Permanent Partial Disability

Florida workers who suffer job-related injuries or illnesses that leave them with a partial disability will qualify in most cases for permanent partial disability (PPD) workers’ compensation benefits.

Workers’ compensation for permanent partial disability in many cases assists a worker who returns to work in a position that accommodates their disability but pays less. Benefits in the form of weekly payments make up some of the difference in pay the worker earned before and after their debilitating injury or illness.

PPD benefits are based on a formula for the severity of the disability, which is defined by law. Problems arise if the employer, whose workers’ comp insurance pays the benefits, and the injured worker disagree on the extent of the worker’s disability. These disputes go to mediation or court, and the side that makes the stronger case to the judge wins.

The Orlando workers’ compensation claims lawyer at Frank M. Eidson, P.A., can help you obtain a fair partial permanent disability rating and the workers’ comp benefits you deserve if you have suffered an occupational injury or illness in Central Florida. Frank M. Eidson has been a workers’ compensation claims attorney in a single-lawyer practice for more than 20 years, and has helped clients obtain millions of dollars in workers’ comp settlements. He meets with each client and, with the help of medical experts, develops cases that ensure their individual needs are addressed.

Contact the law office of Frank M. Eidson, P.A., for experienced legal help with a workers’ compensation disability rating in Orlando, Winter Park or elsewhere in Central Florida.

Florida Workers’ Compensation PPD Ratings

Many times when a worker is injured or becomes ill on the job, they can return to work after they recover. But sometimes they cannot return to the same job.

For instance, a construction worker who falls from a scaffold and hurts his back may recover and return to work with the same company, but perhaps to an office job instead of more demanding work on a construction site. Or an administrative assistant who develops carpal tunnel syndrome, a repetitive motion injury to the hands and wrists, may return to work as a receptionist, doing less data entry and earning less pay.

These workers are said to have a “permanent partial disability,” or PPD. Florida workers’ compensation system pays PPD benefits to injure workers to make up for lost income.

Benefits are based a rating of the worker’s disability, which is determined according to disability rating procedures adopted by the American Medical Association. Once an injured worker has recovered as much as they are expected to – known as “reaching Maximum Medical Improvement” – a doctor or another medical care provider assigns the injured or ill worker an impairment rating, or a percentage, which illustrates the extent of their injury.

There are two different types of impairment ratings:

• Extremity. Extremity injury victims receive benefits based on the severity of the injury; not their wages prior to injury or their age. Extremity injuries that typically leave a worker permanently partially disabled include neurological damage (such as carpal tunnel syndrome), extensive burns, serious compound fractures, loss of a limb, etc.
• Whole person. A “whole person” rating is assigned to a worker who has a head, neck, back or torso injury. These victims receive benefits that are based on their age and previous wages earned.

Actual PPD benefits are based on multiple formulas applied according to the worker’s impairment rating and/or other factors for a whole person injury. If an injured employee’s physical condition changes after a PPD benefit is determined, either party – the worker or employer – may ask the workers’ compensation commission to reconsider and adjust the benefit.

The problem is that, with all the guides and rulesthat exist, determining how much an injury affects a person’s ability to work or perform other functions still comes down to someone’s opinion. A doctor working for the employer’s workers’ compensation insurance company could easily see the injured worker as more fit for work than another doctor might.

In the end, workers’ compensation benefits are determined by a Judge of Compensation Claims (JCC) or, on appeal, by Florida’s First District Court of Appeals. It is up to each side – the injured employee and their employer – to make their case for or against a PPD rating, with evidence provided by medical professionals and other information as may be available.

Retaining an experienced Florida workers’ compensation lawyer to assist you in properly portraying you injuries and medical recovery can help you obtain a more accurate PPD rating and associated benefits. At Frank M. Eidson, P.A., we consult with medical experts to ensure that our workers’ compensation claim clients are properly examined and their records accurately portray their injuries. Our attorney, Frank M. Eidson, then represents our clients in workers’ compensation hearings to ensure their rights are protected.

Frank M. Eidson has helped central Florida workers obtain proper workers’ compensation partial permanent disability benefits for more than 24 years. As a strong advocate for you, he can represent your best interests in a workers’ compensation claim and make a clear and convincing case on your behalf.

Contact Our Workers’ Compensation PPD Attorney

If an employee suffers a permanent personal injury but is able to return to work in a different capacity than previously served, he or she may be entitled to permanent partial disability (PPD) workers’ compensation benefits to make up for lost income.

The Orlando law office of Frank M. Eidson, P.A., can help see to it that you get the workers’ compensation benefits that you deserve if you have been permanently partially disabled by a work-related injury or illness. We can make sure your workers’ compensation claim for PPD benefits is accurate and complete, and that it is presented in a persuasive manner before a Judge of Compensation Claims (JCC) or Florida’s First District Court of Appeals.

Frank M. Eidson has more than 24 years of successful experience pursuing workers’ compensation claims for injured workers in Central Florida. Because he is the practice’s only attorney, clients of Frank M. Eidson, P.A., quickly come to know him and learn that they can rely upon their workers’ compensation claim lawyer.

Please contact Frank M. Eidson, P.A., to speak to an experienced Florida workers’ compensation claims attorney. Experience counts when seeking government benefits, particularly when there is as much at stake as there is with permanent partial disability benefits. When Frank M. Eidson is on your side, you have that experience. Call us today.