If a Minnesota employee suffers and injury at work that results in a permanent disability, the employee may be able to make one of two claims: (1) Permanent Partial Disability; or (2) Permanent Total Disability. Minnesota Workers Compensation Laws: Permanent Partial Disability Permanent Partial Disability, in general terms, means that he employee has suffered a work-related injury that has resulted in part of the employee’s body being permanently disabled. For example, often times after employees reach maximum medical improvement, they may not have the same range of motion or sensation as before their work injury. In this case, the employee’s doctor will issue the employee a percentage rating corresponding with the workers’ compensation rules, and then the benefit amount (the amount of money that he employee will receive for the permanent partial disability) is calculated by multiplying that percentage by the corresponding dollar amount in the following table set forth by Minnesota Statute Section 176.101, Subd. 2a: Impairment rating Amount (percent) 0-5 75,000 6-10 80,000 11-15 85,000 16-20 90,000 21-25 95,000 26-30 100,000 31-35 110,000 36-40 120,000 41-45 130,000 46-50 140,000 51-55 165,000 56-60 190,000 61-65 215,000 66-70 240,000 71-75 265,000 76-80 315,000 81-85 365,000 86-90 415,000 91-95 465,000 96-100 515,000 Under this table, if an employee has an 8% permanent partial disability, that employee is entitled to $8,000.00. Permanent Total Disability The Minnesota Legislature defines permanent total disability as follows: (1) 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; or (2) any other injury which totally and permanently incapacitates the employee from working at an occupation which brings the employee an income, provided that the employee must also meet the criteria of one of the following items: (i) the employee has at least a 17 percent permanent partial disability rating of the whole body; (ii) the employee has a permanent partial disability rating of the whole body of at least 15 percent and the employee is at least 50 years old at the time of injury; or (iii) the employee has a permanent partial disability rating of the whole body of at least 13 percent and the employee is at least 55 years old at the time of the injury, and has not completed grade 12 or obtained a GED certificate. The Minnesota Workers’ Compensation Court of Appeals in 1997 held that a non-occupational permanent partial disability may be combined with permanency resulting form a work injury in order to satisfy the permanent total disability thresholds. In 1999, in the case of Metzger v. Turck, Inc., 59 W.C.D. 229, the Workers’ Compensation Court of appeals took this one step further and affirmed the use of the employee’s non-work related hysterectomy surgery, together with a work related spine disability, to reach the applicable threshold, even though the hysterectomy carried no work restrictions or limitations.
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If a Minnesota employee suffers and injury at work that results in a permanent disability, the employee may be able to make one of two claims: (1) Permanent Partial Disability; or (2) Permanent Total Disability.
David Whitney is the author of this article on Minnesota workers comp. Find more information about Minnesota workers compensation here.
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