Shoulders are the quiet giant of workers’ comp — every overhead trade feeds them into the system, and the ratings turn almost entirely on measured motion loss. The diagnosis isn’t the number: the whole-person impairment is, after the schedule adjusts it for occupation and age. This page computes the money across the realistic range, every figure from the rating engine.
How shoulder injuries are measured
The AMA Guides rate the shoulder (impairment number 16.02.01.00 for range of motion) principally from measured deficits in flexion, abduction, and rotation, with weakness and instability rated separately. Rough anchors: a well-healed cuff repair with modest stiffness commonly rates mid-single digits WPI; significant combined motion loss reaches the teens; a resection arthroplasty or failed repair runs higher. The WPI is the physician’s call; the money math after it is fixed.
The money table
Final PD and total indemnity, computed for three occupations at age 42–46, 2026 injury, maximum PD rate ($290/week), single impairment, before apportionment:
| WPI | Clerical · 111 | Custodian · 340 | Carpenter · 380 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3% | 3% · $2,610 | 4% · $3,480 | 6% · $5,220 |
| 6% | 6% · $5,220 | 9% · $7,830 | 12% · $11,092.50 |
| 10% | 12% · $11,092.50 | 15% · $14,645 | 19% · $20,445 |
| 15% | 18% · $18,995 | 22% · $24,795 | 28% · $34,437.50 |
| 20% | 25% · $29,217.50 | 30% · $37,990 | 36% · $50,170 |
| 25% | 32% · $42,050 | 37% · $52,200 | 43% · $64,380 |
Read across any row: the same measured shoulder is worth roughly half again to double on a job site versus a desk, because overhead work is what the occupational variant prices. Every percentage maps to weeks and dollars on the PD money chart.
Same WPI, different jobs — the strings
Variant D against variant H — a $9,352.50 difference on identical medicine. Paste either string into the rating-string decoder and it verifies every step against the schedule.
Apportionment: the degeneration discount
AC-joint arthritis and chronic impingement are the shoulder’s standing §4663 arguments. The split applies at the end of the string:
Unapportioned, that rating was 22% PD — $24,795. The 25% non-industrial finding removed $7,250. Whether the report’s split holds up is where these cases are fought; see how apportionment works.
What this table can’t tell you
Shoulders travel with necks — cervical involvement is a second impairment that combines on the CVC rather than adds. Below-maximum wages scale the dollars down, and settlements price the medical tail beyond any table. Companion pages: the back and knee versions of this analysis. Estimates for informational use; not legal or medical advice.