Permanent Partial Impairment ratings are given by the doctor at maximum medical improvement. These are intended to document the loss of use you have to your injured body part.
The legislature has assigned a value, expressed in weeks, to your body:
Back 300 weeks
Arm 240 weeks
Hand 200 weeks
Thumb 75 weeks
First finger 45 weeks
Second finger40 weeks
Third finger 25 weeks
Pinkie finger 20 weeks
Big toe 35 weeks
Other toes 10 weeks
Foot 144 weeks
Leg 200 weeks
Eye 120 weeks
A “week” is one week of your compensation rate – the amount you were paid each week while out of work.
There are a few things to keep in mind about ratings. First, ratings are the primary means of compensating or settling with an injured worker who can return to his or her old job or make just as much money as before. If you aren’t able to return to your old wage-earning levels don’t worry about your rating.
Second, if the adjuster doesn’t like the rating that her hand-picked doctor gave you then she can send you for a second opinion on the rating. On the other hand if we don’t like the rating we can get a second opinion with a doctor of our choosing and the adjuster has to pay for it.
Third, the rating is usually paid out week by week, not in a lump sum. The adjuster may do it in a single payment but it’s likely she won’t and she’s not require to do so.
Fourth, as with the rest of the money you receive from workers’ compensation this is tax-free money.
