Minnesota Workers Comp Permanent Disability

When employees suffer an injury leaving them a permanent disability, they may be entitled to Minnesota workers compensation benefits. There are two types of permanent disability benefits, which are discussed below.

• Permanent Partial Disability

When an employee reaches maximum medical improvement, meaning the date of which no further significant recovery from an injury can be anticipated, and the employee is not back to his pre-injury status, he may be eligible for a permanent partial disability (PPD) rating. The higher the rating, the higher the benefit amount. There must be objective medical evidence to be awarded a permanent partial disability rating; subjective complaints will not suffice. In addition, there is no permanent partial disability for pain and suffering, or loss of enjoyment of life—even if the pain is expected to be permanent.

If you have suffered a work injury and your doctor tells you that you have reached maximum medical improvement, you should ask your doctor if you qualify for a permanent partial disability rating. This is a percentage rating under the Minnesota Rules governing workers compensation cases. If your doctor is unfamiliar with these rules, ask him to research it or refer you to one of the doctor’s colleagues for an evaluation.

• Permanent Total Disability

Permanent total disability (PTD) benefits are available for workers who cannot work at anything other than sporadic employment. The Legislature has stated that:

… “totally and permanently incapacitated” means that the employee’s physical disability, in combination with the employee’s age, education, training and experience, causes the employee to be unable to secure anything more than sporadic employment resulting in an insubstantial income. Minn. Stat. 176.101(5)(b).

The Minnesota Legislature defines permanent total disability as “the total and permanent loss of the sight of both eyes, the loss of both arms at the shoulder, the loss of both legs so close to the hips that no effective artificial members can be used, complete and permanent paralysis, total and permanent loss of mental faculties.”

If an employee does not meet this definition, then the employee can still be found to be permanently totally disabled if he is permanently incapacitated from working at an occupation which brings in income, provided he has a 17 percent permanent partial disability rating of the whole body, or a 15 percent rating if the employee is at least 50 years old at the time of injury, or a 13 percent disability rating if the employee is at least 55 years old at the time of the injury, and has not completed grade 12 or obtained a GED.

The employee usually must also have expert medical and vocational opinions to prove he meets the requirements of permanent total disability in order to qualify for this benefit.

If you are injured at work and have questions regarding your rights it is recommended that you speak to a work comp attorney to learn more about your legal rights. There are many workers compensation laws that are very different from other injury related laws and an attorney who specializes in workers compensation can help guide you and answer your questions.