Comp rate × scheduled weeks × impairment rating — the formula behind every state's PPD chart, computed with every line shown. Charts shouldn't be a mystery.
Reviewed August 24, 2026 · methodology · changelogThe standard scheduled-award formula. Your state's schedule, caps, and settlement practice differ — this is an educational estimate, not legal advice.
Workers' comp looks complicated because every state publishes its own charts — but nearly all of them are the same three-factor multiplication with different constants:
The formula produces the scheduled award if you simply collect it week by week. Lump-sum settlements move off that number in both directions: down for present-value discounting and disputed ratings, up when the insurer wants to close future medical exposure. Knowing the formula's number is what stops "we'll offer you $12,000 to close everything" from sounding generous when the schedule says $18,720 plus future medical.
First: does your settlement close your medical rights? A number that looks fair for the impairment award can be terrible if it also waives a lifetime of injury-related care. Second: was anyone besides your employer involved? Third-party claims run on the full multiplier-method math — including pain and suffering — alongside the comp claim.
Most permanent partial disability awards follow one formula: your weekly compensation rate (two-thirds of your average weekly wage, capped at a state maximum) times the scheduled weeks your state assigns the injured body part, times your impairment rating percentage. A 10% arm rating at a $600/week comp rate against a 312-week schedule is $600 × 31.2 weeks = $18,720. Settlements then negotiate around that number.
A percentage a doctor assigns to your permanent loss of function once you reach maximum medical improvement, usually using the AMA Guides. It's the single biggest lever in the formula — which is why insurers' doctors often rate low and why you're generally entitled to challenge a rating with an independent medical examination.
Every state legislates its own schedule. The defaults in this calculator are the federal schedule (5 U.S.C. §8107) — a public reference point — and the weeks field is editable, so you can enter your state's number from its official chart. Our per-state comp pages with each state's actual schedule are in progress.
No. Workers' comp is a no-fault system: it pays medical costs, a share of lost wages, and impairment awards — never pain and suffering. If anyone other than your employer contributed to the injury (a negligent driver, a defective machine), a separate third-party claim can pay full damages including pain and suffering. That's the most commonly missed money in work injury cases.
A settlement trades your future benefits — sometimes including future medical care — for a lump sum. Before accepting one: know your impairment rating, run this formula, understand whether the settlement closes your medical rights, and if you're on or near Medicare, ask about a Medicare set-aside. Comp attorney fees are capped by statute in most states (commonly 10–20%), which makes advice comparatively cheap here.