Permanent partial disability

Workers Compensation benefits are different than damages you might receive if you are involved in another type of personal injury. Permanent Partial Disability (PPD) Benefits are benefits that are intended to compensate an injured worker for permanent loss or impairment of a bodily function.

In order to make the permanency uniform, the permanent partial disability rules have been developed.  In some situations, these guidelines require there be some objective measures (i.e. MRI, CT scans, etc.) to form a basis for a PPD rating.

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dependency benefits work comp Minnesota

This August, the Bureau of Labor Statistics issued a report titled, “Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries Summary, 2008.” The Bureau reported that a total of 5,071 fatal work injuries were recorded in the United States in 2008, down from a total of 5,657 fatal work injuries reported for 2007.  Some other key finding included:

• Fatal workplace falls, which had risen to a series high in 2007, also declined by 20 percent in 2008. Workplace suicides were up 28 percent to a series high of 251 cases in 2008, but workplace homicides declined 18 percent in 2008.
• Fatal occupational injuries involving Hispanic or Latino workers in 2008 were 17 percent lower than in 2007.  Fatalities among non-Hispanic Black or African American workers were down 16 percent.
• The number of fatal workplace injuries in farming, fishing, and forestry occupations rose 6 percent in 2008 after declining in 2007. Transportation incidents, which accounted for approximately two-fifths of all the workplace fatalities in 2008, fell 13 percent from the previous series low of 2,351 cases reported in 2007.

After a fatal injury, typically the deceased worker leaves behind family and loves ones. The deceased worker’s family is entitled to workers’ compensation benefits in the form of dependency benefits and burial expenses.

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In February of 2008, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) prepared a report titled, Fire-Related Firefighter Injuries in 2004. According to the report, there were 1,148,800  firefighters (career: 323,350, volunteer: 825,450) in the United States. Of those firefighters, there are about 18,000 in Minnesota. About 1,800 of them are career fire fighters and about 16,200 are volunteer fire fighters.

The FEMA report indicates that in the United States that more than half of firefighter injuries (52 percent) result in no lost work time, 30 percent of firefighter injuries result in lost work time with the bulk of these injuries (29 percent) moderate in severity. Less than 2 percent of injuries are severe or life-threatening. Typically, the leading causes of injury among younger firefighters relate to smoke inhalation and exhaustion, and among older firefighters, strains and sprains are the more common injuries. These results relate to physical fitness variations with age, to the effect of age on assignments, and perhaps to the bravado of younger firefighters.

Heart attacks and internal trauma accounted for the majority of firefighter fatalities in 2004 (79 percent), sprains and strains and cuts and wounds accounted for over a third of injuries (34 percent). Burns accounted for an additional 11 percent. The type of injury was not reported in 19 percent of firefighter injuries.

Under Minnesota workers compensation, it is known that firefighters injuries are presumed to be work related if the following have been met:

• the employee must first show sub­stantial com­pliance with the requirement of a pre-employment physical negative for the specific conditions;
• The employee must also show that he or she was employed as an active firefighter immediately preceding the date of disablement.

Additionally, the employer may rebut the presumption by showing either that the employee’s duties were significantly less stressful than those of most employees in his occupation or that his disease and disability were the result of recognized causative factors which are not related to his employment.

If you are a firefighter and have been injured on the job, it is recommended you consult an attorney to discuss your legal options. In many cases dealing with heart attacks, cancer, etc the employer may deny your case even though your injury is compensable. An experienced attorney can discuss your rights with you.

www.jerrysisk.com

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One of the first things we have to determine when an employee comes into our office is whether the claimed injury is work related.  As such, we need to look at what a compensable “personal injury” would be under the law.

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