Permanent Partial Disability

Permanent partial disability is the result of an injury that prevents the employee from performing some part of his previous job for an extended period of time, including indefinitely. The partial disability would not be completely incapacitating, but would not be short-term either. It would lead to a difficulty in performing certain aspects of the previous job but would not preclude the worker from performing a related task.

Because states differ in their approaches to workers’ compensation, there are a variety of approaches to permanent partial disability benefits. These can be put into two broad categories: the individual and average model.

The individual model takes a case-by-case examination of all circumstances surrounding the workers’ compensation claim. The extensive process of fully vetting the background, injury, salary, and present condition of the worker is very costly and time-consuming. Although it is more thorough and takes into account specific situations for each individual, it is not the most efficient approach.

The average justice model is also imperfect. It does not take into account individual circumstances at all but rather, it groups similar workers with similar injuries into big groups that receive the same amount of compensation when they are hurt. This may not be as fair on a case-by-case basis, but is far more efficient and is much cheaper.

Contact Us

If you or someone you love has been permanently partially disabled, you may be eligible for workers’ compensation benefits. For more information, contact the Philadelphia workers’ compensation lawyers of Lowenthal & Abrams, P.C. by calling 215-238-1130 today.