Minnesota workers' comp glossary
PPD (Permanent Partial Disability)
Compensation for permanent functional loss from a work injury, rated as a whole-body percentage under Minn. R. ch. 5223 and converted to dollars on the schedule for the date of injury.
Permanent partial disability compensates the permanent loss itself, not wage loss. Once you reach maximum medical improvement, a doctor rates your permanent functional impairment as a percentage of the whole body using the schedules in Minnesota Rules chapter 5223, and Minn. Stat. § 176.101, subd. 2a converts that percentage into dollars using the amount assigned to your rating tier for your date of injury.
The rating is everything. Ratings are assigned category-by-category (a lumbar fusion, a shoulder with limited motion, a finger amputation each have specific rule citations), multiple ratings combine under the A + B(1 − A) formula rather than simple addition, and insurers’ doctors frequently rate lower than treating doctors.
PPD is payable even if you never missed a paycheck, and it survives many settlements as a separately valued component. If any rating in your file seems low, or a body part was never rated at all, the schedule is public and checkable.
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General information, not legal advice. Reviewed by Daniel C. Swenson, Minnesota workers' compensation attorney, Robert Wilson & Associates.