Determining if Your Disability is a Permanent Partial Disability

When seeking “permanent partial disability” benefits, the person is usually a worker of some kind looking to get State based workman’s compensation benefits.   Every state entitles injured workers to insurance benefits covering their medical treatment if they are injured at work and thereafter suffer a disability obstructing their return to work. 

All states have a waiting period for which no wage-replacement benefits are paid but that waiting period ends in the states are 3 or 7 days. Once the worker's time lost from work exceeds the state's waiting period, the entitlement to cash benefits begins. In a typical case in which the time lost because of the injury exceeds the waiting period, the worker can receive a cash benefit (tax-free) that is linked to the worker's average weekly wage level.

Permanent Partial Disability Determination Process

The process for determining whether or not you suffered a permanent partial disability is essentially evaluating whether or not the injury will result in a permanent not just a temporary inability to return to work.  Temporary total disability benefits are intended to replace only the income lost, at least in part, during the interval when the injured employee is healing from the injury and can't continue to work at all.  Temporary benefits terminate at two distinctly different points, (1) the worker is no longer totally disabled or can return to work in some capacity and (2) a medical determination is made that the injured worker has reached maximum medical improvement, even if the person has not fully recovered to their pre-injury condition, and he is not able to return to work in any capacity.  Some injuries are so serious that a worker is permanently, totally disabled.  Examples of a permanent total disability are the loss of use of both arms, both eyes, both feet, both hands or legs, or combination of similarly severe injuries including accidental exposure to hazardous toxins resulting in an occupation related disease.

Getting Legal Help

If you are a member of your family is suffering with a permanent partial disability that arose in connection with an occupation it may be very helpful to discuss the circumstance of the injury with a disability law attorney in order to best insure the injured worker is afforded all of the rights and disability related services he deserves.