Wyo. Stat. » Wyo. Stat. / Title 27 - Labor and Employment / Chapter 14 - WORKER'S COMPENSATION / Article 6 - CONTESTED CASES
Wyoming Statutes

Wyo. Stat. § 27-14-616 (2026)

Medical commission; hearing panels; creation;

✓ current as of May 2026
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membership; duties; rulemaking.

     (a) The medical commission is created to consist of eleven
(11) health care providers appointed by the governor as follows:
          (i) Seven (7) licensed physicians appointed from a
list of not less than fourteen (14) nominees submitted by the
Wyoming Medical Society;

          (ii) Four (4) health care providers appointed from a
list of not less than eight (8) nominees developed and submitted
by appropriate health care provider groups selected by the
director.

     (b) One (1) member shall be elected by commission members
as chairman and one (1) as vice-chairman. The division shall
designate an employee to serve as executive secretary of the
commission or contract with an individual to provide executive
secretary services to the commission. The governor may appoint
no more than eleven (11) additional health care providers as
associate members of the commission whose function is limited to
serving as members of individual medical hearing panels. Except
for initial members, the terms of commission members and
associate members shall be three (3) years. Three (3) members
of the initial commission and three (3) initial associate
members shall be appointed to a one (1) year term and four (4)
initial commission members and four (4) initial associate
members shall be appointed to a two (2) year term. The duties of
the commission shall be:

          (i) To promulgate rules and regulations, with the
approval of the director of the department, declaring particular
medical, hospital or other health care procedures either
acceptable or not necessary in the treatment of injuries or
particular classes of injuries and therefore either compensable
or not compensable under this act or expanding or limiting the
compensability of such procedures under this act;

          (ii) To promulgate rules and regulations, with the
approval of the director of the department, establishing
criteria for certification of temporary total disability by
health care providers and setting forth the types of injuries
for which particular health care providers may certify temporary
total disability pursuant to W.S. 27-14-404(g);

          (iii) To advise the division, upon request, on the
usefulness of medical cost containment measures;

          (iv) To furnish three (3) members of the commission
to serve as a medical hearing panel to hear cases referred for
hearing. The division shall refer medically contested cases to
the commission for hearing by a medical hearing panel. The
decision to refer a contested case to the office of
administrative hearings or a medical hearing panel established
under this section shall not be subject to further
administrative review. Following referral by the division, the
hearing examiner or medical hearing panel shall have
jurisdiction to hear and decide all issues related to the
written notice of objection filed pursuant to W.S. 27-14-601(k).
Different medical hearing panels with different membership may
be selected to hear different cases, but a panel may hear more
than one (1) case. Individual medical hearing panels shall be
selected by the executive secretary under the supervision and
guidance of the chairman of the medical commission. At least one
(1) member of each panel shall be a physician. One (1) member
shall be designated by the executive secretary to serve as
chairman of the panel. When hearing a medically contested case,
the panel shall serve as the hearing examiner and shall have
exclusive jurisdiction to make the final administrative
determination of the validity and amount of compensation payable
under this act. For cases referred to the medical commission as
small claims hearings under W.S. 27-14-602(b), the medical
hearing panel may consist of one (1) physician who shall serve
as the hearing examiner and shall have exclusive jurisdiction to
make the final administrative determination of the validity and
amount of compensation payable under this act; and

          (v) To advise the division regarding any suspected
substandard or inappropriate medical or health care provided to
an injured worker by a health care provider or health care
facility;

          (vi) To establish by rule and regulation procedures
for decisions pursuant to W.S. 27-15-102(h) and for rebuttals
pursuant to W.S. 27-15-103 and to adopt other rules as necessary
to implement W.S. 27-15-101 through 27-15-103.

     (c) The members of the commission and of medical hearing
panels and any health care provider providing peer reviews or
independent medical evaluations, reviews or opinions, when
serving shall be deemed public employees for purposes of the
Wyoming Governmental Claims Act, and shall be immune from
liability pursuant to W.S. 1-39-104.

