How Does Permanent Disability Work in California?

 Posted on March 28, 2024 in Types of Benefits

Whether you are a construction worker, a teacher, a doctor, a factory worker, or anything else, you can get injured while at work and make a workers’ compensation claim. Often, workers are granted temporary disability benefits to cover their injury-related medical expenses and loss of income in the immediate period following the incident. Unfortunately, some injuries result in permanent damage, and if that is the case, you can apply for permanent disability (PD) benefits. If you think you are eligible for permanent disability, an experienced Morgan Hill, CA workers’ compensation lawyer can review your case and guide you further.

How Can I Get Approved for Permanent Disability?

When someone is injured at work, they can receive workers’ compensation benefits to cover all the medical expenses related to the injury. Some people also get temporary disability benefits, which compensate you for the income loss resulting from your injury during your recovery. Once your recovery is considered complete, meaning you have recovered as much as the medical authorities deem possible, you might be eligible for permanent disability if there are long-lasting issues you will need to live with.

In order to determine this, your primary treating physician needs to write a report stating that your condition is permanent and stationary (P&S). In other words, there is no medical reason to believe your condition will improve or change in any way. The physician also needs to explain that you have reached what is known as MMI, or a state of maximal medical improvement, meaning your condition cannot be expected to improve anymore beyond where you are. This report will also need to include other information including:

• Details about the specific medical issues you are facing
• What kind of medical care you will need
• Whether your condition will enable you to resume working in your previous job or whether you may need to abide by work restrictions
• Whether your disability is related to other factors like preexisting conditions or was entirely caused by your workplace injury

The report will be submitted to the California Department of Workers’ Compensation (DWC), which will assign you a PD rating that, along with information about you including your age, occupation, and medical background, will help calculate what your permanent disability benefits will be.

Schedule a Free Consultation with a Santa Clara County, CA Workers’ Compensation Lawyer

Suffering a debilitating injury that renders you unable to work as you used to can be a challenging experience to go through. Let a compassionate Gilroy, CA workers’ comp attorney represent you and your interests and help protect your financial future. Call Cramer + Martinez at 408-848-1113 so we can get started.