Every California comp case has a hinge date: the day a physician declares you permanent and stationary. Before it, the case is about healing and wage replacement. After it, the case is about a number — the rating. Almost everything people are surprised by at P&S is downstream of that switch.
What the words mean
P&S (used interchangeably with MMI — maximal medical improvement) means your condition has stabilized: well healed, and unlikely to change substantially in the next year with or without further treatment. It is a medical judgment made by the treating physician in a P&S/PR-4 report or by a QME or AME — and it is frequently disputed, because so much money hinges on the date.
What changes that day
The checks shrink. Temporary disability — two-thirds of your wage, up to $1,764.11/week in 2026 — ends. Permanent-disability advances begin at the flat statutory rate, topping out at $290/week. A $1,200-a-week earner drops from $800 to $290; the full arithmetic of that cliff is in TD vs. PD.
The rating becomes possible. PD can’t be measured while you’re still changing. The P&S report is where the physician assigns whole-person impairment per body part, addresses apportionment, and describes work restrictions — the exact inputs the rating pipeline turns into a percentage and the money chart turns into dollars.
What it does NOT mean
P&S is not “recovered,” and it is not the end of care — future medical continues for the accepted parts. It is also not the end of the case: the rating, apportionment fights, and settlement all come after.
Read the report like a rater
When the P&S report lands, five things set your money: the WPI for each body part, the apportionment percentages (§4663 — the quiet discount), the accuracy of your job description (it drives the occupational variant), your age at injury, and whether every injured part is actually addressed. Run the numbers yourself in the calculator — or paste the resulting rating string into the decoder and check the math against the schedule. Estimates for informational use; not legal or medical advice.