A 47 year old electrician has a knee injury with certain impairments. Permanent disability is what percentage?

A 47 year old electrician has a knee injury with certain impairments. Permanent disability is what percentage?

• A. 10%
• B. 19%
• C. 16%
• D. 14%

Answer: (C)

Permanent disability in California workers’ compensation is determined by converting the knee impairment into a final percentage using the permanent disability rating schedule, which adds age and occupation adjustments to reflect loss of earning capacity. For a 47-year-old electrician with knee impairment, the impairment rating on the schedule, combined with his age bracket and trade, places him in a cell that corresponds to a 16% permanent disability. That 16% reflects the overall impact on earning capacity, not just the raw impairment percent. The other options would only fit if the impairment level or the age/occupation modifiers were different, but with this profile the schedule yields 16%.

Permanent disability in California workers’ compensation is determined by converting the knee impairment into a final percentage using the permanent disability rating schedule, which adds age and occupation adjustments to reflect loss of earning capacity. For a 47-year-old electrician with knee impairment, the impairment rating on the schedule, combined with his age bracket and trade, places him in a cell that corresponds to a 16% permanent disability. That 16% reflects the overall impact on earning capacity, not just the raw impairment percent. The other options would only fit if the impairment level or the age/occupation modifiers were different, but with this profile the schedule yields 16%.