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: A functional capacity evaluation is designed to be safe and to provide impartial information about an injury or illness. The tests that are part of an FCE will evaluate a worker’s: Range of motion
Physical strength
Lifting ability
Flexibility
Stamina and ability to carry objects
Other abilities required for their job
In essence, a functional capacity evaluation helps to address the idea of injury or disability. Sometimes, a disability or injury is obvious. However, determining how injured someone is and how much their injury affects their ability to work is more challenging. An FCE works to define injury and to professionally evaluate the level of ability in a standardized way, which is often needed to determine the correct level of benefits. Rather than just labeling all injured workers as “incapacitated” or “injured,” a functional capacity evaluation takes a look at each worker in an individualized way to determine the best way to proceed. A functional capacity evaluation is also one way an injured worker’s ability is matched to the demands of the job. Each FCE is adapted for the specific injury and the specific job title the worker has. The role of the FCE is to determine how well an employee’s current abilities match the demands of their job.