At Hawks Quindel, S.C., our workers' compensation attorneys help injured Wisconsin workers determine whether their permanent partial disability (PPD) ratings accurately reflect the lasting effects of their work injuries. A few percentage points can matter because state law uses the disability rating, a statutory number of weeks, and the applicable weekly benefit rate to calculate compensation.
Permanent partial disability applies when a compensable work injury leaves lasting impairment after the worker reaches a healing plateau. It is different from temporary disability benefits paid while you are recovering, and a permanent disability rating does not necessarily tell the whole story about how an injury affects your ability to earn a living.
If you received a rating that seems too low, or were told you have no permanent disability despite continuing limitations, the percentage and supporting medical evidence deserve careful review.
Securing Workers' Compensation Benefits Rightfully Owed to Wisconsin Workers
Is PPD a Disability?
Yes. Permanent partial disability is a type of disability recognized by Wisconsin's workers' compensation system. It applies when a worker does not fully recover from a work injury but is not permanently and totally disabled.
The Department of Workforce Development (DWD) explains that when an injured worker reaches a healing plateau, the doctor should determine whether permanent disability remains and, if so, assign a rating to the affected body part. The evaluation can consider factors such as loss of motion, endurance, pain, pre-injury condition, and other permanent effects.
Receiving PPD benefits does not necessarily mean you cannot work. You might return to your previous job and still have a qualifying permanent impairment.
How Is Permanent Partial Disability Different From Temporary Disability?
Temporary and permanent disability benefits address different stages and consequences of a work injury. Temporary total disability (TTD) generally provides wage-loss benefits while a compensable injury prevents you from working during your healing period. Temporary partial disability can apply when you work but earn less while recovering.
Permanent partial disability addresses impairment remaining after the healing process has reached a plateau. For example, a worker with a serious knee injury might receive TTD while recovering from surgery. After treatment and rehabilitation, the worker might return to work but permanently lose some knee function. The doctor can then evaluate that loss and assign a percentage.
This distinction matters because the end of temporary benefits does not necessarily mean that all benefits associated with the injury have been paid.
Who Determines Your PPD Rating?
The medical evaluation is central to determining permanent disability. As workers' compensation attorney Brandon Jubelirer tells clients:
“The doctors, as I tell my clients, make or break the case.”
After an injured employee reaches a healing plateau, a doctor evaluates whether the work injury caused permanent disability and assigns a percentage when appropriate. DWD instructs doctors to consider factors including the worker's pre-injury condition, loss of range of motion, loss of endurance, pain, and other permanent consequences.
Wisconsin also has statutory minimum ratings for specified injuries, losses of motion, amputations, and surgical procedures. These minimums appear in Wisconsin Administrative Code DWD 80.32 and related rules.
They are minimums, not automatic maximums. DWD expressly states that additional disabling elements can justify a rating above the applicable minimum. That distinction can become important when a worker has significant pain, loss of strength, reduced endurance, or other permanent limitations beyond the minimum associated with a particular procedure.
How Does the PPD Schedule Work?
Wisconsin law assigns a maximum number of weeks of compensation to specified body parts. A worker with partial permanent loss receives a percentage of the scheduled number of weeks.
Examples from DWD's schedule include:
- Arm at the shoulder: 500 weeks
- Arm at the elbow: 450 weeks
- Hand/wrist: 400 weeks
- Leg at the knee: 425 weeks
- Foot at the ankle: 250 weeks
Other schedules apply to fingers, toes, vision, hearing, and additional losses.
A 10% disability rating to the knee, for example, equals 10% of the 425 weeks assigned to loss of a leg at the knee. That produces 42.5 weeks of benefits. The applicable weekly rate is then applied to those weeks.
Nonscheduled injuries are treated differently. DWD's calculation guidance uses 1,000 weeks as the basis for calculating a nonscheduled permanent disability. A 5% rating to the body as a whole, for example, corresponds to 50 weeks before applying the worker's benefit rate.
How Much Is a PPD Rating Worth?
A percentage alone does not tell you the dollar value of the benefit. The calculation generally requires three pieces of information:
PPD percentage × statutory weeks for the injury × applicable weekly PPD rate
Consider a 10% knee rating. Wisconsin assigns 425 weeks to the loss of a leg at the knee:
10% × 425 weeks = 42.5 weeks
The worker's applicable weekly rate would then be multiplied by 42.5.
That rate depends on factors including the worker's wage and the maximum applicable to the date of injury. For injuries occurring from April 1 through December 31, 2026, the maximum weekly PPD benefit is $454. The maximum increases to $462 for injuries occurring on or after January 1, 2027.
Those are maximums, not automatic payment rates for every worker. The applicable rate must be determined from the individual claim.
Can You Challenge a PPD Rating That Seems Too Low?
Yes. A doctor's rating does not necessarily end the question of permanent disability.
