PJC General Negligence 2024

W ORKERS ’ C OMPENSATION —D ISABILITY , MMI & I MPAIRMENT

PJC 23.16

PJC 23.16 Impairment Rating—Definition “Impairment rating” means the percentage of permanent impairment of the whole body resulting from a compensable injury. COMMENT When to use. PJC 23.16 may be used when a party appeals a decision of the Divi sion of Workers’ Compensation of the Texas Department of Insurance (DWC) about the validity, existence, or percentage of an injured worker’s impairment rating. See PJC 23.8 and 23.9 for questions on impairment rating. Source of definition. An employee receives impairment income benefits accord ing to the employee’s impairment rating, which is the percentage of the whole body’s permanent impairment. See Tex. Lab. Code §§ 401.011(24), 408.124. To determine the impairment rating, an examining doctor evaluates the permanent effect of the employee’s injury under statutory guidelines. See Tex. Lab. Code § 408.124. The doc tor expresses the rating as a percentage of permanent impairment to the whole body. See Tex. Lab. Code §§401.011(24), 408.124. The greater this percentage, the greater the amount of impairment income benefits the employee receives. See Texas Workers’ Compensation Commission v. Garcia , 893 S.W.2d 504, 514 (Tex. 1995). The impairment rating may also qualify an injured worker for supplemental income benefits, which provide long-term disability compensation. See Tex. Lab. Code § 408.142; see also Garcia , 893 S.W.2d at 514 . A doctor will not certify an impairment rating until the employee reaches “maxi mum medical improvement,” the point at which the employee’s injury will not materi ally improve with additional rest or treatment. Rodriguez v. Service Lloyds Insurance Co. , 997 S.W.2d 248, 253 (Tex. 1999); Tex. Lab. Code § 408.121.

341