     (d) The division shall establish a fee schedule for the
compensation of members of the medical commission and medical
hearing panels for their professional services to be paid from
the worker's compensation account.
     (e) Upon agreement of all parties to a case, the hearing
examiner in a contested case under this chapter may transfer a
medically contested case to a medical hearing panel or may seek
the advice of the medical commission on specified medical issues
in the contested case. The advice shall be in writing and shall
become part of the record of the case.

     (f) Any member of the commission who knows or has
reasonable cause to believe or suspect that a health care
provider or health care facility has provided substandard or
inappropriate medical or health care shall immediately report it
to the appropriate professional or facility licensing authority
and to the division.
Notes of Decisions
Cited in 43 cases (2 in the last 5 years), 1995–2025 · leading case: Worker's Comp. Claim of Decker v. State Ex Rel. Wyoming Med. Comm'n, 2008 WY 100 (Wyo. 2008).
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Worker's Comp. Claim of Decker v. State Ex Rel. Wyoming Med. Comm'n, 2008 WY 100 (Wyo. 2008). · cites it 30× “Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 27-14-616 (LexisNexis 2007).”
Worker's Comp. Claim of French v. Amax Coal West, 960 P.2d 1023 (Wyo. 1998). · cites it 24× “Finding that appellant’s case was not a “medically contested case” as required by Wyo. Stat. § 27-14-616 (Cum.Supp.1994), we reverse the district court and remand: I.”
Lyles v. State Ex Rel. Div. of Workers' Comp., 957 P.2d 843 (Wyo. 1998). · cites it 10× “Section 27-14-405(m) states: (m) If the percentage of physical impairment is disputed, the division shall obtain a *847 second opinion and if the ratings conflict, shall determine the physical impairment award upon consideration of the initial and second opinion.”
Bando v. Clure Bros. Furniture, 980 P.2d 323 (Wyo. 1999). · cites it 7× “After the Division assigned his case to the Office of Administrative Hearings (OAH), Bando moved to dismiss for lack of jurisdiction, arguing that the OAH did not have jurisdiction because his case was medically contested, and jurisdiction thus rested with the Worker’s…”
Worker's Comp. Claim of Rodgers v. State Ex Rel. Wyoming Workers' Saf. & Comp. Div., 2006 WY 65 (Wyo. 2006). · cites it 4× “Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 27-14-616 (b)(iv) (LexisNexis 2005).”
Worker's Comp. Claim of Bruns v. TW Servs., Inc., 2001 WY 127 (Wyo. 2001). · cites it 5× “The procedure followed in this case pursuant to Wyo. Stat. § 27-14-616 resulted in unconstitutional violations of due process rights by depriving the Employee Claimant of his fundamental substantive right to a fair and impartial hearing; and, 3.”
Air Methods/Rocky Mountain Holdings, LLC v. State ex rel. Dep't of Workforce Servs., Workers' Comp. Div., 432 P.3d 476 (Wyo. 2018). · cites it 6× “[¶57] Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 27-14-616 addresses the jurisdiction of the OAH and the Medical Commission, the two administrative entities authorized to hear contested workers' compensation claims.”
Birkle v. State ex rel. Wyoming Workers' Saf. & Comp. Div., 150 P.3d 187 (Wyo. 2007). · cites it 7× “[¶ 5] For purposes of this appeal, the procedural problem began when the Division referred the case to the Medical Commission.”
Judd v. State ex rel. Wyoming Workers' Saf. & Comp. Div., 233 P.3d 956 (Wyo. 2010). · cites it 10× “Judd contends that in the absence of agreement by the parties, a referral to the Medical Commission was not authorized by statute, and the Medical Commission therefore had no jurisdiction to hear this matter, The Medical Commission rejected Judd's jurisdictional argument,…”
