Skip to Content
Logo  Turley Redmond & Rosasco, L.L.P.
Video Center
Five stars

Without you Sir, I would have been a lost case. I will not forget all you have done for me.

B.R., Queens

Off The Record – Workers’ Comp – Loss of Wage Earning Capacity Pt II

Video Transcript

Hi, I’m Bill Turley, one of the senior partners at Turley, Redmond & Rosasco. I recently spoke about loss of wage earning capacity and permanent partial disability in workers’ compensation cases. So, when they determine permanent disability in workers’ comp cases, they not only look at the physical impairment, so the physical injury that you sustained, but they also look at the vocational background. It’s very important to look at that when you want to determine loss of wage earning capacity. Typically, we don’t consult with a vocational specialist, but we keep it kind of simple here.

There’s a form called the VDF-1, and the evidence contained in this form will be heavily considered in determining loss of wage earning capacity. So, of course, they have your basic information, your name, address, date of birth, and all that, but the most important thing is they want to look at your education. How far have you gone in school? Did you finish high school? If you didn’t finish high school, did you get a GED? Did you go on to college? And they also want to know where you earned your highest level of education. What country? They also want to know if you’ve had any kind of professional training, like, have you had training in electrical or plumbing, or CDL, or truck driving, anything like that? Any kind of apprenticeships, and they want to know when you earned these different licenses and certifications.

They also wanna know if you served in the military, because very often, people who serve in the military earn skills such as welding or electrical work, or computer skills. They also want to know the type of work that you’ve done for the last 10 years. Meaning 10 years prior to your accident, and they also want to know about your facility with the English language. Can you read English, can you write English, and can you speak English fluently? So, they take all these factors together in looking at your vocational picture, and that gets combined with your physical impairment, and that’s how they determine what your loss of wage earning capacity is in workers’ compensation claims where you have a permanent injury.

So, I’m kind of simplifying it a bit here, but if you have questions about permanent partial disability, and maybe how your work background and your education might impact on your ability to make a living in the future, give us a call. We can be reached at 631-582-3700, or check us out on the web, www.nydisabilitylaw.com. This is Bill Turley, and thank you for listening.

Top 100 Lawyers