The claimant applied to the LAT for a catastrophic impairment determination due to psychological impairment. Adjudicator Grieves held that the claimant suffered from Class 4 Marked Impairments in both concentration, and adaptation, and therefor met the pre-2016 catastrophic impairment definition. The claimant suffered from Adjustment Disorder with Mixed Anxiety and Depression, and Somatic Symptom Disorder due to the accident. Prior to the accident, the claimant operated a cleaning business 13 hours per day. She had not returned to work following the accident, and her husband was required to take over all household financial responsibilities post-accident. The claimant did not attend church as often, or volunteer or socialize with friends post-accident. She began abusing alcohol following the accident, and obtained a prescription for morphine in Costa Rica (her birth country). During assessments, the claimant was unable to persist, and she fell asleep in one assessment, and vomited twice in another. Although validity testing showed poor scores, Adjudicator Grieves accepted that the results likely related to diminished engagement due to somatic focus and somatic distress.
