How are Permanent Partial Disability Benefits Determined?
In cases involving body-as-a-whole injuries (generally head, neck, back, hips, shoulders), the insurance company will usually voluntarily pay the worker’s disability rating from the doctor. It is rare, however, for the insurance company to make voluntary disability payments beyond the disability rating. With most body-as-a-whole injuries, the worker is owed benefits for how the physical disability has reduced the worker’s ability to find jobs (commonly referred to as ‘industrial disability’). There are many factors important to the determination of industrial disability. Some of the more important factors are the extent of the worker’s physical disability (the rating), permanent job restrictions, age, education, intelligence, and past work experience. In most cases, the permanent partial disability benefits owed due to industrial disability are much higher than the payment based only on the worker’s physical disability rating. If you have suffered a body-as-a-whole injury and the insur