A percentage deserves closer review when it appears inconsistent with the injury, surgical history, statutory minimums, objective loss of function, or permanent symptoms. DWD's rules specifically recognize that additional disabling elements can justify increasing a rating above a statutory minimum.
For example, DWD provides an example involving knee surgery in which specified procedures produce a statutory minimum rating, while a poor result can warrant a higher rating. Its examples similarly recognize additional factors such as sensory loss and other limitations when evaluating permanent impairment.
Our workers' compensation attorneys can review the medical reports, applicable statutory minimums, prior treatment and surgeries, and other evidence to determine whether a disputed percentage should be challenged. A worker should not assume that a rating is fair simply because it appears in a final medical report.
Is PPD the Same as Loss of Earning Capacity?
No. A medical disability rating and a claim for loss of earning capacity are related concepts, but they are not interchangeable.
A PPD rating measures permanent physical or functional disability under our workers' compensation system. Loss of earning capacity considers the effect that qualifying permanent limitations have on a worker's ability to earn wages.
This distinction can be particularly important for non-scheduled injuries. Wisconsin law contains specific rules governing when loss of earning capacity can be considered, including rules involving return to work and post-injury wages.
Consider an experienced worker who develops permanent restrictions after decades in a physically demanding occupation. A medical impairment percentage reflects the degree of permanent physical disability. It does not, by itself, necessarily measure what those restrictions mean for the worker's ability to return to the same type of work and earn comparable wages.
Determining whether a separate loss-of-earning-capacity issue exists requires looking at the type of injury, work restrictions, return-to-work circumstances, wages, and state law.
Does a PPD Rating Affect a Workers' Compensation Settlement?
It can. Permanent disability benefits may be one component of a Wisconsin workers' compensation claim being considered for settlement.
Before agreeing to resolve a claim, a worker should understand whether the permanent impairment has been accurately evaluated and what other disputed or future issues the settlement would address. These may include medical treatment, additional disability, the ability to return to work, or other benefits.
That is why reducing a settlement decision to a disability percentage and weekly rate can be misleading. The calculation establishes the value of that particular benefit; it does not necessarily establish the value of every issue involved in the claim.
Our Wisconsin workers' compensation settlement resource explains the broader factors that can affect settlement decisions.
Why Does an Accurate Disability Rating Matter?
A permanent impairment can follow a worker long after temporary wage-loss benefits stop. For someone who has spent much of a career doing physical, skilled, or repetitive work, even a seemingly modest permanent limitation can affect daily tasks and the ability to continue working in the same capacity.
Our state provides compensation for qualifying permanent disability, but the result depends in part on accurately identifying and rating the impairment.
Our attorneys can review whether the percentage accounts for the applicable statutory minimum, medical findings, surgeries, loss of motion, pain, endurance, and other disabling elements recognized under state rules. When the evidence supports a higher rating or additional benefits, our lawyers can challenge the insurer's position and pursue the benefits available under state law.
Frequently Asked Questions About Wisconsin PPD Ratings
When is a PPD rating assigned?
A doctor generally evaluates permanent disability after the injured worker reaches a healing plateau. At that point, the doctor determines whether permanent impairment remains and, when appropriate, assigns a percentage rating.
Does a 10% PPD rating mean I am 10% disabled overall?
Not necessarily. The percentage can refer to the loss of use of a particular body part rather than an overall measure of everything you can or cannot do. The body part and applicable schedule matter when calculating benefits.
Can I receive PPD if I return to work?
Yes. Returning to work does not automatically eliminate permanent partial disability benefits. A worker can return to employment and still have permanent impairment resulting from the work injury.
Is the statutory minimum the most PPD I can receive?
No. State statutory ratings establish minimums for specified conditions and procedures. DWD states that additional disabling elements should result in a rating above the minimum when supported by the medical findings.
What should I do if I disagree with my PPD rating?
Consider having the percentage and medical evidence reviewed before assuming the rating is final. The applicable statutory minimum, surgeries, range-of-motion findings, pain, endurance, permanent restrictions, and other medical evidence can all be relevant to whether it accurately reflects the injury.
Talk to a Wisconsin Workers' Compensation Attorney at Hawks Quindel, S.C.
A permanent disability rating can directly affect the benefits you receive for a lasting work injury. If the percentage seems inconsistent with your medical condition, surgical history, or continuing limitations, you do not have to assume that it accurately reflects what the law provides.
The workers' compensation attorneys at Hawks Quindel, S.C. can review your rating, medical evidence, statutory minimums, and other benefit issues and explain your options. Our team has represented Wisconsin workers for more than 60 years and understands how medical evidence affects permanent disability claims.
Contact Hawks Quindel, S.C. to begin the intake process and learn whether your matter qualifies for a free case screening. Call our Madison office at 608-257-0040 or our Milwaukee office at 414-271-8650, or fill out our confidential contact form.