Permanent Disability Vs. Partial Disability in Philadelphia
If you or a loved one have suffered an on-the-job injury that requires medical care and time away from work, then you may be entitled to various types of workers’ compensation benefits. These benefits are designed to pay for lost wages and all of your medical care caused by the injury or illness. In general, you have the right to receive a certain amount of compensation under Pennsylvania’s workers’ compensation laws. This includes permanent partial disability vs. temporary total disability benefits in Philadelphia. At Gross & Kenny, LLP, we are here to help when you need a Philadelphia social security disability attorney by your side.
Pennsylvania Permanent Partial Disability (PPD)
Permanent partial disability (PPD) benefits are wage loss and medical benefits that are paid if you are not totally disabled or you can return to work in a modified-duty or lower-paying capacity. If you can work but are earning less money than you were making before the injury, your wage loss benefits will be based on a percentage of the difference between your previous and current wages. The benefit calculations are done according to a statutory formula. Please contact us, and we will calculate what your benefit rate should be.
Permanent partial disability benefits may last up to 500 weeks from the date that your condition changed to partial disability. If at the end of this 500-week period, you have not had your status modified upward to temporary total disability, your wage loss benefits will cease.
Pennsylvania Temporary Total Disability (TTD)
By contrast, temporary total disability (TTD) benefits can last indefinitely and begin one week from the date you were last able to work. Temporary total disability benefits are also based on a percentage of your average weekly wage up to a specified maximum amount. During this time, your status can be changed to permanent partial disability if following an impairment rating evaluation (IRE) where a physician determines you have reached maximum medical improvement (MMI). This IRE is only able to be conducted after receipt of 104 weeks of disability benefits. The IRE determination assumes that you have reached maximum medical improvement. If the impairment rating you receive is too low, or if you believe that you have not reached maximum medical improvement, our attorneys can challenge it.
Employers and insurers rarely allow benefits to continue that long without challenging your disability status. If you are receiving permanent partial disability or temporary total disability in Philadelphia and have received a petition to modify, terminate or suspend benefits, contact us online.
Do Workers Have to Undergo Testing When Receiving TDD?
In Bustleton and South Philadelphia, an employer may require an injured employee to undergo a medical examination after 104 weeks (two years) to determine whether or not the employee is still at least 50% impaired. In the event that the 50% threshold is no longer relevant, the employee’s status and benefits could be changed to partial disability.
What About Permanent Total Disability Benefits?
If it is determined that a worker is no longer able to return to their job from medical leave to any kind of gainful employment, they may be eligible to receive weekly benefits for the length of time that they are considered totally disabled. A Pennsylvania workers’ compensation attorney can help you determine whether you should receive permanent partial disability vs. temporary total disability benefits in weekly installments or as a lump sum payment.
IMPORTANT: If you cash in on retirement plans, pension benefits, or severance pay while receiving Workers’ Compensation benefits, a strong case can be made that regardless of any injury or disability, you would not be working anyway. Many people lose their Workers’ Compensation benefits this way. Talk to us before you cash in on retirement benefits, pension benefits, or severance pay.
Discuss Permanent Partial Disability Vs. Temporary Total Disability With an Attorney
Getting the disability benefits you deserve means getting a lawyer who knows how to make the Pennsylvania Workers’ Compensation Act work for you. Our Philadelphia Workers’ Compensation lawyers of Gross & Kenny, LLP, have been successfully representing injured workers in Pennsylvania for over 20 years. Call us today to discuss permanent partial disability vs. temporary total disability in Philadelphia.
267-589-0091 
