Yakima Permanent Partial Disability Lawyers Serving Central Washington
So what if you got injured at work, and you received workers’ compensation benefits for your injury? And you can work again, but you’re left with a long-term loss of function due to your injury.
Can you get any financial assistance for this situation? Shouldn’t workers’ comp have to factor in a permanent impairment?
In fact, you may be able to get additional benefits to compensate for the lasting health problems that your job injury caused. These are called permanent partial disability (PPD) benefits. PPD benefits can help you move on after your workers’ comp claim.
To pursue this option, you may want to talk to a workers’ compensation attorney, who can help you secure the most appropriate PPD award.
The attorneys at Bothwell Hamill & Sutton, PLLC know the workers’ comp system run by the Department of Labor & Industries in Washington state.
Our workers’ comp law firm helps people win benefits in Richland, Spokane, Kennewick, Sunnyside, Yakima, Walla Walla, Ellensburg, Wenatchee or anywhere else throughout central Washington. All you have to do is reach out to us today.
How Do Permanent Partial Disability Settlements Work In Washington?
A PPD settlement is money you receive if you now have a permanent impairment because of your workplace injury. Getting a PPD settlement typically closes out your workers’ comp claim.
You can get PPD under these conditions:
- You’re returning to work, or have returned, in a similar capacity.
- You’ve reached a point with your injury where you’ve achieved what’s called the “maximum medical improvement (MMI)” that can be expected through ongoing health care provided by workers’ comp.
- Even after reaching MMI, you’re left with ongoing health limitations from your injury that aren’t likely to improve.
L&I workers’ comp payments come in several forms in addition to PPD: temporary total disability (TTD), temporary partial disability (TPD), and permanent total disability (PTD) when you can no longer work at all.
When you contact a Bothwell Hamill & Sutton, PLLC workers’ compensation lawyer, they can look at the details of your case and see if you’d be eligible for a PPD award or some other kind of benefit.
Contact us now for your free legal evaluation.
Are You Eligible For A PPD Award Under L&I Workers’ Comp?
You will need to go through a process to get awarded PPD benefits. This includes:
- Receiving a PPD rating from a doctor
- Possibly receiving a second opinion from another doctor if your rating is low
- Plugging your rating into the Washington State Department of Labor & Industries’ PPD Award Schedule to determine what your initial down payment will be and how much you will receive over time to fully pay your settlement.
Since the rating is a matter of medical opinion, you can get a second opinion from another doctor. You might need this if you first went to an Independent Medical Examination (IME) with a doctor who works with L&I and is likely to give you a lower rating.
It’s best to go to a doctor with experience rating PPDs to ensure that yours is accurate and fair. Your PPD rating doctor doesn’t have to be a network provider. Most currently licensed physicians are able to give you your rating.
If you are eligible for a PPD award, you will receive it after you complete your medical care, you’ve gotten your PPD rating, you are deemed employable, and L&I has issued an order closing your workers’ comp claim.
You can always appeal L&I’s decision, but you must do it within 60 days of receiving your award amount.
To make sure you’re getting everything you are entitled to receive — including a PPD settlement to finish your workers’ comp claim — enlist the help of a lawyer.
