Permanent Disability Payments

Workers' Comp Lawyer: Permanent Disability Benefits

Permanent disability (PD) benefits are payment for a disability. The benefit aims to compensate you for your decreased ability to compete for jobs or earn a living in the future, according to the California Commission on Safety and Workers' Compensation. You don't have to lose your current job to be eligible.

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If your condition is not getting better and not worsening, it is considered permanent and stable (PS). At this point in your treatment, your physician will write a PS report.

Establishing Your Disability Rating

A state disability rater uses the PS report along with your age, injury date, occupation, your reduced future earning capacity and other information to determine your disability rating. The disability rating is a percentage that reflects your level of disability. For example, you may be considered 9 percent disabled by the amputation of one finger or 22 percent disabled by the loss of sight in one eye.

Permanent disability benefits payments are based on your disability rating and are currently capped at a certain limit. There are three schedules for permanent disability benefits, based on your date of injury.

Many Ways to Help

At the Boccardo Law Firm, our attorneys can help you in a variety of ways. If you disagree with your doctor's PS report, we can obtain a medical report, interview the physician, and challenge the PS report.

We also encourage clients and physicians to be thorough in identifying all physical problems and how they affect you. We can also challenge the disability rating itself. Finally, we will take your case to court if we believe our clients are not receiving justice. For example, we have appealed a case based on whether an injured worker has the right to bring in an independent economic expert to testify on matters of vocational rehabilitation.

Issues involved with permanent disability benefits can become extremely complex. It is wise to seek the assistance of a skilled workers' compensation attorney to help you achieve the best possible results. Contact an attorney at the Boccardo Law Firm in San Jose, California, today. We offer a free consultation to review your case and discuss your rights.

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