What are crushed or amputated fingers worth?

Finger impairments convert up through the hand to whole-person values; single-digit tip injuries rate low single digits WPI while multi-finger crush injuries reach the teens and twenties. Engine-computed, 10–14% WPI runs $14,645–$32,697.50 at the 2026 max depending on occupation — and dominant-hand disputes ride on the occupational variant.

Why does an office worker rate higher than a custodian on the same hand?

The occupational variant weighs fine hand use heavily — typing IS hand work. Engine-computed at 10% WPI: clerical (111) rates 17% PD ($17,545) while custodian (340) rates 15% ($14,645); the carpenter tops both at 19% ($20,445). Same inversion as the wrist.

How Much Is a Hand Injury Worth in California Workers’ Comp?

Q: How much is a hand injury worth in California workers’ comp?

It depends on whole-person impairment, occupation, and age. At the 2026 maximum PD rate a 3% WPI hand rates 4–6% PD ($3,480–$5,220) depending on occupation, while a 22% WPI hand — multiple-finger or crush territory — rates up to 39% PD ($56,260) for a carpenter, before apportionment.

What a hand or finger injury pays in California workers’ comp: engine-computed PD percentages and dollars across the WPI range and three occupations — including why desk work out-rates general labor on the same hand.

Hands are the most-injured body part in the system — saws, presses, doors, crush points — and hand ratings carry the same surprise as wrists: the desk job out-rates general labor on identical medicine, because the schedule prices what the job demands of the injured part. Every figure below is computed by the rating engine.

How hand injuries are measured

The AMA Guides rate the hand (impairment number 16.05.01.00 for range of motion across multiple fingers) by converting digit impairments up through the hand and arm to whole-person values, with amputations, sensory loss, and grip rated by their own methods. Rough anchors: a stiff single finger runs low single digits WPI; multi-finger involvement reaches the teens; crush injuries and amputations run higher.

The money table

Final PD and total indemnity at age 42–46, 2026 injury, maximum PD rate, single impairment, before apportionment — note the first two columns:

WPI	Clerical · 111	Custodian · 340	Carpenter · 380
3%	5% · $4,350	4% · $3,480	6% · $5,220
6%	10% · $8,772.50	9% · $7,830	12% · $11,092.50
10%	17% · $17,545	15% · $14,645	19% · $20,445
14%	23% · $26,245	21% · $23,345	27% · $32,697.50
18%	30% · $37,990	27% · $32,697.50	32% · $42,050
22%	36% · $50,170	33% · $44,080	39% · $56,260

Clerical beats custodian in every row — the wrist page explains the inversion; the occupation guide has the theory.

10% WPI · group 111 · clerical

100% (16.05.01.00 - 10 - [1.4]14 - 111G - 16 - 17) = 17% PD · $17,545

10% WPI · group 380 · carpenter

100% (16.05.01.00 - 10 - [1.4]14 - 380H - 18 - 19) = 19% PD · $20,445

Apportionment

Clerical · 14% WPI · 20% non-industrial

The unapportioned rating is 23% PD ($26,245); an 80% industrial finding makes it 18% PD · $18,995 — a $7,250 discount. See how apportionment works.

What this table can’t tell you

Hands travel with wrists and elbows on the same arm — multiple parts combine on the CVC rather than add, bilateral claims are separate impairments, wages below the maximum scale the dollars down, and settlements price future medical beyond any table. Companion pages: back · knee · shoulder · neck · hip · wrist · ankle · elbow · foot. Estimates for informational use; not legal or medical advice.

Rate your hand 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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