What does ‘Disability’ Mean in Michigan?

Glossary Check

Anyone who's been around workers' compensation long enough knows that what words mean can sometimes matter to how a claim turns out -- or doesn't. One of those words is disability, and the State of Michigan, like other states, has a definition. That definition is one of many Simply Research subscribers have access to.

We highlight it here. 

Definitions

"Disability" means a limitation of an employee's wage-earning capacity in work suitable to her qualifications and training resulting from a personal injury or work-related disease.

"Wage-earning capacity" means the wages the employee earns or is capable of earning at a job reasonably available to that employee, whether or not wages are actually earned. For the purposes of establishing a limitation of wage-earning capacity, an employee has an affirmative duty to seek work reasonably available to that employee, taking into consideration the limitations from the work-related personal injury or disease. A magistrate may consider good-faith job search efforts to determine whether jobs are reasonably available.

Limitation of Wage-Earning Capacity

A limitation of wage-earning capacity occurs only if a personal injury results in the employee's being unable to perform all jobs paying the maximum wages in work suitable to that employee's qualifications and training, which includes work that may be performed using the employee's transferable work skills.

Total Disability

A disability is total if the employee is unable to earn in any job paying maximum wages in work suitable to the employee's qualifications and training.

Partial Disability

A disability is partial if the employee retains a wage-earning capacity at a pay level less than his maximum wages in work suitable to his qualifications and training. The establishment of disability does not create a presumption of wage loss.

Establishing Disability

To establish an initial showing of disability, an employee must do all of the following:

+ Disclose her qualifications and training, including education, skills, and experience, whether or not they are relevant to the job the employee was performing at the time of the injury.

+ Provide evidence as to the jobs, if any, he is qualified and trained to perform within the same salary range as his maximum wage-earning capacity at the time of the injury.

+ Demonstrate that the work-related injury prevents the employee from performing jobs identified as within her qualifications and training that pay maximum wages.

+ If the employee is capable of performing any of the jobs identified, show that she cannot obtain any of those jobs. The evidence must include a showing of a good-faith attempt to procure post-injury employment if there are jobs at the employee's maximum wage-earning capacity at the time of the injury.

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