Disability Rating Payout Calculator

Turning a rating into dollars

When you reach maximum medical improvement without full recovery, a physician assigns a permanent impairment rating as a percentage of the affected body part. States convert that percentage into a benefit using an injury schedule that sets maximum compensable weeks by body part. The award is scheduled weeks times rating times weekly benefit rate.

The rating is worth fighting over

Because the payout scales with the percentage, a few rating points can mean thousands of dollars in either direction. An independent medical exam arranged by the insurer sometimes returns a lower rating than your treating physician assigned. That gap is why ratings are contested so often, and why your physician's documentation matters.

Inside a rating exam

The exam looks at range of motion, strength, nerve function, and any permanent findings on imaging, then maps those measurements to a percentage using the state's chosen medical guide, most often the AMA Guides to the Evaluation of Permanent Impairment. Two doctors examining the same knee can land on different percentages if they measure at different points in recovery or weigh a finding differently. That is normal, and it is also why insurers sometimes request a second exam when the first rating looks high. Bring your own imaging and treatment notes to the exam. A rating built on a thin record is easier to dispute later, in either direction.