DWC Releases 3rd Wage Loss Study Report

The DWC today released the third portion of its analysis of wage loss for permanently disabled workers. The report details wage loss experienced by disabled workers in recent years, along with comparisons of permanent disability rating information, by part of body, under the 1997 and 2005 permanent disability rating schedules. According to the DWC Newsline, the results highlight the importance of return-to-work in providing positive outcomes for injured workers and show that PD ratings are 29.2 percent lower under the 2005 schedule, as compared to the 1997 schedule.

For more information on the data and analysis, please visit the division’s Web site at http://www.dir.ca.gov/dwc/UncompensatedWageLossforInjuredWorkerswithPD/UncompensatedWageLossforInjuredWorkerswithPD.html.

“We wanted to expedite a review of the 2005 rating schedule so we followed two tracks in this analysis,” said DWC acting Administrative Director Carrie Nevans. “We used a sophisticated method to measure wage loss, which gives us additional empirical data we can combine with return-to-work rates and changes in ratings to determine whether changes to the schedule should be considered.” The DWC will conduct two public forums to present the findings and collaborate with interested parties on the development of recommendations that could be used to adjust the permanent disability rating schedule (PDRS). The forums will be held: