Permanent Total Disability

Work injuries can be so serious that they prevent you from ever working again. These injuries are classified as permanent total disability, or PTD, and constitute the most serious workers’ compensation cases. If you have been severely injured on the job and lost your ability to work in your occupation, you are entitled to permanent and total disability benefits.

Hart David Carson LLP can represent you throughout the process of winning your deserved compensation for your work injury. In addition to representing you during settlement negotiations, we draft legal agreements, advise you on the best route to take, and handle any courtroom situations that may arise.

Types of Permanent Total Disability

There are three ways to classify your permanent total disability: specific, non-specific, and “odd-lot” PTD. The way your claim is handled will depend largely on the type of injury you suffered.

• Specific: Specific permanent total disability is based on a list of specific disabilities, including loss of both arms, both feet, both legs, both hands, or a combination of two body parts from different categories. These are very severe, making them the rarest of PTD cases, but you could receive benefits even if you return to work.
• Non-specific: If your injury does not fit the specific disabilities above, you might still get permanent total disability benefits. If your doctor has declared you unable to work ever again due to your injury, you could get permanent benefits. However, your employer’s insurance company may argue over whether your disability is truly permanent or total.
• Odd-lot: Odd-lot claims are the most common, but they are also the hardest to prove. It involves your doctor placing restrictions on the types of work you can do. If you find that you cannot find work within those restrictions, you can file a claim for PTD benefits. However, you will face opposition. For example, your employer will likely try to prove that there are jobs on the market that you could do.

Whatever the nature of your injury, if it renders you unable to work, you need to be able to prove it as well as have skilled legal assistance to receive the benefits you deserve. You need the attorneys at Hart David Carson LLP to see you through the process successfully.

Obtaining PTD Benefits

To get PTD benefits, you must be able to prove that you are not able to work as a result of your injury. This could involve making every possible effort to gain employment for yourself. If you can show that in spite of your own best efforts you cannot work, you will be more likely to receive permanent total disability compensation.

In addition, an assessment by a medical professional is key to proving your case. Your employer or their insurance provider may try to argue the severity of your injury, but if you can back up your claim with a doctor’s statement in addition to diligent attempts at finding employment, you stand a good chance at winning the case.

Most often, these claims are handled in negotiations outside the courtroom in which you and the insurance company settle on a lump sum for your injury. Success in these negotiations requires legal skill, which is where Hart David Carson LLP comes in. 

Don’t do this alone. Contact our attorneys today for a free consultation.