A permanent-disability percentage is only half the answer — the money depends on how that percentage converts to weeks, and what weekly rate applies. Here’s how the dollars are built. Compute any of it in the calculator. También disponible en español: ¿cuánto vale la incapacidad permanente?
Weeks × weekly rate
The PD% sets a number of payment weeks under Lab. Code §4658. The schedule is progressive — higher ratings earn more weeks per point — and has been identical for every date of injury since 2005:
70% = 433.25 wks · 99% = 897.25 wks
Each week is paid at two-thirds of average weekly earnings, clamped between the statutory minimum and maximum for the year of injury (Lab. Code §4453). See the exact caps by year.
Life pension (70%–99%)
A rating of 70% through 99% adds a lifetime weekly payment on top of the PD award, under Lab. Code §4659:
It begins after the PD weeks are paid and continues for life. A COLA applies to some dates of injury.
Permanent total disability (100%)
A 100% rating is permanent total disability — lifetime weekly indemnity at the temporary-disability rate (Lab. Code §4659(b)), not a finite weeks-times-rate sum.
What comes out of the award
Attorney fees (Lab. Code §4906) are set by the judge, commonly ~15% of the award. The ±15% return-to-work adjustment (§4658(d)) raised or lowered payments for 2005–2012 injuries depending on the employer’s offer of work; SB 863 repealed it for 2013+ injuries. A PD award can also be commuted to a lump sum at its present value (3% discount). RateString estimates all of these in the Settlement section.