If the applicant has received a prior PD award, what is conclusively presumed?

• A. the prior PD exists at the time of any subsequent industrial injury.
• B. the prior PD has expired
• C. the prior PD does not apply to new injuries
• D. the prior PD must be re-evaluated

Answer: (A)

Permanent disability (PD) represents a worker’s ongoing impairment from a workplace injury. When someone has a prior PD award, the law treats that prior disability as still existing at the time of any later industrial injury. This conclusive presumption means that, for a new claim, the prior impairment is considered to be in effect when evaluating the total disability and how much the new injury adds (apportionment)—you start from the assumption that the old PD remains, rather than treating it as if it disappeared.

In practical terms, this ensures credit for the prior disability in the overall rating and prevents ignoring preexisting impairment when a new injury occurs. The other options don’t fit because the rule is not that the prior PD has expired, or that it doesn’t apply to new injuries, or that it must be re-evaluated—the established presumption is that it exists at the time of any subsequent injury.