After a work injury, you may recover but still have lasting problems with movement or function. Once you reach maximum medical improvement (MMI), your doctor does not expect your condition to improve much more. At that point, a doctor may check whether the injury left you with lasting loss of function.
If so, the doctor may assign a percentage that reflects your lasting physical loss. This number can affect your permanent disability benefits.
How Arkansas determines an impairment rating
Arkansas uses the American Medical Association’s Guides to the Evaluation of Permanent Impairment, 4th Edition, to measure lasting physical loss.
Your rating must be supported by objective medical findings, meaning signs a doctor can observe or measure. Pain alone cannot support the rating.
For these benefits, the work injury must also be the major cause of your disability or physical loss. In simple terms, the work injury must account for more than half of the cause.
How your rating may affect your benefits
The effect of your rating depends partly on the body part involved. State law assigns a set number of weeks to certain “scheduled” injuries, meaning injuries to body parts specifically listed in the law. These include the hand, arm, foot and leg.
If you lose only part of the use of that body part, your benefits generally reflect the percentage of loss. For permanent partial disabilities not on that list, Arkansas uses a 450-week value for the body as a whole. Your percentage applies to that value when determining benefits for the physical loss.
For an injury involving the body as a whole, you may also qualify for additional wage-loss disability based on how it affects your ability to earn. The Arkansas Workers’ Compensation Commission may consider your work experience, education, age and other factors. However, you generally cannot receive wage-loss disability above your impairment rating while working, or with a qualifying job offer, at an average weekly wage equal to or greater than what you earned at the time of the injury.
Know what your rating means for your claim
If you receive a rating, check which body part it covers and keep a copy of the medical report. The percentage can affect benefits for a lasting injury, but it does not necessarily determine the total value of your workers’ compensation claim.
If you have questions about your rating, a legal review can help explain how Arkansas law applies it to your particular injury.