Washington, D.C.: Absence of Wage Loss May be Considered in Determining Schedule Award

Addressing the question directly for the first time under the current version of the District of Columbia Workers’ Compensation Act, the D.C. Court of Appeals held that the Compensation Review Board (CRB) reasonably concluded that wage loss (or the absence thereof) may be considered, along with other factors, in considering whether a claimant is entitled to a schedule award for permanent partial disability under D.C. Code § 32–1508 (3)(S) (2012 Repl.). Specifically, the court held that such evidence is a relevant consideration—though not necessary—in determining a claimant’s disability percentage for a schedule award under D.C. Code § 32–1508 (3)(U-i). The court quoted the discussion found in Larson’s Workers’ Compensation Law, § 86.04 related to “industrial” versus “physical” loss of use and acknowledged that claimant had a five percent permanent partial physical impairment of her right upper extremity. The ALJ found, however, that claimant’s impairment had not had any impact on her ongoing capacity to earn wages, or on any other aspects of the claimant’s life. The CRB affirmed and the D.C. Court of Appeals agreed.

Thomas A. Robinson, J.D., the Feature National Columnist for the LexisNexis Workers’ Compensation eNewsletter, is the co-author of Larson’s Workers’ Compensation Law (LexisNexis).

LexisNexis Online Subscribers: Citations below link to Lexis Advance.

See Dent v. District of Columbia Dep’t of Empl. Servs., 2017 D.C. App. LEXIS 91 (May 4, 2017)

See generally Larson’s Workers’ Compensation Law, § 86.04.

Source: Larson’s Workers’ Compensation Law, the nation’s leading authority on workers’ compensation law