Guides / Hip-injury value
Guide · 5 min read

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

What a hip injury pays in California workers’ comp: engine-computed PD percentages and dollars across the realistic WPI range and three occupations, including hip-replacement territory, and how apportionment to arthritis cuts the number.

Hips carry every standing trade, and hip ratings carry two recurring fights: the arthroplasty question (replacement WPIs are substantial) and near-universal apportionment arguments over degeneration. The arithmetic from any WPI is fixed — computed here by the rating engine.

How hip injuries are measured

The AMA Guides rate hips (impairment number 17.03.04.00 for range of motion; diagnosis-based alternatives exist) from motion deficits and surgical outcomes. Rough anchors: modest motion loss runs single digits WPI; significant combined restriction reaches the teens; a total hip replacement lands mid-teens to low-20s depending on the result. The WPI is the physician’s call.

The money table

Final PD and total indemnity at age 42–46, 2026 injury, maximum PD rate, single impairment, before apportionment:

WPIClerical · 111Custodian · 340Carpenter · 380
4%5% · $4,3508% · $6,96010% · $8,772.50
8%10% · $8,772.5014% · $13,412.5017% · $17,545
12%15% · $14,64520% · $21,89524% · $27,695
16%19% · $20,44525% · $29,217.5031% · $40,020
20%25% · $29,217.5033% · $44,08038% · $54,230
25%32% · $42,05040% · $58,29046% · $70,470
16% WPI · group 111 · clerical
100% (17.03.04.00 - 16 - [1.4]22 - 111D - 18 - 19) = 19% PD · $20,445
16% WPI · group 380 · carpenter
100% (17.03.04.00 - 16 - [1.4]22 - 380I - 29 - 31) = 31% PD · $40,020

The variant letter is a $19,575 difference on identical medicine. Verify either string in the decoder.

Apportionment: the arthritis discount

Carpenter · 16% WPI · 25% non-industrial
75% (17.03.04.00 - 16 - [1.4]22 - 380I - 29 - 31) = 23% PD · 90.5 weeks · $26,245

Unapportioned that was 31% — $40,020. The 25% non-industrial finding removed $13,775; see how apportionment works.

What this table can’t tell you

An altered gait pulls in the back and knee — multiple parts combine on the CVC rather than add, wages below the maximum scale the dollars down, and settlements price the medical tail (a future revision is real money). Companion pages: back · knee · shoulder · neck · wrist · ankle. Estimates for informational use; not legal or medical advice.

Run your exact case
The calculator takes your WPI, occupation, age, and apportionment and produces the string, the weeks, and the dollars — free.

FAQ

How much is a hip injury worth in California workers’ comp?
It depends on whole-person impairment, occupation, and age. At the 2026 maximum PD rate a 4% WPI hip rates 5% PD ($4,350) for a clerical worker, while a 25% WPI hip rates 46% PD ($70,470) for a carpenter, before apportionment.
How much PD is a hip replacement?
The AMA Guides rate a good-result total hip replacement in the mid-teens to low-20s WPI. Engine-computed, 16–20% WPI runs 19% PD ($20,445, clerical) up to 38% PD ($54,230, carpenter) at the 2026 maximum rate.
Does pre-existing hip arthritis reduce the rating?
Usually — §4663 apportionment. In our computed example a 25% non-industrial finding turns a 31% PD carpenter rating into 23%: $40,020 becomes $26,245.
Rate a real case — free
Every step in this guide, computed for you in under a minute.
Open the calculator
Neck-injury valueAll guidesWrist-injury value