The New York State Workers’ Compensation Board has announced that in January 2012, they will institute medical guidelines to be used to determine permanent impairments and loss of wage earning capacity.

This document, which is 124 pages, changes how permanently disabled claimants will be classified.

The guidelines do not change the schedule loss of use scheme that has been in place for a long time.

Exactly how the new impairment guidelines will affect injured workers is currently unknown.