Workers’ Comp Claim Process: Permanent Partial Disability Benefits (PPD)

Georgia Workers’ Compensation law compensates for permanent impairment or Permanent Partial Disability Benefits (PPD). However, it often overlooks this crucial aspect. Yet, this category of benefits is crucial to the determination of how much your case is worth in settlement.

Typically, when an injured worker has received treatment and improved as much as medically possible (reaching maximum medical improvement or MMI), the treating physician will evaluate the permanent impairment caused by the work injury using a percentage rating. O.C.G.A. Section 34-9-263 governs PPD benefits and sets forth that the treating physician must use the 5th Edition of American Medical Association guidelines in assigning the permanent impairment rating. For example, someone with a low back injury may be assigned a rating to the “whole body” whereas someone with a knee injury would be rated for the “lower extremity”. O.C.G.A. Section 34-9-263 sets out a particular number of weeks of disability benefits corresponding to an injury to each body part.

Accurately calculating permanent impairment ratings and setting forth the amount and timing of permanent partial disability benefits can be very frustrating and confusing, especially if you do not have a trained advocate guiding you through the process. If you have been injured on the job, contact experienced Georgia workers’ compensation lawyer T. Andrew Miller for a free case evaluation and consultation today!