Jeffrey v. Hays Plumbing & Heating

HARTZ, Judge. David W. Jeffrey, Sr., (Claimant) was injured at work on May 18, 1992. Therefore, the amendments to the Workers' Compensation
Act enacted in 1990 govern his entitlement to benefits. See NMSA 1978, § 52-1-48 (Repl. Pamp. 1991); Jojola v. Aetna
Life & Casualty, 109 N.M. 142, 144, 782 P.2d 395, 397 (Ct. App. 1989). Under NMSA 1978, Section 52-1-26(C) and 52-1-26.1
(Repl. Pamp. 1991) (Effective Jan. 1, 1991), a worker's permanent partial disability is determined by first calculating the
worker's impairment, as defined by NMSA 1978, Section 52-1-24 (Repl. Pamp. 1991) (Effective Jan. 1, 1991), and then adding
a percentage based on an age modification, Section 52-1-26.2, an education modification, Section 52-1-26.3, and a physical
capacity modification, Section 52-1-26.4. If, however, the worker returns to work after the date of maximum medical improvement
at a wage equal to or greater than the worker's pre-injury wage, Section 52-1-26(D) provides that the partial disability rating
is equal to the worker's impairment, without consideration of any modifications.