Permanent partial disability exists to bridge the gap between an employee’s pre-injury wage and the lower, post-injury wage he earns after a workplace injury or illness. In these cases, an employee returns to work after an injury but may not be able to perform all of his former duties. This may result in a different job that does not pay as much as the previous position.
A permanent partial disability is defined as an illness or injury that causes the loss of an organ or body part that is permanent, yet still allows a person to work. In Delaware, these losses are divided into two categories:
Scheduled. Scheduled losses include fingers, legs, arms, hands, or eyes.
Nonscheduled. Nonscheduled losses involve body parts such as lungs, kidneys, heart, or back.