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Hand Injury

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ShockedJohn

Junior Member
What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Missouri

My question might be easy for someone to answer, but as for me, I couldn't find what I was looking for when searching online. Anyways, I fractured my pinky finger at work, went through all the healing process and all that, but it healed wrong. I can't bend it properly. My finger stops at around an inch from my palm now. ( Looks like a failed attempt at impersonating Dr. Evil from Austin Powers )

I can't straighten my finger out either. It's slightly disfigured, sitting at a slight curve. If I force it in a straight position and let go, it goes back into the curved position. I'm assuming tendons were damaged. The finger next to it also has slight damage as well.

(links deleted)


Since the accident, my hand feels tight whenever making a fist now. My doctor says it's going to be a chronic issue from now on as well. I'm an avid gamer, playing video games either on the computer or on my ps4, so when I play now, it would take 30 minutes to an hour and my hand would feel stiff. Some could say my age may play a part in this, but I didn't have these issues before the injury. My fingers feel stiff after washing dishes now as well. Opening jars, or opening anything for that matter, is a pain and carrying groceries is no fun either. Forget using power tools or mowing the lawn. It's my dominate hand so this really sucks. I asked about getting surgery, but was told that I would be back at square one and it might do more damage than good, so I decided against it. This was after 12 weeks of recovery.

My question is, how would they calculate the impairment? Would the Permanent Partial Disability chart in the link below be used for the impairment?

https://labor.mo.gov/sites/labor/files/pubs_forms/WC-110-AI.pdf

My doctor did say that my injury would be considered a PPD. I know nobody can give a definite answer without me actually having the impairment done, but was hoping for a rough idea on what to expect.

Any advice or thoughts on the matter would be greatly appreciated.
 
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quincy

Senior Member
What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Missouri

My question might be easy for someone to answer, but as for me, I couldn't find what I was looking for when searching online. Anyways, I fractured my pinky finger at work, went through all the healing process and all that, but it healed wrong. I can't bend it properly. My finger stops at around an inch from my palm now. ( Looks like a failed attempt at impersonating Dr. Evil from Austin Powers )

I can't straighten my finger out either. It's slightly disfigured, sitting at a slight curve. If I force it in a straight position and let go, it goes back into the curved position. I'm assuming tendons were damaged. The finger next to it also has slight damage as well.


Since the accident, my hand feels tight whenever making a fist now. My doctor says it's going to be a chronic issue from now on as well. I'm an avid gamer, playing video games either on the computer or on my ps4, so when I play now, it would take 30 minutes to an hour and my hand would feel stiff. Some could say my age may play a part in this, but I didn't have these issues before the injury. My fingers feel stiff after washing dishes now as well. Opening jars, or opening anything for that matter, is a pain and carrying groceries is no fun either. Forget using power tools or mowing the lawn. It's my dominate hand so this really sucks. I asked about getting surgery, but was told that I would be back at square one and it might do more damage than good, so I decided against it. This was after 12 weeks of recovery.

My question is, how would they calculate the impairment? Would the Permanent Partial Disability chart in the link below be used for the impairment?

https://labor.mo.gov/sites/labor/files/pubs_forms/WC-110-AI.pdf

My doctor did say that my injury would be considered a PPD. I know nobody can give a definite answer without me actually having the impairment done, but was hoping for a rough idea on what to expect.

Any advice or thoughts on the matter would be greatly appreciated.
Your doctor is best able to determine the extent of your injury.

(links removed)
 
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ShockedJohn

Junior Member
With a Permanent Partial Disability, or PPD, how does that get calculated? I mean as in weeks. For example, a finger injury, along with a slight injury to the next finger, along with loss of usage with said hand. I know an impairment rating plays a vital role in the calculations, so I'm just trying how to better understand it. Would it be calculated as shown on the PPD chart I linked to in the first post? As in the phalanges that were injured, and if there are issues with the rest in the hand, would that count as in the whole hand on the chart?

An example of what I'm meaning is, lets say the entire little finger is messed up. That would equate to 58 weeks in total. And if the hand as a whole as issues equates to 175, would that be added to the 58 or would they just rule it as the whole hand at 175 weeks? I know the impairment rating would play a role, so lets say they give me a 15% rating, along with my average weekly wages. Would that be weeks x 15% x average weekly wages? And I know there's multipliers in injury claims, I believe it was from 1 to 5 for MO. So would it be weeks x impairment % x average weekly wages x multiplier?

As for the post about the injury itself, I suppose it wasn't necessary since what I really wanted to know was the calculation method. Sorry about that. I've got quite a bit racing through my mind right now, so it just came out when i started typing :eek:

Also, just curious, why were those 3 links removed? Was I not allowed to post pictures of my finger? I didn't think it looked that bad.
 
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quincy

Senior Member
With a Permanent Partial Disability, or PPD, how does that get calculated? I mean as in weeks. For example, a finger injury, along with a slight injury to the next finger, along with loss of usage with said hand. I know an impairment rating plays a vital role in the calculations, so I'm just trying how to better understand it. Would it be calculated as shown on the PPD chart I linked to in the first post? As in the phalanges that were injured, and if there are issues with the rest in the hand, would that count as in the whole hand on the chart?

