Maximum medical improvement, or MMI, is the point when your doctor says your injury has improved as much as it will. In Texas, you reach MMI no later than 104 weeks after your temporary checks begin, even if you still hurt. That day can end your wage checks, so Your first move is a call to us for a free case review.
What maximum medical improvement means
MMI does not mean you are healed. It means more treatment is not expected to make you much better. Your pain and your limits can still be real.
The U.S. Department of Labor puts it in plain terms. The condition is stable and unlikely to improve with or without more care.
A doctor makes this call, not you and not your boss. An insurer's doctor may find MMI sooner than your own doctor would. If that happens, read about the independent medical exam.
What changes the day you reach MMI
MMI closes one stage of the claim and opens the next. It is not good news or bad news by itself.
Your temporary wage checks usually end. California's guidance says temporary disability generally stops when the doctor says the injury has improved as much as it will.
Medical care may go on, and you move to permanent benefits if any loss is left. In Minnesota, future benefits can end 90 days after the insurer serves a written MMI report.
If your checks have already stopped, read about payments that stopped. Then call us so an attorney can find out why.
The impairment rating and your deadline
At the MMI visit, the doctor often rates what you lost as a percentage. California treats a disability as permanent once you reach maximal medical improvement. The rest of the claim is built on that rating.
Do not sit on a rating you think is too low. Texas gives you 90 days to appeal the first impairment rating. Once that time runs out, the rating is much harder to change.
Learn more about how the rating is set. An attorney can check the rating against your records and spot what the doctor left out.
How MMI shapes your settlement
Your rating feeds the permanent part of the claim. Each state turns the rating into weeks of checks in its own way.
Texas pays three weeks of impairment checks for each point of your rating. Say John in Texas hurts his back and gets a 10 percent rating. His math is 10 x 3 = 30 weeks of impairment checks.
A low rating cuts those weeks, so an attorney looks hard at it. You can try your own numbers in the settlement calculator.
How long it takes to reach MMI
There is no set clock for most injuries. A sprain may settle fast. A spine or nerve injury can take far longer.
Surgery often pushes the date back, since the doctor waits to see how you heal. A new treatment can move the date again.
Some states put an outer limit on it, as Texas does. If you are near that limit and still in pain, call us before the date hits.
Steps to take after a workers comp MMI finding
Move in this order, and put things in writing where you can.
- Call us for a free case review. An attorney who handles cases in your state gets on it right away, with no fee unless you win.
- Get a copy of the MMI report and the impairment rating.
- Write down what you can and cannot do on a normal day.
- Keep going to every medical visit you are still allowed.
- Do not sign a settlement before an attorney reads it.
Questions injured workers ask
What is considered maximum medical improvement?
It is the point where your doctor says more treatment will not make your condition much better. It is a medical judgment, not proof that you are healed.
Is MMI good or bad?
It is neither. It ends the temporary stage of your claim and starts the permanent stage, where your rating sets what you get.
How long does maximum medical improvement take?
It depends on the injury and your treatment. Texas sets an outer limit of 104 weeks after temporary checks begin.
What should I do when my doctor says I'm at MMI?
Your first move is a call to us for a free case review. Then get a copy of the MMI report and your rating, and do not sign anything yet.
What should I not say to an IME doctor?
Do not stretch the truth and do not play your pain down. Describe what you can and cannot do on a normal day, in plain words.
Does workers comp MMI end my medical care?
Often not. Medical care can go on after MMI, depending on your state and your injury. An attorney can tell you what your state covers.
Reviewed 8/20/2026