If the applicant has received a prior award of permanent disability, what is conclusively presumed at the time of any subsequent industrial injury?

If the applicant has received a prior award of permanent disability, what is conclusively presumed at the time of any subsequent industrial injury?

• A. The prior PD exists.
• B. The prior PD is irrelevant.
• C. No assumption is made about prior disability.
• D. The prior PD is presumed cured.

Answer: (A)

In California workers’ compensation, a worker who has a prior permanent disability award is treated as having that disability exist at the time of any new industrial injury. This conclusive presumption means the pre-existing impairment is acknowledged and can be used to apportion disability between the old and new injuries. It prevents treating the new injury in isolation and ensures the prior impairment remains a baseline for determining total disability and benefits. The other ideas—that the prior disability is irrelevant, that no assumption is made, or that the prior disability is cured—do not fit because the law requires recognizing the prior PD as existing when a new injury occurs.

In California workers’ compensation, a worker who has a prior permanent disability award is treated as having that disability exist at the time of any new industrial injury. This conclusive presumption means the pre-existing impairment is acknowledged and can be used to apportion disability between the old and new injuries. It prevents treating the new injury in isolation and ensures the prior impairment remains a baseline for determining total disability and benefits. The other ideas—that the prior disability is irrelevant, that no assumption is made, or that the prior disability is cured—do not fit because the law requires recognizing the prior PD as existing when a new injury occurs.