During Minnesota’s 2023 legislative session, lawmakers passed Minnesota Workers’ Compensation Act Chapter 176, which brings many welcomed changes and protections to injured workers in Minnesota. While we’ll touch on a number of these changes in future blogs, we want to use today’s blog to take a closer look at a major change to Permanent Partial Disability Benefit payments in Minnesota. Below, we explore how injured workers stand to be better compensated during to the new PPD payment schedule.
New Permanent Partial Disability Schedule
The new PPD schedule will go into effect for any eligible work injuries that occur on or after October 1, 2023. You can get a better understanding of the complete schedule by clicking here, but we’ll summarize it below.
If you suffer an on-the-job injury that results in permanent partial disability, you would be eligible for PPD benefits. As the name implies, you will have suffered a permanent injury to a part of your body, but it will not keep you from eventually returning to the workforce. For example, partial hearing loss or the accidental amputation of a finger would allow you to collect PPD benefits.
If you are eligible for these benefits, you will undergo an evaluation by a medical specialist. During this evaluation and by reviewing the PPD disability schedule information, an impairment rating will be established. For example, your injury may amount to an 18 percent impairment rating. Once you have your impairment rating, you take a closer look at the PPD benefits schedule. On the new chart, you’ll see that the new amount for an 18 percent disability rating (which falls between 15.5 and 20.5 impairment rating on the chart) is $137,025, up from $94,500.
Unfortunately for the injured party, that doesn’t mean you get that full amount. You need to multiple your impairment rating by that number. So, you would multiple $137,025 times 0.18, which gives you $24,664.50, up from $17,010. This amount can be payable in a lump sum or on weekly installments based on your preference.
Taking a closer look at the chart, you’ll see that all the amounts have significantly increased, meaning injured workers collecting PPD benefits will be better compensated for their injuries, which is great news. However, the process of establishing a fair impairment rating and collecting PPD benefits is still complex, so it’s in your best interest to connect with a specialist to ensure everything goes smoothly. We’d be more than happy to help you collect PPD benefits or other injury benefits based on your unique situation. For more information, or for answers to questions you have about your injury claim, reach out to the team at Hey Workers today at (844) 439-9675.
