Workers' compensation is a complicated area of law. If you have a work-related injury or illness, you’ll face all sorts of legal tests and requirements in order to receive workers’ comp benefits. During your case, you also run into lots of legal and medical terms for the types of injuries, benefits, and various steps in the process. Here’s a glossary of some of the most common acronyms used in workers’ comp cases.
ADL: activities of daily living — the activities you do in your personal life (as opposed to work activities that are part of your job) that may be affected by your work injury; ADLs include dressing, showering, eating and preparing food, driving, shopping, cleaning, and maintaining your home and yard.
ALJ: Administrative Law Judge — the official who presides over workers’ comp hearings (similar to trials) and makes decisions to resolve disputes between injured employees and insurance companies.
AOE/COE: arising out of employment and occurring in the course of employment — the requirement for workers’ comp coverage that you were injured or became ill because of your job and while you were working or doing something for the benefit of your employer.
AWL: actual wage loss — the amount of money you didn’t earn because of your work-related injury.
AWW: average weekly wages — the average of your weekly earnings during the year before your work-related injury.
COLA: cost-of-living adjustment — a change in the amount of workers' comp benefits to adjust for inflation, based on the government’s measurement of the prices for basic goods and services in the consumer price index.
CRPS: complex regional pain syndrome — prolonged, severe pain that usually affects an arm, hand, leg, or foot after an injury.
CT: cumulative trauma — a chronic injury that develops over time as a result of repeated actions, postures, or exposure at work.
CTS: carpal tunnel syndrome — a painful condition caused by restriction or compression of a nerve in the wrist, which can make it difficult to grip or use the fingers and hand; often caused by repeated movements of the wrist or use of vibrating tools at work.
DoA: date of your on-the-job accident.
DOI: date of your work-related injury.
DWC: Division of Workers' Compensation — the most common name for the state agencies that oversee the workers’ comp system; some states use other names, such as the Workers’ Compensation Commission or the Division of Industrial Accidents.
E/C: employer/carrier — "carrier" is the insurance company providing workers' comp coverage for your employer; during workers’ comp proceedings, the insurer stands in for the employer.
FEC: future earning capacity — how much you'll likely be able to earn after you return to work with or without the effects of your work-related injury.
FCE: functional capacity evaluation — a test used to determine if you have physical limitations as a result of your injury that could affect your ability to work.
FL: functional limitation — a restriction in your ability to do certain physical actions as a result of your work-related injury or illness.
HCO: health care organization — a medical group or network that provides treatment for work-related injuries or illnesses; depending on your state’s rules for choosing and changing doctors in workers’ comp cases, you may have to go to a doctor within the network if your employer’s insurance company has a contract with an HCO.
IME: independent medical examination — a physical exam with a physician other than the doctor who’s treating your work-related injuries, usually required when there's a medical dispute in your workers' comp case.
LDP: last day paid.
LD: light duty.
LDW: last day worked — the last day you were on the job before you had to stop working because of your work-related injury.
LEC: loss of earning capacity — the reduction in the amount you can earn in the future as a result of your injury.
LT: lost time — how much work time you missed because of your injury.
MCO: managed care organization — another term for an HCO (discussed above).
MMI: maximum medical improvement — the stage in your recovery from a work-related injury or illness when your doctor says that your medical condition isn’t likely to get better, even with further treatment; also known as “permanent and stationary” (P&S), this is generally the point when doctors will decide if you have any permanent disability (PD; discussed below).
MOD: modified work duties.
ND: nonwork disability — an injury or condition that's not caused by or related to your job but hampers your ability to work.
OD: occupational disease — a chronic condition caused by exposure to toxic substances or other harmful conditions at work.
ODNCR: occupational disease, notice, and causal relationship — the basic requirements for a workers’ comp claim based on an illness that you developed at work, including (1) being diagnosed with an illness that meets your state’s legal definition for an occupational disease, (2) notifying your employer about the illness within the time limits in your state, and (3) medical evidence that on-the-job exposure caused the disease.
PD: permanent disability – a lasting physical or mental limitation that results from your work-related injury or illness, typically measured through a percentage, or PD rating; also refers to the permanent disability award or benefits meant to compensate you for those limitations.
PPD: permanent partial disability — a lasting physical or mental limitation from your work-related injury that doesn’t prevent you from working at all but may reduce your earnings; also refers to the benefits for a partial disability.
PPO: preferred provider organization — another term for an HCO (discussed above).
P&S: permanent and stationary — another term for MMI (discussed above).
PT: physical therapy.
PTD: permanent total disability — a lifelong disability that prevents you from working completely; in some states, you may also qualify for PTD benefits if you have a certain type of severe injury (such as losing your sight in both eyes or total paralysis) or if you have partial limitations that add up to a 100% PD rating.
QME: qualified medical exam.
RFC: residual functional capacity — a measurement of what you’re still able to do physically after your work injury.
ROM: range of motion.
RSI: repetitive stress injury — an injury that develops over time as a result of repeated movements or postures; also known as repetitive strain injury or cumulative trauma.
SAWW: statewide average weekly wage — the average of wages paid to all workers in the state, generally over the preceding year; used to calculate minimum and maximum amounts of workers’ comp benefits paid to injured workers.
SIF: second injury fund.
SOL: statute of limitations — the legal time limit for filing a workers’ comp claim.
SSDI: Social Security Disability Insurance — federally provided benefits for certain disabled workers; some people may receive both workers’ comp PD benefits and SSDI benefits.
TD: temporary disability — a medical condition that keeps you from working while you’re recovering from a work-related injury or illness; also refers to the benefits meant to replace part of your lost earnings during your recovery.
TPD: temporary partial disability — a medical condition resulting from your work-related injury or illness that doesn’t completely prevent you from working during your recovery but limits your earnings or ability to perform all of your job tasks.
TTD: temporary total disability — disability or injury that completely prevents you from working while recovering from a work-related injury.
UI: unemployment insurance — benefits for former employees who are available and actively looking for work; injured workers may receive both UI and workers' comp benefits only in limited circumstances.
VR: vocational rehabilitation — workers’ comp benefits and programs available in many states to help injured workers train for and/or find a new job.
WC: workers' compensation.
WCAB: workers' compensation appeals board.
WD: work disability — a medical condition resulting from a work-related injury or illness that hampers your ability to work.