Disability Discrimination Lawyers in Los Angeles

A permanent disability is considered any physical or mental illness, or condition, that affects a major life function over a long period of time. If someone is determined to be permanently disabled from an accident, injury or illness, they have the option of attempting to receive compensation from a long-term disability policy that they purchased or receive disability benefits from the Social Security Administration. Realizing that you are permanently disabled and unable to work can leave many people frustrated, frightened, and confused regarding their next steps.

Common Permanent Disabilities

Every permanent disability, illness, or injury is different, and your case is unique. However, there are some permanent disabilities that are more common that typically request social security benefits or compensation from a private long-term disability policy. These types of permanent disability include the following:

• Traumatic brain injuries
• Blindness
• Cancer
• Heart disease
• Stroke
• Diabetes
• Arthritis
• Back Injuries
• Infections
• Nervous system disorders
• Mental health conditions
• Fibromyalgia
• Chronic pain

If you are suffering from any of these conditions, or have another condition that has been determined to be a permanent disability, you may not only be unable to work, but you may be in a great deal of pain.

Workers Compensation Claims in California

If your injury, illness or condition occurred at work, you may be able to receive permanent disability benefits through your employer’s workers’ compensation benefits. If your doctor indicates that your medical condition has reached the height of improvement, and you are not expected to get any better in the future, this is considered your “maximum medical improvement” or MMI.

• Disability Rating – At this point in the process, your doctor will determine what permanent restrictions and limitations you have and give you your official disability rating, which is stated in the form of a percentage. This disability rating indicates the degree of permanent disability and limitation that you will have for your specific medical condition. Your doctor could also give you a whole person impairment rating instead, which is when the injury involves large areas such as internal organs, internal systems, the back, head or neck. Any disability that is less than 100% is considered a partial disability. If your disability is permanent but only partial in nature, your rating will reflect that.
• Calculation of Benefits – At this point, after you have received a disability rating or a whole person impairment rating, your permanent disability benefits can be calculated. This is an extremely complex process, and the State of California, there is a specific formula that is used that takes into account your injury, your age, your occupation and in some cases your diminished future earning capacity. Additionally, either your attorney or the insurance company may ask to have the Disability Evaluation Unit in California’s Division of Workers’ Compensation calculate the rating, which is called a “summary rating.”
• How Long You Will Receive Benefits – If you qualify to receive workers’ compensation benefits, the weekly benefits will typically be two-thirds of your average weekly wages. The maximum amounts and the minimum amounts will be determined by the date of your injury. For any workers’ compensation injury that occurred between 2014 and 2018, the minimum is $160 per week, and the maximum amount of compensation you could receive is $290 per week. The length of time that you will receive the benefits will be based on these complex calculations. If your permanent disability rating is 50%, you may be entitled to benefits for 400 weeks. However, if your permanent disability rating is 20% you may be entitled to benefits for only 100 weeks. Remember again that your age and occupation are also factors in this calculation.

If your insurance company is ever late with one of your payments in California, which should occur every two weeks, they will automatically owe you an additional 10% of those late payments, and if there is no reasonable excuse for the late payment, it could be 25% of the late payment.

Challenging Your Permanent Disability Percentage Rating – If you disagree with the rating that your doctor gave you, it is important to challenge this, as it is the basis for all of your workers’ compensation benefits in California. Contacting an experienced attorney can help you with this process, as a letter must be sent within 30 days after receiving the doctor’s report that includes your permanent disability percentage if you do not have an attorney, and within 20 days if you do have an attorney.

You may also request a reconsideration of the summary rating within 30 days of the determination. Again, the permanent disability rating is very complex and complicated to understand without assistance from an experienced attorney. While you are able to legally do this on your own with help from the DWC Information and Assistance Unit, having an experienced attorney can help you truly understand your rights and build your case.