Permanent Partial Disability (“PPD”)

1. The final settlement.

We have already discussed your entitlement to medical benefits and to disability benefits during the period of your recovery ("comp"). Once you heal and return to work, you may be entitled to Permanent Partial Disability benefits to compensate for your injuries.

2. What is my injury case worth?

a) Every case is different.

No two injuries and no two cases are the same. So even if your employer voluntarily pays all of your medical benefits and TTD, it is in your best interest to retain my services when it comes time to negotiate a PPD settlement.

b) The following factors help determine the value of a disability settlement:

  1. Your average weekly wage. The more you earn, the larger you can expect a settlement to be.

  2. The body part injured. Back, neck and spine injuries generally settle based upon a percent of a "Man as a Whole". Injuries to the shoulder(s) and/or elbow(s) are arm cases. Wrist(s) and hand(s) are loss of hand(s); hip(s) and knee(s) are loss of the leg; ankle(s), feet and toe(s) are ordinarily scheduled as foot losses.

  3. There are also schedules for other specific body parts, and for hearing loss, vision loss and disfigurement (scars). At times there can be recovery for a body part and a scar, but at other times you must choose one or the other.

  4. The medical records. The percentage loss of a body part you are entitled to recover is impossible to determine without knowing the exact nature of your injuries. That knowledge requires a thorough review of your medical records.

  5. Your age, the type of work you perform, whether you had problems with the body part before the accident; whether you had surgery due to the injuries, the length of your recovery time and various other factors.

3. Not all lawyers are the same.

Only an attorney with my experience is qualified to make a proper assessment of your Workers' Compensation case. I have access not only to my experience but also to various sources of information, including Q-DEX, the "Bible" of Comp lawyers.