Workers Compensation

Chapter 4: Compensation Benefits

Section 2 - Permanent Partial Disability (PPD) Benefits

A permanent partial disability is the complete or partial loss or loss of use of a part of the body, or the partial loss of use of the body as a whole. "Loss of use" is not specifically defined in the law, but it generally means the employee is unable to do things with the body part or with the body as the whole that he or she was able to do before the injury.

1. When are PPD benefits paid?

Permanent partial disability benefits are paid only if the job-related injury or disease results in some permanent loss or loss of use of a part of the body or the whole body. Not all injuries and diseases result in permanent partial disability. 

PPD benefits will be paid only after the employee's condition has reached a point where it will not improve anymore.

2. How is the amount of PPD benefits determined?

On a case-by-case basis, the Industrial Commission evaluates the physical impairment and the effect of the disability on the injured worker's life. Factors that may be considered include the individual's age, skill, occupation, training, inability to engage in certain kinds of work or activities, pain, stiffness or limitation of motion.

There are two ways in which PPD benefits may be determined:
In the first method, the amount depends on the part of the body injured and the extent of the loss. The law places a value on certain body parts, expressed as a number of weeks of compensation for each part. The number of weeks provided for the various parts of the body are listed in the following chart.

If a body part is amputated, or if it cannot be used at all because of the injury, the employee is paid at his or her weekly rate for the number of weeks the law has set.

Compensation for a partial loss of use is calculated by multiplying the percentage of loss by the number of weeks listed. Alternately, if the disability imposes certain limitations on an employee, he or she may be entitled to the percentage of 500 weeks that the partial disability bears to total disability.

3. How are disabilities not listed on the chart compensated?

An employee who sustains a permanent injury or impairment to parts of the body not listed in the chart is entitled to the percentage of 500 weeks that the partial disability bears to total disability.

4. Is a work-related loss of hearing compensable?

The benefits for hearing loss due to an accident or a trauma are detailed on the chart.
Hearing loss due to exposure to continuous noise on the job may also be compensable. An employee who has been exposed to noise levels specified in the law for enough time to cause a loss of hearing may be entitled to benefits. The method of rating the loss is provided in the law.

5. How is the weekly PPD benefit determined?

The benefit is 60% of the employee's gross average weekly wage, subject to certain limits.

6. What is the minimum PPD benefit?

The benefit is the gross average weekly wage actually earned by the employee in the year before the injury or exposure, or one of the following amounts, whichever is lower.
Single person                       $80.90/ week
Married, no children             $83.20/ week
One child                               $86.10/ week
Two children                          $88.90/ week
Three children                       $91.80/ week
Four or more children           $96.90/ week

7. What is the maximum PPD benefit?

The maximum benefit is 60% of the employee's average weekly wage, or the published maximum PPD rate, whichever is lower. The maximum benefit is calculated using a formula established by law and published by the Industrial Commission. The rate is based on rate of increase in the statewide average wage.

8. What if an injury causes a disfigurement?

An employee who suffers a serious and permanent disfigurement to the hand, head, face, neck, arms, legs below the knee, or chest above the armpits as a result of a job-related injury is entitled to benefits for up to 150 weeks at the PPD rate. An employee may not collect compensation for disfigurement and PPD benefits for the same body part.
Unless a settlement has been reached at an earlier date, the employee must wait at least six months from the day of injury for a hearing to determine if a disfigurement resulting from the accident is serious and permanent.

9. What if an employee cannot return to the same occupation after an injury or exposure and cannot earn as much money?

The employee may be entitled to receive a wage differential. The wage differential is two-thirds of the difference between the amount the injured worker is able to earn and the amount he or she would be earning in the occupation in which the employee worked at the time of the accident. An employee may be compensated for either the loss of wages or a permanent disability related to the same injury or exposure.

Permanent Partial Disability Benefits For 100% Loss of Use 

* Loss beyond the first joint is considered 100% loss of the digit.
Loss of a part of the thumb, finger or toe up to the first joint from the tip is considered loss of one-half the digit, e. g., 35 weeks for half a thumb.
* *If an arm is amputated above the elbow, the employee is entitled to 250 weeks of compensation. If an arm is amputated at the shoulder joint and no artificial arm can be used, the employee is entitled to 300 weeks of compensation.
* * *If a leg is amputated above the knee, the employee is entitled to 225 weeks. If a leg is amputated at the hip joint and no artificial leg can be used, the employee is entitled to 275 weeks of compensation.

Fractures resulting in permanent disability: