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Every result shows its arithmetic step by step and cites the Labor Code section, regulation, or DWC document it relies on.
Coverage, limits & disclosure — please read before relying on a result
What's covered
- California permanent disability ratings for injuries on or after April 1, 1997 — the 1997 schedule, the 2005 schedule, and SB 863 (injuries 2013 and later).
- Benefit rates, TD, PD money, life pension, death benefits, commutations, interest and penalties, with rate tables by date of injury from 1990 through 2026.
Not yet included
- Ratings for injuries before April 1, 1997 (the 1988 schedule).
- The LC 4603.2 increase and interest on late-paid medical bills.
Where a convention is used
- A few rare situations aren't settled by published DWC material, so the calculator uses a stated convention and says so in the result: one blank cell in the 1997 schedule, psychiatric rating ties and values between printed rows in the 1997 schedule, death-benefit commutations beyond 950 weeks, and two misprints in DWC worked examples. We're asking the DEU to confirm them.
- Death benefits for three or more total dependents, and burial, for injuries between 1990 and June 30, 1994 haven't been independently certified yet.
- When both causation (LC 4663) and a prior award (LC 4664(b)) are entered, causation is applied first, then the prior award is subtracted.
- Future cost-of-living increases on life pension and PTD are projections (3% a year unless you change it), not official figures. "V3" and "V4" in older tools correspond here to one PV of Award calculator with COLA at 0% (V3) or with a COLA (V4).
Disclosure
These calculators are provided free by Lopez & Associates, Inc., a legal support services company — not a law firm. They are a practitioner's aid, not legal advice, and using them doesn't create an attorney-client or any other professional relationship. Results are estimates computed from published DWC schedules and tables and the California Labor Code. Official ratings are issued by the Disability Evaluation Unit, and awards are decided by the WCAB. Choosing impairment numbers, weighing medical reports and deciding apportionment are judgment calls the calculators don't make. Check every result against the official sources before relying on it. Nothing you enter is sent to us; it stays in your browser.