Hi frogman and welcome. I'll try to answer your question, based on my husband's experience with an OTJ back injury several years ago.

Most states have adopted a value for each part of the body in their Workers' Comp Act. Typically the value is based on a number of weeks, rather than an actual dollar figure. For example: If your weekly workers' comp benefit is $400 per week, and the value placed on a knee in your state is 10 weeks, the 100% total impairment for your knee would be $4,000 ($400/week x 10 weeks).

But, since the impairment is not 100%, only the percentage of the impairment rating would be paid, so the value of your impairment at $400/week would be $520 (13% of $4,000). This would be the amount the workers' comp carrier would be required to pay you for the impairment.

If you think your impairment is greater than 13%, most states allow a one-time only second opinion. However, you need to petition the Workers' Comp commission for approval first. If you decide that is what you want to do, you should consider getting an attorney that specializes in worker comp claims for your state. Their allowable fee is typically capped at 25-30% of the final award.

Good luck to you.