Partial Permanent Disability

A work injury can permanently impact your ability to earn a living, not to mention reduce your quality of life. In addition to recovering damages for items such as pain and suffering and medical expenses, Hart David Carson LLP can help you obtain partial permanent disability (PPD) benefits from your employer.

Defining PPD

If you have been permanently disabled as a result of a workplace accident, you may qualify for partial permanent disability. This includes injuries that limit the use of a body part or your body as a whole. Common injuries include partial loss of your hands, eyes, ears, legs, or arms. For example, a spill at the workplace may have resulted in partial blindness.

The process of calculating PPD and obtaining compensation is complex, and you’ll be facing your employer’s insurance company the whole time. Hart David Carson LLP can assess your claim and pursue the most compensation you deserve.

Methods of Calculation

There are four ways of calculating PPD benefits: wage differential, scheduled injury, percentage loss of a person as a whole, and disfigurement. These are all based on a percentage of your weekly earnings and the degree of your injury.

• Wage differential: If your injury caused you to switch to a lower paying job, you qualify for wage differential benefits. To calculate this, you take the difference in weekly wages (the larger one minus the smaller one) and multiply that by 2/3, or about 66%. You cannot get a wage differential and disability benefits, so choose wisely.
• Scheduled injury: A weekly permanent disability payment may be calculated based on the type of injury you suffered. This is based on a set number of weeks (depending on the body part) and 2/3 of your weekly wage. Total lost use of your thumb, for example, will net you 76 weeks worth of payments. Partial loss divides the number of weeks in half.
• Loss of percentage of person as a whole: Alternatively, you might get an amount based on the total limitations placed on you by your disability. An estimate is made of how much of your whole person you’ve lost use of as a percentage. That percentage is then multiplied by 500 weeks to get the total amount of compensation you can receive.
• Disfigurement: Scars from cuts, burns, or operations that disfigure your appearance are assessed to calculate how many weeks of compensation you deserve.

The process of calculating your benefits is highly complex, especially where multiple injuries are involved. There may be some disagreement over how much your injury is worth, so you need a skilled attorney on your side to negotiate on your behalf.

Obtaining PPD Benefits

Before you can qualify for PPD benefits, you must have recovered as fully as possible from your injury. Once you have reached maximum medical improvement (MMI), you will be able to recover compensation.

Your employer or their insurance company will likely try to minimize how much they have to pay you. Hart David Carson LLP can offer you vital legal assistance when it comes to negotiating a PPD settlement. We fight skillfully and aggressively on your behalf, ensuring you get the largest amount possible. 

Let us handle your case. Contact Hart David Carson LLP today.