How Are Permanent Disabilities Handled in California Workers’ Comp Cases?

 Posted on March 22, 2022 in Types of Benefits

When a person suffers a work-related injury, they will usually be able to receive workers’ compensation benefits. Employers are required to maintain workers’ compensation insurance, and their policies provide coverage for all employees who are injured in workplace accidents or for other reasons that are related to the work they have performed. Workers’ comp provides multiple types of benefits, including medical benefits that pay for all treatment a person receives following an injury, as well as disability benefits that address their loss of income. In many cases, disability benefits are temporary, and they will allow a person to continue receiving pay while they are recovering from their injuries. However, in cases where injuries will affect a person for the rest of their life, permanent disability benefits may be paid.

When Will a Person Receive Permanent Disability Benefits?

While a person is recovering from a work-related injury, they may receive temporary disability benefits, and these benefits will generally pay two-thirds of the wages that they earned before they were injured. A person can receive temporary disability (TD) until they reach the point of maximum medical improvement (MMI) or their doctor determines that their condition is permanent and stationary (P&S). If the person’s injuries will continue to affect them after reaching this point, their doctor will submit a report to the workers’ compensation claims administrator stating that they have a permanent disability, and the person will be able to begin receiving permanent disability (PD) benefits.

How Are Permanent Disability Benefits Calculated?

After receiving a report of permanent disability, the Disability Evaluation Unit (DEU) will review reports from the doctor or another qualified medical examiner and determine the person’s PD rating, which will be used to calculate the amount of benefits they will receive. A PD rating is determined using multiple complex formulas, and these formulas will take into account the part of the body that was injured, the extent of impairment affecting that body part, how the injury will affect a person’s future earning capacity (FEC), the person’s occupation, and their age. If multiple parts of the body were injured, the ratings for each body part will be combined to determine a total PD rating.

A PD rating takes the form of a percentage. In some cases, a rating may be adjusted if the DEU determines that some of a person’s impairments were caused by factors unrelated to their work, such as a pre-existing condition. The final PD rating will be applied to the person’s average weekly wages to determine the amount of benefits that will be paid. In some cases, a person may receive a settlement known as a compromise and release (C&R) that will take the form of a lump sum payment. Other cases may be reviewed by an administrative law judge, and a person may receive a findings and award (F&A) decision or a stipulation with a request for award, and they may receive a lump sum or ongoing disability payments as well as coverage for future medical treatment.

Contact Our Morgan Hill Permanent Disability Benefits Attorneys

If you have been injured while working, you will need to understand the types of benefits that you can receive, including permanent disability benefits that address conditions that will affect you for the rest of your life. At Cramer + Martinez, we can advocate on your behalf to ensure that you will be properly compensated for your injuries. To set up a free consultation, contact our Gilroy workers’ comp lawyers at 408-848-1113.

Sources:

https://www.dir.ca.gov/dwc/WCFaqIW.html#PDBenefits

https://www.dir.ca.gov/dwc/PDR.pdf

https://www.dir.ca.gov/dwc/WCGlossary.htm#6