Serda v. State Ex Rel. Wyoming Workers' Saf. & Comp. Div., 2002 WY 38 (Wyo. 2002). · cites it 6× “[3] Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 27-14-616 (b)(iv) (LexisNexis 2001) provides that one of the duties of the Commission is: (iv) To furnish three (3) members of the commission to serve as a medical hearing panel to hear cases referred for hearing.”
Worker's Comp. Claim of Decker v. State Ex Rel. Wyoming Med. Comm'n, 2005 WY 160 (Wyo. 2005). · cites it 2× “We will address first the deficiencies in the Medical Commission’s findings of fact, and then, to provide guidance on remand, we will briefly address Decker’s other contentions that the Medical Commission decision is contrary to law.”
Spletzer v. State Ex Rel. Wyoming Workers' Saf. & Comp. Div., 2005 WY 90 (Wyo. 2005). · cites it 2× “§ 27-14-616 (b)(iv) (LexisNexis 2003), which statute provides in part: Following referral by the division, the hearing examiner or medical hearing panel shall have jurisdiction to hear and decide all issues related to the written notice of objection filed pursuant to W.S.…”
Show all 43 citing cases →
— Wyo. Stat. § 27-14-616(a) — 2 cases
Worker's Comp. Claim of Decker v. State Ex Rel. Wyoming Med. Comm'n, 2008 WY 100 (Wyo. 2008). “Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 27-14-616 (LexisNexis 2007).”
Pohl v. Bailey Co., 980 P.2d 816 (Wyo. 1999).
— Wyo. Stat. § 27-14-616(b) — 1 case
Worker's Comp. Claim of Decker v. State Ex Rel. Wyoming Med. Comm'n, 2008 WY 100 (Wyo. 2008). “Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 27-14-616 (LexisNexis 2007).”
— Wyo. Stat. § 27-14-616(b)(iv) — 12 cases
Worker's Comp. Claim of French v. Amax Coal West, 960 P.2d 1023 (Wyo. 1998). “Finding that appellant’s case was not a “medically contested case” as required by Wyo. Stat. § 27-14-616 (Cum.Supp.1994), we reverse the district court and remand: I.”
Worker's Comp. Claim of Decker v. State Ex Rel. Wyoming Med. Comm'n, 2008 WY 100 (Wyo. 2008). “Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 27-14-616 (LexisNexis 2007).”
Lyles v. State Ex Rel. Div. of Workers' Comp., 957 P.2d 843 (Wyo. 1998). “Section 27-14-405(m) states: (m) If the percentage of physical impairment is disputed, the division shall obtain a *847 second opinion and if the ratings conflict, shall determine the physical impairment award upon consideration of the initial and second opinion.”
Bando v. Clure Bros. Furniture, 980 P.2d 323 (Wyo. 1999). “After the Division assigned his case to the Office of Administrative Hearings (OAH), Bando moved to dismiss for lack of jurisdiction, arguing that the OAH did not have jurisdiction because his case was medically contested, and jurisdiction thus rested with the Worker’s…”
Birkle v. State ex rel. Wyoming Workers' Saf. & Comp. Div., 150 P.3d 187 (Wyo. 2007). “[¶ 5] For purposes of this appeal, the procedural problem began when the Division referred the case to the Medical Commission.”
— Wyo. Stat. § 27-14-616(e) — 5 cases
Worker's Comp. Claim of French v. Amax Coal West, 960 P.2d 1023 (Wyo. 1998). “Finding that appellant’s case was not a “medically contested case” as required by Wyo. Stat. § 27-14-616 (Cum.Supp.1994), we reverse the district court and remand: I.”
Snyder v. State Ex Rel. Wyoming Worker's Comp. Div., 957 P.2d 289 (Wyo. 1998).
McIntosh v. State ex rel. Wyoming Med. Comm'n, 162 P.3d 483 (Wyo. 2007).
Mcintosh v. State Ex Rel. Wyo. Med. Com'n, 2007 WY 108 (Wyo. 2007).
Russell v. State ex rel. Wyoming Workers' Saf. & Comp. Div., 944 P.2d 1151 (Wyo. 1997).
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