Who decides my permanent disability rating, and can I appeal if I disagree?
Answer
Your permanent disability rating is determined by a doctor, which may be your own treating physician, the insurance company’s doctor, or a court-appointed medical examiner. If you believe the rating is too low, you have the right to seek a second medical opinion. Disagreements are common—for example, your doctor may assign a 20% loss of use while the insurance company’s doctor says 10–15%. When this occurs, the issue is typically brought to court through a petition over the loss-of-use percentage. A judge will often appoint an impartial examiner to evaluate you, review your medical records, and provide an independent report. Their opinion is usually the one the judge adopts when issuing the final order. To better understand this process, you can read more about challenging a rating or how a second opinion review works. Our workman’s compensation lawyers can guide you through every step, and our RI workers’ comp benefits offers additional clarity on disability evaluations in Rhode Island.
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