Hip Replacement in California Workers’ Comp: What It’s Worth

What a total hip replacement pays in California workers’ comp: engine-computed PD and dollars across the result range and three occupations, the revision and future-medical layers, and the arthritis-apportionment fight that shapes every THR claim.

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On this page

Total hip replacement is the other arthroplasty claim the AMA Guides rate by surgical result — the schedule grades how the replacement turned out and prices the answer, the same design as the knee. The engine runs the pipeline from the rated impairment; here’s the grid.

Where hip replacements land

Under 17.03.10.01 (hip, diagnosis-based estimate — replacement), the result grade in the P&S report controls: replacements commonly rate in the 15–30% WPI territory, with a clean result at the low end and pain, instability, or limp pushing toward the top. The med-legal exam’s gait, motion, and support findings are the whole ballgame.

The money table

Final PD and total indemnity at age 37–41, 2026 injury, maximum PD rate, before apportionment:

WPI	Clerical · 111	Custodian · 340	Carpenter · 380
15%	17% · $17,545	23% · $26,245	28% · $34,437.50
20%	24% · $27,695	31% · $40,020	36% · $50,170
30%	36% · $50,170	45% · $68,440	51% · $80,982.50

20% WPI · group 380 · carpenter

100% (17.03.10.01 - 20 - [1.4]28 - 380I - 36 - 36) = 36% PD · $50,170

The trades draw variant I — climbing, kneeling, and load-carrying are exactly what a prosthetic hip restricts — while the same result rates 24% at a desk. The broader hip spectrum (fractures, labral injuries, pre-replacement arthritis) is priced on the hip-injury page.

The revision and the fight

Two things shape every THR file: the revision stream in the medical award (prosthetic hips wear out; younger workers likely see one or two revisions), and the §4663 arthritis apportionment — replacements happen on degenerative joints, and the defense will put a percentage on that history. How apportionment works shows what each percentage point costs.

What this table can’t tell you

Wages below the maximum scale the dollars down, a compensatory bad knee or opposite hip can become its own claim, and TD through a replacement recovery runs months against the §4656 clock. Companion pages: back · knee · shoulder · neck · hip · wrist · ankle · elbow · foot · hand · carpal tunnel · hearing · eye · amputation · fusion · knee replacement · rotator cuff · hernia · head injury · herniated disc · meniscus · ulnar nerve · lungs · heart. Estimates for informational use; not legal or medical advice.

Rate your hip right here

Same engine as the tables above — pick your occupation and age, slide the WPI from the report, and carry it into the full calculator when you’re ready.

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FAQ

How much is a hip replacement worth in California workers’ comp?

Engine-computed at the 2026 maximum, age 37–41: hip replacements commonly rate in the 15–30% WPI territory depending on the surgical result. At 15% WPI that runs 17–28% PD ($17,545–$34,437.50) by occupation; at 20% WPI, 24–36% PD ($27,695–$50,170); a poor result at 30% WPI reaches 36–51% PD ($50,170–$80,982.50) — plus TD through recovery and the lifetime medical award.

Does workers’ comp cover hip replacement revision surgery?

The future-medical award should carry it. Prosthetic hips wear — for a worker in their 40s or 50s, at least one revision is a realistic expectation, and that exposure is often the biggest number at the settlement table in a younger worker’s claim.

Can the insurer apportion a hip replacement to arthritis?

They will try — §4663 apportionment to degenerative arthritis is the standard defense in every hip-replacement claim, since replacements are almost always performed on already-arthritic joints. The percentage the doctor assigns to the pre-existing condition moves tens of thousands of dollars.

About this guide. Rating and dollar figures here are computed with — or checked against — RateString’s rating engine, which reproduces the State’s own published worked examples (see the proof). Where the guide relies on a statute or regulation, it cites it in the text. Descriptive information, not legal advice.