Permanent total disability or PTD, is the workers comp benefit for an injury that ends your working life. It is the hardest award to win. It is also the one that pays the longest.
Who qualifies for PTD
The test is not whether you can do your old job. It is whether you can do any steady job at all.
Florida spells it out. No PTD is paid if you can do at least sedentary work. You must show you cannot do even that within a 50 mile radius of your home.
Florida presumes PTD for the worst injuries, such as a spinal cord injury with severe paralysis of an arm, a leg or the trunk. Loss of an arm, hand, foot or leg and severe brain injury are also on its list.
Texas has a similar list for its lifetime benefits. It includes total loss of sight in both eyes and loss of both feet or both hands.
How long PTD checks last
In California, a worker found totally disabled gets payments for the rest of their life.
Florida pays 66 2/3 percent of your average weekly wage for as long as the total disability lasts. Those checks stop at age 75, unless the injury kept you from earning enough work credits for Social Security.
Other states cut checks off at a set number of weeks. Read how long workers comp lasts in your state.
Weekly caps on permanent total disability
PTD checks have a weekly cap like every other check. In these three states, the PTD cap matches the cap on temporary checks.
| State | What the cap covers | Weekly cap | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Iowa | Weekly cap for TTD, healing period, PTD and death, injuries from July 1, 2026 to June 30, 2027 | $2,431 | state notice. |
| Missouri | Permanent total disability, injuries July 1, 2026 through June 30, 2027 | $1,294.71 | state memo. |
| Wisconsin | Temporary total, permanent total and death, injuries in 2026 | $1,375 | state letter. |
See all states on the benefits by state table.
Pennsylvania's 104 week test
Pennsylvania does not let total status run forever without a check. After 104 weeks of total disability, the insurer can require an exam. The doctor checks whether you are at least 35 percent impaired.
Below that line, your status can switch to partial, which has a time limit. If a later rating comes in at 35 percent or more, you may petition to restore total status.
That exam can change your whole case. Learn how to prepare for an exam with the insurer's doctor.
PTD and Social Security
A worker on PTD often qualifies for Social Security disability too. The two can be paid together, but Social Security caps the total at 80% of your average current earnings.
Read how that cut works and when it ends, in workers comp and Social Security disability.
Proof that wins the claim
Insurers fight PTD hard, because it costs them the most. The proof has to come from more than your own word.
- Written work limits from your treating doctor, as exact as possible.
- A job expert's report on what work, if any, fits those limits.
- A record of every job you applied for and what each one said.
- Notes on your age, schooling and past work, which also count.
If the insurer offers to settle instead, read about settlement offers first.
People also ask
Can I work part time on PTD?
Usually not. Any steady work can be used to say you are not totally disabled. Ask before you take even a small job.
Can the insurer stop PTD later?
It can ask for new exams and it may try to show you can work. Keep up your care and your records.