one of the functions of the eye. Therefore, the physician may wish to consider the visual fields and ocular motility with absence of diplopia. Evaluation of visual impairment may be based upon all three of these functions. Although they are not equally important, vision is imperfect without the coordinated function of all three.

A physician may deviate from this method of evaluation or may use some other recognized method of evaluation PROVIDED the deviation or the method of evaluation is fully explained.

Case law in the State of Oklahoma has defined industrial blindness as being 20/200. Therefore, the Court has modified the Snellen Chart to show 100 percent loss to an eye at 20/200 even though the Chart would normally show such loss to be 80 percent. Likewise, it is not necessary to show the percentage loss of vision above 20/200 since there can be no loss greater than 100 percent.

SNELLEN CHART

Snellen Notation for distance

Snellen Notation for near Percentage of Visual Efficiency Percentage Loss of Vision (Okla.) Comp. Rate in Weeks (Okla.) For injuries occurring from 11-1-97 to 12-31-01, inclusive Comp. Rate in Weeks (Okla.) For injuries occurring in calendar year 2002 Comp. Rate in Weeks (Okla.) For injuries occurring on and after 1-1-03 20/20 14/14 100.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 20/25 14/17.5 95.7 4.3 8.26 11.31 11.83 20/30 14/21 91.7 8.5 16.32 22.36 23.38 20/35 14/24.5 87.5 12.5 25.68 32.88 34.38 20/40 14/28 83.6 16.4 35.04 43.13 45.10 20/45 14/31.5 80.0 20.0 43.68 52.60 55.0 20/50 14/35 76.5 23.5 53.52 61.81 64.63 20/60 14/42 69.9 30.0 72.48 78.90 82.50 20/70 14/49 64.0 36.0 89.76 94.68 99.0 20/80 14/56 58.5 41.5 105.36 109.15 114.13 20/90 14/63 53.4 46.6 120.0 122.56 128.15 20/100 14/70 48.9 51.1 132.72 134.39 140.53 20/120 14/84 40.9 59.1 151.92 155.43 162.53 20/140 14/98 34.2 65.8 168.0 173.05 180.95 20/160 14/112 28.6 71.4 181.44 187.78 196.35 20/180 14/126 23.9 76.1 192.72 200.14 209.28 20/200 14/140 20.0 100.0
(Industrial Blindness) 250.0* 263.0 275.0
* Per the 250 week maximum established in85 O.S. Supp. 1997, Section 22.

Per the 263 week maximum established in

85 O.S. Supp. 2001, Section 22 for injuries occurring in calendar year 2002.

Per the 275 week maximum established in

85 O.S. Supp. 2001, Section 22 for injuries occurring on and after January 1, 2003.

Adopted by order of the Supreme Court,