Temporary disability and permanent disability serve different purposes in California workers’ compensation. Temporary disability replaces part of lost wages while a worker is recovering and cannot fully perform the usual job. Permanent disability addresses lasting disability after the medical condition has stabilized.
When permanent disability is evaluated
Permanent disability is generally evaluated after a worker becomes permanent and stationary (P&S) or reaches maximum medical improvement (MMI). Those terms describe a condition that has stabilized for disability evaluation. They do not necessarily mean that all medical treatment has ended.
What affects a permanent disability rating?
The medical impairment described in the reporting.
The applicable rating schedule and injury date.
The worker’s occupation.
The worker’s age at the time of injury.
How multiple impairments are combined.
Apportionment to industrial and nonindustrial causes.
A rating can range from 0% to 100%. A 100% rating is permanent total disability. Age and occupation modify the rating; they do not independently create medical impairment.
Apportionment
California requires medical reporting to address the causation of permanent disability. A physician may assign part of the permanent disability to the current industrial injury and part to other causes, including prior industrial injuries. A prior diagnosis or prior symptoms do not, by themselves, answer the apportionment question.
Permanent disability versus settlement
The statutory permanent disability benefit is not necessarily the same thing as the amount of a negotiated settlement. The percentage is also not fixed once MMI is reached. Settlement terms may also address future medical care and disputed issues.