What are requirements for establishing a permanent disability claim?

When determining if a person has a Permanent Disability (PD) there are many questions the person should ask themselves to help them decide if they do indeed meet the necessary criteria.  Consider the following factors before moving forward with any sort of claim for PD:

• Were you injured at work? If so, did your employer provide you with a claim form which you filled out completely and submitted on time. This must be done first in order to begin the worker's compensation and disability case.  Timeliness is very important (no longer than a year) because unless it is filed on time you may not receive benefits.
• A doctor must determine how severe your injury or illness actually is and whether or not the injury or illness is something you can recover from or if it is something that will prevent you from future employment. Be sure and ask your doctor what he believes and what he plans on recommending in terms of your disability.
• Should you disagree with your doctor's recommendations you can request that you be re-examined by a qualified medical evaluator. This provides you with a second opinion regarding your disability case.  Be sure that this second opinion is completed on time as time is always of the essence in disability cases.
• The type of injury you sustained makes a big difference particularly when taken into consideration with your age and when the injury occurred. When determining your disability claim your future earning potential and opportunities are seriously considered.
• You must also consider whether or not you are capable of performing some other type of work.  In many cases reduced work load is still possible. Employers are sometimes able to offer employees different jobs entirely that accommodate their reduced abilities.

The question you need to answer is whether or not your injury will completely prevent you from working. This is difficult to determine sometimes and each case is evaluated on the facts of the injury, how it was sustained and the kind of work engaged in at the time.

In the end, Permanent Disability Benefits eligibility will be determined by the doctor who examines your injury or illness and whether or not it has reduced you to having a PD. Once the doctor has determined that the illness has stabilized and you are unlikely to improve any further he considers permanent disability. The condition might be called "permanent and stationary" (P&S), or "maximal medical improvement (MMI). In any case either conclusion is basically the same.

The doctor writes up a report which is turned into a PD rating. This rating determines the benefits a person will receive.