About Us — Impairment Rating Calculator | Who We Are & How We Work
About This Project

Built for Injured
Workers.
Not
for Lawyers.

We built free, state-specific workers' compensation impairment rating calculators because the information every injured worker needs was buried in legal jargon, outdated PDFs, and paywalled databases. We fixed that.

✓ 100% Free always, no hidden fees
✓ No data collected calculations run in your browser
✓ Not legal advice educational tools only
Our Mission
"Every injured worker deserves to understand what their claim is worth before they walk into a negotiation — or sign anything."
Workers' compensation settlements are negotiated every day with a massive information gap: insurers have actuarial tables, attorneys have years of case data, and the injured worker has... nothing. We're here to close that gap.

50
States covered
$0
Cost to you
0
Data collected
2026
Rates current

Why We Built This —
And Why It Matters

The information gap is real

Every year, hundreds of thousands of American workers suffer workplace injuries that result in permanent impairment. When they reach Maximum Medical Improvement (MMI) and receive an impairment rating, they face a critical decision: accept the insurer's offer, negotiate, or go to a hearing.

The problem is that most injured workers have no idea what their rating is actually worth. The formulas differ by state. The terminology is opaque. The wage caps change annually. And the legal resources are either behind attorney paywalls or written in statutory language that requires a law degree to parse.

A 15% impairment rating means something very different in Florida (IBB formula, AMA 6th Ed.), New York (Schedule Loss of Use, § 15(3)), Texas (IIB formula, AMA 4th Ed.), and California (PDRS schedule). Four states. Four formulas. Zero plain-English explainers — until now.

What we found when we looked

  • 🔒
    Paywall calculators Most accurate workers' comp calculation tools are sold to law firms at $200–$500/month. Injured workers can't access them.
  • 📅
    Outdated information State wage caps and benefit rates update annually. Most "free" resources online cite rates from 2019–2022, leading workers to dramatically underestimate or overestimate their claims.
  • 🗺️
    One-size-fits-all calculators Most calculators online ignore that each state has its own statute, its own formula, and its own benefit structure. A national average tells an injured worker in Florida almost nothing.
  • ⚖️
    Conflated with legal advice Attorneys are understandably cautious about publishing specific numbers. But there's a difference between giving legal advice and publishing publicly available statutory formulas in plain English.

Our answer

We built state-specific impairment rating calculators that apply each state's published statutory formula exactly as written — no national averages, no guessing. Each calculator shows the full breakdown: AWW cap, benefit rate, compensation weeks, and total estimated payout.

We also write detailed educational content explaining how each state's system actually works — what SLU means in New York, what IBB means in Florida, what IIB means in Texas — in language that doesn't require a law degree.

Our goal is simple: by the time an injured worker uses one of our calculators, they should understand their rights, know what the formula produces, and be equipped to have an informed conversation with an attorney — or to recognize when an insurer's offer is below what the statute requires. That's it. That's the whole mission.

What we are not

We are not a law firm. We do not provide legal advice. We do not represent injured workers or insurers. We do not collect personal data or sell leads to attorneys. Every calculation runs entirely in your browser — we never see your numbers.

Think of us as a public reference library for workers' compensation math — the kind that should have existed for decades but didn't.

Our Methodology — How We Build
and Verify Each Calculator

Every calculator on this site follows a documented research and verification process before publishing. Here's exactly how we work.

Step 01

Primary Statute Research

We start with the official state statute — not a secondary source. For Florida, that's FL Stat. § 440.15. For New York, NY WC Law § 15(3). For Texas, Texas Labor Code § 408.121. We read the actual law, not summaries of the law.

Step 02

Annual Rate Verification

State average weekly wage caps update every year. We verify the current maximum weekly benefit against official state workers' compensation board publications — not third-party databases. Rates are reviewed and updated annually at minimum.

Step 03

Formula Cross-Check

Each calculator's output is cross-checked against published settlement examples and state WCB guidelines. We test edge cases: wage below the TTD floor, ratings at the extremes, wage cap triggers, and multiple injury type scenarios.

Step 04

AMA Edition Alignment

Different states mandate different editions of the AMA Guides to the Evaluation of Permanent Impairment. Florida requires the 6th edition. Most states use the 5th. Texas uses the 4th. We document and disclose which edition applies to each state calculator.

Step 05

Limitations Disclosure

Every calculator page clearly states what it does and doesn't account for: it applies the statutory formula but cannot account for your specific injury date, insurer negotiations, IME disputes, or attorney involvement. We say this upfront, not in fine print.

Step 06

Annual Review Cycle

Benefit rates, wage caps, and statutory schedules can change with each state legislative session. We review all calculators annually and update immediately when official changes are published. Update dates are noted on each page.

What We Are — and What
We Will Never Be

Transparency about what this tool can and can't do is the foundation of trust. Here's exactly where we draw the line.

A free educational reference tool

We apply publicly available statutory formulas in plain English so injured workers can understand the math behind their workers' comp claim — before speaking to an attorney or accepting an offer.

