Policy Analysis: Full Disability Versus Partial Disability In West Virginia

The workers’ compensation benefits in the State of West Virginia are for individuals that get injured at workplace or influenced from illness pertinent to their job. The benefits encompass medical care for work-specific injury and lost salary due to worker’s inability to perform tasks at workplace for the shorter or longer period of time. The State of West Virginia established provisions for owners to procure workers’ compensation benefits, if they have at least three workers.

There are unlimited medical benefits associated with care for work-specific or occupational illness of workers as per workers’ compensation. The qualified workers during their eligibility period obtain two-thirds of their regular weekly salaries, whereas, weekly compensation amount fixed in 2013 at $40,603/year, $778/30 days, and $155.74/day respectively. Workers obtain full disability gains in the case of their inability to perform a single task at workplace and receive partial disability gains if the illness influences them to restrain from performing tasks for few hours. The disability benefits cover the period of 208 weeks (four years) for both full and partial disability patients. If a worker has permanent disability that impacts its coming ability to perform tasks, then he or she enjoys an additional fixed value of disability percentage. Workers need to put up a distinct application to West Virginia Offices of the Insurance Commissioner for permanent full disability payments. The payments set on the severity or percentage of disability for workers. Workers receive a fixed disability percentage on the basis of their disability ratings and it go until they qualify for Social Security superannuation gains. There are specific disabilities in workers that considered full and permanent which involve loss of both eyes or hands or feet or one hand and one foot.

Every compensation recipient worker cannot apply for permanent and total disability rather a worker that has fifty or over percentage in permanent partial disability payments, medical disorder of fifty percent as per claim of Commission, eighty-five percent disability rating or over and a fifty percent entire body medical disorder. If a worker is unable to work entirely and not permanently disabled then he or she has a permanent partial disability and the determination of permanent partial disability amount differs based on harshness and type of illness, and the value of regular weekly salary. A worker has the right to file an appeal against the decision taken within sixty days of its receipt in writing and put up a copy of the decision taken along with his written declaration to Office of Judges located in West Virginia.