Minnesota Rule 5223.0460
Minnesota elbow PPD rating
Rule 5223.0460 rates the elbow and forearm under exclusive categories (flail elbow at 39 percent, radial head resection, painful organic syndrome including chronic epicondylitis, the radial/median/ulnar entrapment ladders), combinable categories (total elbow arthroplasty at 17 percent, radial head replacement, the instability ladder, lateral deviation, the unratable fracture catch-all), and loss of measured motion under subpart 4. Distinct impairing conditions combine under 5223.0300, subpart 3, item E, and the whole part is capped at the amputation value for the arm at the elbow.
Rule text from the Minnesota Revisor of Statutes, retrieved 2026-08-02.
This is my working reading of Minnesota Rule chapter 5223. I keep checking it against the official rule text and published decisions. If a category, percent, or combination looks wrong, email hello@mncompbuddy.com and say what you found. A mismatch is a reason to look again, not a reason to treat this tool or a doctor rating as automatically correct.
The percents on this page are the condition categories. This part also rates measured motion loss under subpart 4 (28 clauses). Those numbers live in the guided calculator. A total here is not the whole rating when the records also show lost motion.
How the rule decides
Each group below is a set of alternatives: the facts select at most one category from each group. Add-ons attach to their base category as the rule directs and are added, not statutorily combined.
Choose one: elbow flail
Requires: Flail elbow (the joint has no stability).
R. 5223.0460, subp. 2.A
Choose one: elbow arthroplasty
Requires: Elbow arthroplasty or radial head surgery: radial head resection (no implant).
R. 5223.0460, subp. 2.B
Requires: Elbow arthroplasty or radial head surgery: radial head replacement (implant).
R. 5223.0460, subp. 3.A(2)
Requires: Elbow arthroplasty or radial head surgery: total elbow arthroplasty.
R. 5223.0460, subp. 3.A(1)
Choose one: elbow pain syndrome
Requires: Painful organic syndrome (as defined at 5223.0310, subp. 40), including chronic medial or lateral epicondylitis, substantiated by consistent, reproducible clinical findings, with persistent limitation of active motion; and not: passive range of motion of the elbow is limited.
R. 5223.0460, subp. 2.C
Choose one: elbow entrapment radial
Requires: Radial nerve entrapment at the elbow or in the forearm: resolved with treatment.
R. 5223.0460, subp. 2.D(1)
Requires: Radial nerve entrapment at the elbow or in the forearm: pain and paresthesia persist or recur despite treatment, not substantiated by electrodiagnostic testing.
R. 5223.0460, subp. 2.D(2)
Requires: Radial nerve entrapment at the elbow or in the forearm: pain and paresthesia persist despite treatment, substantiated by persistent findings on electrodiagnostic testing.
R. 5223.0460, subp. 2.D(3)
Choose one: elbow entrapment median
Requires: Median nerve entrapment at the elbow or in the forearm (pronator syndrome): resolved with treatment.
R. 5223.0460, subp. 2.D(1)
Requires: Median nerve entrapment at the elbow or in the forearm (pronator syndrome): pain and paresthesia persist or recur despite treatment, not substantiated by electrodiagnostic testing.
R. 5223.0460, subp. 2.D(2)
Requires: Median nerve entrapment at the elbow or in the forearm (pronator syndrome): pain and paresthesia persist despite treatment, substantiated by persistent findings on electrodiagnostic testing.
R. 5223.0460, subp. 2.D(3)
Choose one: elbow entrapment ulnar
Requires: Ulnar nerve entrapment at the elbow or in the forearm (cubital tunnel syndrome): resolved with treatment.
R. 5223.0460, subp. 2.D(1)
Requires: Ulnar nerve entrapment at the elbow or in the forearm (cubital tunnel syndrome): pain and paresthesia persist or recur despite treatment, not substantiated by electrodiagnostic testing.
R. 5223.0460, subp. 2.D(2)
Requires: Ulnar nerve entrapment at the elbow or in the forearm (cubital tunnel syndrome): pain and paresthesia persist despite treatment, substantiated by persistent findings on electrodiagnostic testing.
R. 5223.0460, subp. 2.D(3)
Choose one: elbow instability
Requires: Elbow instability: excessive passive mediolateral motion compared to normal: subluxation in extension, reduced by flexion: intermittent.
R. 5223.0460, subp. 3.B(1)(a)
Requires: Elbow instability: excessive passive mediolateral motion compared to normal: subluxation in extension, reduced by flexion: continuous.
R. 5223.0460, subp. 3.B(1)(b)
Requires: Elbow instability: excessive passive mediolateral motion compared to normal: dislocation: intermittent, or elicited only by examination.
R. 5223.0460, subp. 3.B(2)(a)
Requires: Elbow instability: excessive passive mediolateral motion compared to normal: dislocation: spontaneous continuous.
R. 5223.0460, subp. 3.B(2)(b)
Choose one: elbow lateral deviation
Requires: Permanent lateral deviation deformity, in degrees, measured with the elbow in full passive extension (0 means none) of 1 degrees or more; and Permanent lateral deviation deformity, in degrees, measured with the elbow in full passive extension (0 means none) below 30 degrees.
R. 5223.0460, subp. 3.C(1)
Requires: Permanent lateral deviation deformity, in degrees, measured with the elbow in full passive extension (0 means none) of 30 degrees or more.
R. 5223.0460, subp. 3.C(2)
Choose one: elbow fracture other
Requires: Fracture or dislocation involving the humerus, radius, or ulna not otherwise ratable under this part, 5223.0450, or 5223.0470.
R. 5223.0460, subp. 3.D
Choose one: elbow unlisted motion loss
Requires: either An elbow or forearm condition no category of subparts 2 or 3 represents, rated only on measured loss of motion under subpart 4, or Painful organic syndrome (as defined at 5223.0310, subp. 40), including chronic medial or lateral epicondylitis, substantiated by consistent, reproducible clinical findings, with persistent limitation of active motion; and Passive range of motion of the elbow is limited.
R. 5223.0460, subp. 1 (rated only under subp. 4)
What the records must show
These are the facts the rule turns on. If one is unknown, the affected categories stay open questions with the document that would settle them; an unknown never counts as a no.
Proof: exam notes documenting a flail joint
Proof: operative report
Proof: exam notes
Proof: exam notes with passive range of motion measurements
Proof: EMG/nerve conduction study; exam notes
Proof: EMG/nerve conduction study; exam notes
Proof: EMG/nerve conduction study; exam notes
Proof: exam notes documenting mediolateral stress testing
Proof: exam notes or x-ray measuring the carrying angle deformity
Proof: x-ray or CT report
Proof: diagnosis records; range of motion measurements
Worked examples with receipts
Each example runs through the same engine the calculator uses. The category total, the components, and the citations are computed, not typed in. These receipts are category percents only. They do not include subpart 4 motion.
Total elbow arthroplasty, category alone
category total
Date of injury 2024-01-01
- Elbow arthroplasty or radial head surgery: total elbow arthroplasty
- Total Elbow Arthroplasty: 17%
- Category total: 17%Does not include subpart 4 motion
Flail elbow, the part maximum short of the amputation cap
category total
Date of injury 2024-01-01
- Flail elbow (the joint has no stability): yes
- Flail Elbow: 39%
- Category total: 39%Does not include subpart 4 motion
Cubital tunnel syndrome persisting despite treatment, substantiated by electrodiagnostic testing
category total
Date of injury 2024-01-01
- Ulnar nerve entrapment at the elbow or in the forearm (cubital tunnel syndrome): pain and paresthesia persist despite treatment, substantiated by persistent findings on electrodiagnostic testing
- Ulnar Nerve Entrapment at Elbow: Residual: 2%
- Category total: 2%Does not include subpart 4 motion
Continuous subluxation (10) combined with a 30 degree lateral deviation (3), distinct conditions
category total
Date of injury 2024-01-01
- Elbow instability: excessive passive mediolateral motion compared to normal: subluxation in extension, reduced by flexion: continuous
- Permanent lateral deviation deformity, in degrees, measured with the elbow in full passive extension (0 means none): 30
- Elbow Subluxation: Continuous: 10%
- Elbow Lateral Deviation ≥30°: 3%
- Category total: 12.7%Does not include subpart 4 motion
Related rules
These cross-links come from the compiled graph. Read the official rule text for the full statutory language.
See also rule 5223.0450
Shoulder and upper arm permanency rule 5223.0450Subp. 3.D excludes fractures ratable under the shoulder part (proximal humerus fractures rate there).
See also rule 5223.0470
Wrist permanency rule 5223.0470Subp. 3.D excludes fractures ratable under the wrist part (distal radius and ulna fractures rate there).
See also rule 5223.0400
Official text for 5223.0400Subp. 2.D(4): entrapment with objectively demonstrable motor loss rates under the upper-extremity motor nerve table of 5223.0400.
See also rule 5223.0410
Official text for 5223.0410Subp. 2.D(4): entrapment with objectively demonstrable sensory loss rates under the upper-extremity sensory nerve table of 5223.0410.
See also rule 5223.0540
Official text for 5223.0540
Common questions
What does chronic tennis elbow (epicondylitis) rate?
Chronic medial or lateral epicondylitis is expressly named in the painful organic syndrome category: zero percent when passive motion is full. The value of the category is the citation. If passive motion is limited, the condition rates on the measured motion under subpart 4 instead.
How is cubital tunnel syndrome rated?
On the subpart 2.D ladder: zero percent if resolved or unconfirmed by electrodiagnostic testing, two percent for pain and paresthesia persisting despite treatment with persistent EMG findings. Objectively demonstrable motor or sensory loss moves the rating to the upper-extremity nerve tables, 5223.0400 and 5223.0410.
Does a radial head resection rate differently from a replacement?
Both pay five percent, but differently: the resection (subpart 2.B) is exclusive and stands alone, while the replacement (subpart 3.A(2)) is combinable with the measured motion loss. They describe one impairing condition, so only one rates, and a later total elbow arthroplasty (17 percent) subsumes either.
What counts as ratable elbow instability?
Excessive passive mediolateral motion compared to normal: subluxation in extension reduced by flexion pays five percent intermittent or ten percent continuous; dislocation pays six percent when intermittent or elicited only by examination and ten percent when spontaneous and continuous.
Interpretive notes
- Subpart 4 (loss of function) is delegated to the ROM module, including the flexion/extension and pronation/supination arcs.
- Flail elbow at 39 percent is the highest category percent in the part; the amputation cap for the arm at the elbow sits above it, so the cap constrains combinations rather than the lone category.
- The master dataset carries two endpoint records for the 3.D catch-all ('elbow-fracture' and 'elbow-other-0', same cite, same zero); the graph binds one node for the clause.
What to do next
Turn a category percent into dollars, combine multiple ratings, or see permanency inside a full settlement value.
- Minnesota PPD calculator
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