CLAIMANTS WHO HAVE A 0% LWEC, LOSS OF WAGE EARNING CAPACITY, ARE ENTITLED TO 225 WEEKS OF CAPPED PPD BENEFITS.

In more than one Board Panel Decision, including Wegmans, 2012 NY Wrk. Comp. 32313, G003 2313 and Great Meadow Correctional, 2012 NY Wrk. Comp. 114439, G011 4439, the Board has found that a Claimant who has returned to work earning in excess of their established weekly wage has a 0% loss of wage earning capacity but is still entitled to 225 weeks of capped PPD benefits in the event that they are wages fall below their former AWW.

I recently argued that this principle should apply to a non-working Claimant. I posited that the Claimant, who has an impairment which limits her to light or sedentary work, should be found to have a 0% loss of wage earning capacity. A vocational rehabilitation expert opined that the claimant was capable of returning to work earning in excess of her former average weekly wage despite her impairment because of her vocational history and educational achievements. We will see what happens.