Not a law firm or attorney referral service

We do not provide legal advice, do not sell leads to attorneys, and do not have financial relationships with law firms. Our calculators are educational tools, not legal counsel.

State-specific and statute-based

Every calculator applies each state's actual published statutory formula — not a national average estimate. A Florida IBB calculation is different from a New York SLU calculation, and we treat them differently.

Not a guarantee of your settlement amount

Our output is an estimate based on published formulas. Actual settlements depend on your specific injury date, insurer negotiations, IME results, and many other individual factors we cannot account for.

Completely private — zero data collection

Every calculation runs entirely in your browser. We never see your wage, your rating, or your results. No account is required. No cookies track your inputs. Your data stays on your device.

Not a substitute for professional legal advice

Workers' compensation law is complex and state-specific. Before accepting any settlement, signing any agreement, or waiving any rights, you should consult a licensed workers' compensation attorney in your state.

Current — updated annually for 2026 rates

State wage caps and benefit maximums update every year. We review all calculators at least annually and update immediately when official state publications change benefit rates or statutory schedules.

Not funded by insurers or employer groups

We have no financial relationship with workers' compensation insurers, employer associations, or any party with an interest in minimizing workers' comp payouts. Our only interest is accuracy.

Who We Are

We are a small team of researchers, writers, and developers who believe that legal and financial information should be accessible to everyone — not just to those who can afford professional representation.

None of us are attorneys. That's by design. We approach workers' compensation formulas the same way a data journalist approaches public records: we read the primary sources, verify the numbers, and translate complexity into clarity.

Our contributors include people with backgrounds in legal research, data journalism, software development, and workers' rights advocacy. Several of our team members have personal connections to workplace injury — either their own or a family member's — which is what drove us to build this in the first place.

We operate this project independently, without venture funding, without insurer sponsorships, and without affiliate relationships with law firms.

⚖️
Legal Research Team
Statutory Verification
Our research team reads original state statutes and official WCB publications to extract and verify every formula we use. We do not rely on third-party summaries as primary sources.
🧮
Calculator Development
Formula Engineering
Our developers build each calculator to apply the exact statutory formula for that state — including wage cap logic, benefit rate rounding, and edge case handling. Every calculator is tested against known outputs before publishing.
✍️
Editorial Team
Content & Accuracy
Our writers translate statutory formulas into plain-English explanations. Every published page is reviewed for accuracy, completeness, and appropriate disclaimers before going live.
✓ No law firm affiliations fully independent editorial team
✓ No insurer funding no financial conflicts of interest
✓ Primary source research we read the actual statutes
✓ Annual review cycle rates and formulas verified yearly

Where Our Data Comes From &
How We Keep It Current

Every formula on this site is sourced directly from official government publications. No secondary databases, no aggregator sites, no guesswork.

  • 🏛️
    State Workers' Compensation Boards Official WCB publications for NY, FL, TX, TN, OK, CA and all other covered states. Wage caps verified annually from official state announcements.
  • 📜
    State Statutes (Primary Law) FL Stat. § 440, NY WC Law § 15, TX Labor Code § 408, TN Code § 50-6, OK Stat. § 85A, and others — read directly, not summarized.
  • 📋
    AMA Guides to Permanent Impairment We document which edition applies per state (4th, 5th, or 6th) — a critical distinction that significantly affects rating outputs.
  • 📊
    National Academy of Social Insurance (NASI) Annual workers' compensation data reports for cross-state benefit benchmarking and trend analysis.
  • 🔗
    State Division of Workers' Compensation Websites Florida DWC, NY WCB, TX DWC, California DWC, and equivalent agencies for official forms, rate schedules, and procedure guidelines.
Calculator Update Status — 2026 Monitoring
Florida (FL Stat. § 440.15) ✓ 2026
New York (NY WC Law § 15) ✓ 2026
Texas (TX Labor Code § 408) ✓ 2026
Tennessee (TCA § 50-6) ✓ 2026
Oklahoma (OK Stat. § 85A) ✓ 2026
California (PDRS / LC § 4660) ⟳ In Review
All other states ⟳ Rolling out
Last full audit May 2026

Found an error? Workers' compensation law changes frequently. If you believe a formula or rate is incorrect, we want to know. State-specific corrections help every worker who uses this tool after you.

Ready to Calculate?

Find Out What Your
Rating Is Actually Worth

Free, instant, state-specific. No sign-up. No personal data. Just the formula, your numbers, and a clear answer.

⚠ Legal Disclaimer
The information on this website is provided for informational and educational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. ImpairmentCalculator.com is not a law firm and is not affiliated with any law firm, attorney, workers' compensation insurer, or employer association. The calculators on this site apply publicly available statutory formulas and are intended to help injured workers understand the general mathematical basis for their workers' compensation impairment claim. Actual benefit amounts and settlement values depend on many individual factors including your specific injury date, state jurisdiction, employer and insurer, physician's impairment rating determination, any disputes or hearings, and the outcome of negotiations. Always consult a licensed workers' compensation attorney in your state before making any legal decisions or accepting any settlement.