The third statutory requirement is that the Claimant's overall disability must be substantially greater by reason of the combined effects of the pre- existing impairment and the subsequent compensable event than it would have been from the accident alone. The Commission is given wide discretion in determining this question. Ad ditional requirements are that the Commission must find that the Claimant has at least 125 weeks of disability due to the accidental injury, at least 125 weeks of disability due to the pre -existing impairments, AND an overall disability greater than 250 we eks. Note that impairment and disability are not interchangeable terms. Impairment is simply an anatomical change or loss, whereas disability measures the economic impact of this change or loss. A classic example of the difference between impairment and disability is the complete loss of a little finger. Here the impairment is indisputable at 100% loss of the finger. However, the disability, or hindrance, from that impairment is much greater for a concert pianist than for an attorney. II. IMPLEADING THE SUBSEQUENT INJURY FUND Any party may implead the Fund at any time in a proceeding, even while the case is on appeal (with some small exceptions). The Fund rarely takes part in a case where the issue is one that does not directly involve the Fund, such as a causal connection issue. Typically the Fund is impleaded after a claim has been found compensable against an employer/insurer. If it is impleaded, the Fund has the right to raise all the same issues as the employer/insurer, including accidental injury and causal relationship. There have been cases where the Fund has successfully raised a contesting issue even after it has already been decided against an employer/insurer. When the Fund is impleaded while a case is on appeal, the case will most likely be remanded to the Commission for a hearing on Fund issues. Generally the initial award is affirmed and the case returns to the circuit court. However, if the appellate issue does not involve the Fund and/or is done
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