How Does the Permanent Partial Disability Work?
- The PPD rules consider the part of your body that is injured, so long as it is an accepted medical condition. The PPD ruled direct the doctors how to measure the extent of your injury.
- The rules then tell L&I how much PPD money they should pay you for your injury.
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The PPD rules are divided into two systems.
- The category rating system, found in RCW 51.32.080 and WAC 296-20-200 through WAC 296-20-690.
- The Specified Disability System is found at RCW 51.32.080.
- These are two different systems. Be careful not to confuse them.
What are the Permanent Partial Disability Settlement Rules?
The PPD rules instruct doctors on how to measure your impairment. The PPD rules tell the claims managers how much, if any, money L&I will pay you for that impairment.
These PPD rules are complex. They were written by politicians and insurance professionals, intended for doctors, lawyers, and judges. You will benefit from learning these rules because they will help you know if you’re being treated fairly. You can do this. Take your time and ask us for help if you need it.
Where Can I Find the Permanent Partial Disability Rules?
The PPD rules are part of the law governing L&I claims. You can find these rules by looking at the statutes in the Revised Code of Washington (RCW) Title 51 and the administrative details in the Washington Administrative Code (WAC) Title 296. Below on this page, we will give you links to these laws, but first, we recommend that you finish this page so you will find the specific rule that applies to you.
- The category rating system encompasses a complex array of medical-legal rules and category award charts.
- The charts will tell you what you are being paid.
- The rules will tell you how the award was figured.
- The IME will tell you the reporting doctor’s opinion of your impairment. The rules mostly stay the same each year, but the charts change every year based on your date of injury.
What is a Category Award Rating of 1, 2, or 3?
The category rating section for body systems includes: cervical, dorsal, dorsal lumbar, and lumbosacral spine, pelvis, neurological system, mental health, respiratory, taste and smell, speech, skin, and internal organs. Is your injury to one of these systems?
Category 1 usually pays zero, Category 2 pays some money, and Category 3 pays more. How much? The charts for your injury year will show you how much your category rating is worth.
What is the Specified Disability Award Schedule?
- The specified disabilities section includes legs, feet, arms, heads, eyes, and hearing.
- The specified disability section has complex medical-legal rules and a PPD Award Schedule, which changes for each person based on their date of injury
- The important details are contained in the Washington Annotated Code (WAC). Each specific body system or specified disability in the WAC is further divided into two, with rules for evaluating that category followed by the specified body system and the corresponding objective clinical findings.
- There are also general rules for impairment rating RCW 51.32.080 and WAC 296-20-2010.
- There are special rules for the evaluation of permanent bodily impairment WAC 296-20-220.
- There are Permanent Partial Disability Awards Schedules, which change every year. These award schedules convert percentages or categories into dollars and allow for modest yearly increases to reflect the percentage change in the consumer price index.
The WACs provide complex medical/legal determinations meant to attach a percentage to an impairment or loss of function. That percentage is applied to the PPD schedule for the year of your injury to determine the dollars you should be awarded at claim closure. The money is often paid out over several months. The Disability Award Schedule for permanent partial disability can be found here.
What is an Impairment Rating?
The impairment rating is a medical determination. Doctors perform Impairment Ratings in anticipation of claim closure. The rating is a report by the doctor applying the PPD rules to your L&I-accepted medical conditions. These impairment ratings are usually found in an IME or your physician’s final report.
Be careful of IMEs. They often produce unfriendly and unfair impairment ratings. Learn about IMEs at Independent Medical Examinations.
Washington State L&I Permanent Partial Disability (PPD) Award Charts.
The award charts convert the impairment ratings into dollars. These charts change each year on July 1. Look at your date of injury, then pick the correct chart by matching to your date of injury.
Permanent Partial Disability Awards Charts
These rules are complex.
If these rules are too complex, do not worry. You don’t have to know how to apply the rules to get paid. We can tell you what L&I plans to pay you if you can tell us:
- The date of your injury
- Your accepted medical conditions
- Your category or percentage rating for each medical condition. The information is often in the IME report or your attending physician’s closing report.
These details are in your L&I file. You can do this if you are able to access your file and apply the rules.
If not, call or write us. We can help. Details below.
Want more information? Here are links to more L&I settlement information.
Permanent Partial Disability Award Charts
Here are the Permanent Partial Disability Award Charts. These charts contain both the category awards and the specified disability award schedule.