An example of what I'm meaning is, lets say the entire little finger is messed up. That would equate to 58 weeks in total. And if the hand as a whole as issues equates to 175, would that be added to the 58 or would they just rule it as the whole hand at 175 weeks? I know the impairment rating would play a role, so lets say they give me a 15% rating, along with my average weekly wages. Would that be weeks x 15% x average weekly wages? And I know there's multipliers in injury claims, I believe it was from 1 to 5 for MO. So would it be weeks x impairment % x average weekly wages x multiplier?

As for the post about the injury itself, I suppose it wasn't necessary since what I really wanted to know was the calculation method. Sorry about that. I've got quite a bit racing through my mind right now, so it just came out when i started typing :eek:

Also, just curious, why were those 3 links removed? Was I not allowed to post pictures of my finger? I didn't think it looked that bad.
No one on this forum can judge your hand injury, with or without photos. We are not doctors. Links to images are not only not necessary for this reason, links to images (generally) are not permitted on this forum.

Although Missouri uses a schedule which lists the number of weeks for which an injured worker could be compensated based on type of injury, there are several other factors looked at. And there will not be a finding of (partial permanent) disability until your doctor has determined you have reached maximum medical improvement.

The compensation is based on the type of injury and on the average weekly earnings at the time of the accident.
 

ShockedJohn

Junior Member
Although Missouri uses a schedule which lists the number of weeks for which an injured worker could be compensated based on type of injury, there are several other factors looked at. And there will not be a finding of (partial permanent) disability until your doctor has determined you have reached maximum medical improvement.
I'm asking about how it's calculated, not the findings on my case. I'll ask elsewhere though, thanks for your time.
 

quincy

Senior Member
I think I misunderstood what you wanted. Sorry.

Here is a link you might find helpful. It is to the DWC and it not only offers good guidance on settling a case but it outlines how your state legislature has said benefits should be calculated.

https://labor.mo.gov/DWC/Injured_Workers/settling_case

I am sorry that you suffered an injury to your hand. Good luck.
 
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ShockedJohn

Junior Member
I think I misunderstood what you wanted. Sorry.

Here is a link you might find helpful. It is to the DWC and it not only offers good guidance on settling a case but it outlines how your state legislature has said benefits should be calculated.

https://labor.mo.gov/DWC/Injured_Workers/settling_case

I am sorry that you suffered an injury to your hand. Good luck.
I do apologize, I'm just frustrated.

To try to clear up any confusion, what I'm trying to figure out is this:

weeks ( given by PPD chart, lets say its 175) X impairment rating ( Lets say 20% ) X average weekly wages ( lets say like $250 a week ). So would that be ( given in the examples ) calculated like: 175 x 250 x .20 = $8750? And if there's a multiplier, would that be $8750 x ( lets say 2.5 ) 2.5 = $21875?

Yes, I know there's going to be other factors at play, so i can't definitively say what's what, just trying to see if I'm understanding how it's actually calculated once everything has been determined.
I'm hoping that somewhat clears the confusion.
 

quincy

Senior Member
I do apologize, I'm just frustrated.

To try to clear up any confusion, what I'm trying to figure out is this:

weeks ( given by PPD chart, lets say its 175) X impairment rating ( Lets say 20% ) X average weekly wages ( lets say like $250 a week ). So would that be ( given in the examples ) calculated like: 175 x 250 x .20 = $8750? And if there's a multiplier, would that be $8750 x ( lets say 2.5 ) 2.5 = $21875?

Yes, I know there's going to be other factors at play, so i can't definitively say what's what, just trying to see if I'm understanding how it's actually calculated once everything has been determined.
I'm hoping that somewhat clears the confusion.
It will be two-thirds of your average weekly wage but it cannot exceed the maximum allowed.

The link I provided actually explains it all really well. Use their examples and plug in your numbers.

The problem with trying to figure anything out now is that your figures will no doubt be off. It can be best to wait.

If you have questions, there is a number in the link you can use.

Good luck.
 
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ShockedJohn

Junior Member
It will be two-thirds of your average weekly wage but it cannot exceed the maximum allowed.

The link I provided actually explains it all really well. Use their examples and plug in your numbers.

The problem with trying to figure anything out now is that your figures will no doubt be off. It can be best to wait.

If you have questions, there is a number in the link you can use.

Good luck.
I was just looking at that link, and judging by what it said, what I was thinking was right. Except the multiplier part. I don't know if its percentage based or not ( like 2.5 or 2.5% ). I'll keep looking around.
Much appreciated for the help you've given me. Thank you!
 

quincy

Senior Member
I was just looking at that link, and judging by what it said, what I was thinking was right. Except the multiplier part. I don't know if its percentage based or not ( like 2.5 or 2.5% ). I'll keep looking around.
Much appreciated for the help you've given me. Thank you!
You're welcome, ShockedJohn. I appreciate the thanks.

Good luck.
 

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