Permanent Disability

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Permanent Disability: Workers' Compensation

What is Topic

  • Complete Details

    Permanent disability (PD) is any lasting disability from your work injury or illness that affects your ability to earn a living. If your injury or illness results in PD you are entitled to PD benefits, even if you are able to go back to work.

  • What can I expect?

    Most workers fully recover from job injuries but some continue to have medical problems. PD benefits are limited. If you lose income, PD benefits may not cover all the income lost. If you experience losses unrelated to your ability to work, PD benefits will not cover those losses.


    PD benefits are set by law. Your PD benefit amounts will be determined as follows:


    The date of your industrial injury

    Your primary treating physician or a doctor who is a qualified medical evaluator (QME) will examine you and determine your impairment level, which means how your injury affected your ability to work

    Your impairment level will be expressed as a percentage

    The percentage is used in a formula which also includes your age and occupation. For injuries on or after April 19, 2004, and prior to Jan. 1, 2013, the formula also includes diminished future earning capacity

    For dates of injury on or after Jan. 1, 2013, PD ratings will no longer take into account an injured employee’s future earnings capacity. In addition, injured employees will no longer be able to collect additional PD for sleep disorders or sexual dysfunction that did not result directly from those injuries. Additional PD for psychiatric injuries is limited to cases in which the physical injury is catastrophic or where the injured employee was the victim of or a witness to a violent crime

    A disability evaluator or the judge will calculate this formula and determine how much PD you are entitled to receive.

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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

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  • What are permanent disability benefits?

    Most workers fully recover from job injuries but some continue to have medical problems. Permanent disability (PD) is any lasting disability that results in a reduced earning capacity after maximum medical improvement is reached. If your injury or illness results in PD you are entitled to PD benefits, even if you are able to go back to work.

  • How is PD identified?

    A doctor determines if your injury or illness caused PD. After your doctor decides your injury or illness has stabilized and no change is likely, PD is evaluated. At that time, your condition has become permanent and stationary (P&S). Your doctor might use the term maximal medical improvement (MMI) instead of P&S.


    Once you are P&S or have reached MMI, your doctor will send a report to the claims administrator telling them you have PD. The doctor also determines if any of your disability was caused by something other than your work injury. For example, a previous injury or other condition. Assigning a percentage of your disability to factors other than your work injury is called apportionment.

  • How much will I be paid for my permanent disability?

     PD benefits are set by law. The claims administrator will determine how much to pay you based on three factors:


    • Your disability rating (expressed as a percentage)
    • Date of injury
    • Your wages before you were injured.
  • How and when are PD benefits paid?

    PD benefits are normally paid when TD benefits end and your doctor indicates you have some permanent effects from your injury. The claims administrator must begin paying your PD payments within 14 days after TD ends. The claims administrator picks which day to pay you and will continue to make payments every two weeks until a reasonable estimate of your disability amount has been paid.


    If you have not missed any work, PD payments are due when the claims administrator learns the injury has caused a permanent disability.

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