Title: A Comprehensive Functional Capacity Evaluation Guide
Headings: A Comprehensive Functional Capacity Evaluation Guide
A Comprehensive Functional Capacity Evaluation Guide
What Is a Functional Capacity Evaluation?
Why Are Functional Capacity Evaluations Important in Workers’ Compensation Claimants’ cases?
Are FCEs Used in Other Cases?
What Happens During an FCE?
I Need a Functional Capacity Evaluation for My Workers’ Comp Claim — What Do I Do?
I Need a Provider for an FCE for a Workers’ Comp Case — Where Can I Turn?

Content: In the event of a workplace injury or work-related illness, employees can file a claim to receive benefits — including wage loss benefits and medical benefits, among others — to cover expenses while they recover. However, to file and process a claim, it becomes important to prove the injury and to objectively quantify the seriousness of the injury. It is especially important to evaluate how much an injury or illness impacts a worker’s ability to perform their work tasks. When a worker has healed and is allowed to return to work, employers and insurers also need to evaluate whether a worker is actually ready to return to work — and in what capacity. Insurers and employers want to be certain workers don’t return to work so soon that they pose a risk to themselves and others. A workers’ compensation functional capacity evaluation (FCE) addresses some of these issues. What Is a Functional Capacity Evaluation? An FCE may be ordered by an attorney, an insurance provider offering workers’ compensation coverage or by your employer. The FCE is a series of tests used to evaluate your work-related physical abilities. The tests in an FCE will always be performed by an evaluator certified to conduct these examinations.