A medical report (whether from the treating physician, second opinion, or referee physician) must be comprehensive, non- equivocal, and based on a complete factual and medical background. The physician should examine the injured employee and assign specific work tolerance limitations.
The employee has the burden to provide prima facie evidence to establish the initial claim of work related injury and disability.
- A note on cases involving reemployment: With such claims, which have been accepted as having an injury sustained during federal employment , and resulted in a period of total disability with continued medical restrictions, the burden of proof shifts to OWCP.
- There is no prima facie evidence accepted to establish the employee's ability to work. OWCP must establish by weight of medical evidence the injured employee's current work tolerance level. Medical evidence must be conclusive and not speculative.
The employees' over all physical and mental condition must be considered ("whole person").
Conditions developed after the injury, conditions that pre-existed, and the injury itself must be taken into consideration.