An employee has a 3/4 inch deficiency in finger clearance and 25% grip loss. What is the permanent disability percentage?

An employee has a 3/4 inch deficiency in finger clearance and 25% grip loss. What is the permanent disability percentage?

• A. 2 percent
• B. 4 percent
• C. 5 percent
• D. 7 percent

Answer: (C)

In California workers’ compensation, when multiple impairments affect the same hand, you don’t simply add the percentages. You combine them using the California Combined Values Chart, which accounts for overlap so the total isn’t overstated. Here, a 3/4 inch deficiency in finger clearance corresponds to 2% impairment. A 25% grip loss corresponds to 3% impairment. To combine: 0.02 + 0.03 × (1 − 0.02) = 0.02 + 0.0294 = 0.0494, which is 4.94%. Rounding to the nearest whole percent gives 5%. So the permanent disability percentage is 5%.

In California workers’ compensation, when multiple impairments affect the same hand, you don’t simply add the percentages. You combine them using the California Combined Values Chart, which accounts for overlap so the total isn’t overstated.

Here, a 3/4 inch deficiency in finger clearance corresponds to 2% impairment. A 25% grip loss corresponds to 3% impairment. To combine: 0.02 + 0.03 × (1 − 0.02) = 0.02 + 0.0294 = 0.0494, which is 4.94%. Rounding to the nearest whole percent gives 5%.

So the permanent disability percentage is 5%.