Box L.2: How is disablement assessed?
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Box L.2: How is disablement assessed?
The legislation uses three different terms when considering disablement questions. These are:
loss of faculty;
    ■disability; and
    ■disablement.
They are each used as different concepts and must not be confused. They are not defined in law but have been considered by the Social Security Commissioners, particularly in R(I)1/81 .
Loss of faculty – A ‘loss of faculty’ is any pathological condition or any loss (including a reduction) of the normal physical or mental function of an organ or part of the body. This does include disfigurement, even though there may not actually be any loss of faculty.
SSCBA, S.122(1)
For industrial injuries disablement benefit (IIDB), the loss of faculty must be caused by an industrial accident or prescribed disease.
A loss of faculty is not itself a disability. It is the starting point for the assessment of disablement. It is a condition that is either an actual cause of one or more disabilities or a potential cause of disabili
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