When a work injury results in a permanent impairment, a permanent restriction, or an inability to earn wages similar to those earned before your injury, an injured employee may be entitled to Permanent Partial Disability (PPD) benefits. If your injury is to a scheduled member – an arm, hand, finger, toe or other member – PPD benefits are based on functional impairment.
In Iowa, scheduled injuries include anything from loss of hearing to the loss of use of an arm, hand, fingers, foot or toe. Examples of a scheduled injury may include anything from a finger amputation to a crush injury, resulting in full loss of use or a percentage of loss of use of the scheduled member. Once an employee reaches maximum medical improvement – i.e. stabilization of the injury with no expectation of further improvement – an injured worker will be assigned a permanent disability rating and a scheduled award.
Scheduled Member Disabilities
For example, if an employee’s injury is to a scheduled member (shown below) the PPD benefits are based on functional impairment. The Appendix provides a list of scheduled body members (i.e. arm, leg, etc.) along with the number of weeks of benefits an employee would receive for the full loss of each member. If the impairment is less than a full loss, the number of weeks of PPD benefits an employee may receive is a percentage of loss or loss of use multiplied by the full number of weeks for the member. For example, an injury resulting in the amputation of a thumb would be considered a full loss, therefore 60 weeks of PPD benefits are payable. However, a 20% loss of use of a thumb (injured but still intact) is computed as 20% of 60 weeks or 12 weeks of PPD benefits.
Contact an Experienced Workers Compensation Lawyer for Help
When you are injured at work, it is important to discuss your situation with an experienced Iowa and Illinois work injury benefits attorney who can help you decide if legal representation is appropriate in your case and, if so, seek maximum compensation for your injuries. Contact the Davenport workers’ compensation law offices of McDonald, Woodward & Carlson PC for help at 563-355-6478.