Permanent partial disability

What is permanent partial disability?

Permanent partial disability is a workers' compensation benefit category compensating a worker for a lasting impairment that does not entirely prevent them from working, unlike total disability.

It is calculated differently depending on whether the injury involves a scheduled body part, like a hand or an eye, or a non-scheduled injury affecting the back, neck or an internal organ instead.

For non-scheduled injuries, this benefit is generally based on a whole person impairment rating percentage rather than the fixed weeks assigned to a specific listed body part.

Understanding which specific category applies significantly affects both how the benefit is calculated and what evidence actually matters most in establishing it.

How does this benefit actually get calculated?

The specific approach differs meaningfully between scheduled and non-scheduled injuries.

• Scheduled losses use a fixed maximum number of weeks specific to that particular body part
• Non-scheduled injuries use a whole person impairment percentage instead
• A physician's assigned percentage of loss or impairment drives the specific calculation either way
• The applicable weekly benefit rate is set by statutory formula
• Competing medical evaluations between the parties frequently produce disputes over the correct percentage

Why is the whole person calculation for non-scheduled injuries often more genuinely contested?

Because unlike a scheduled body part with a fixed, predetermined value, a whole person impairment rating for the back or neck requires a more holistic, individualized medical assessment.

This makes these specific ratings a frequent point of genuine dispute, with the employer's physician and the worker's own treating or retained physician often reaching meaningfully different percentages for the same underlying injury.

A workers' compensation judge ultimately resolves any genuine dispute over the correct percentage where the parties themselves cannot reach agreement on the appropriate figure.

How does this benefit relate to a possible third party claim?

Where a third party action exists against someone other than your employer, that separate claim can potentially recover damages this benefit category itself does not provide, including genuine pain and suffering.

The workers' compensation carrier's Section 40 lien against any third party recovery accounts for benefits already paid under this category, including this specific disability benefit.

Pursuing both claims together, where a viable third party exists, generally remains worthwhile even accounting for the lien, since it reaches damage categories this benefit alone cannot capture.

Common questions

How is my specific percentage of permanent disability actually determined?

Through medical evaluation, typically involving measured clinical findings specific to your injury, with disputes between competing evaluations resolved by a workers' compensation judge where necessary.

Does this benefit account for how my injury affects my specific occupation?

For scheduled losses, generally no, since the schedule applies uniformly regardless of occupation. The whole person analysis for non-scheduled injuries may account for this somewhat more directly.

Can I dispute the percentage my employer's doctor assigned?

Yes, obtaining your own independent medical evaluation and, if necessary, having a workers' compensation judge resolve the dispute are both standard and available parts of this process.