Which percentage represents the permanent disability rating for the 46-year-old electric arc furnace operator with silicosis?

• A. 22%
• B. 25%
• C. 58%
• D. 30%

Answer: (C)

In California workers’ compensation, the permanent disability rating is not just the impairment percentage. It’s the result of converting the impairment rating to a whole-person PD using a rating grid that factors in the worker’s age and occupation. For someone with silicosis, the impairment reflects reduced lung function, and the PD value is adjusted upward or downward based on age and job class.

Here, the person is 46 years old and works in a skilled, manual role (electric arc furnace operator). Those age and occupation modifiers push the PD rating higher for a given level of impairment. When you apply that PD grid to silicosis in a 46-year-old skilled worker, the permanent disability rating comes out to 58%.

So the 58% number isn’t just the impairment percent; it’s the rating that results after applying the age and occupation adjustments to the impairment figure. The other percentages would align with different combinations of impairment, age, or occupation and don’t match this scenario.