Illinois permanent partial disability: How do you measure it for MRSA?

A reader asks:

Do you know how permanent partial disability is valued for contracting MRSA
or C-diff?

Those are two terrible infections.  But unlike a back injury or ACL repair, usually when you go through the horrible treatment for those problems, you are as good as new.  So how do we determine what your case is worth or is it even a case at all?

The reality is that permanent partial disability for the most part is a myth.  You can break a bone and it can grow back stronger than before, but you would still receive a settlement for that injury.  Same with MRSA and other internal injuries. 

Permanency is typically figured out by looking at your medical records, comparing your problem to past cases and seeing how this injury will affect you in the future.  Even with a full duty return to work and even if you are now feeling great, there is still some permanency.  Having those treatments weakens your immune system and could cause additional problems in the future.

We can't tell you what the injury is worth without a review of the records, but it is certainly worth something and most likely that something is somewhere in the five figures.  MRSA or other staph infections are known to come back too, so before you settle it's a good idea to make sure that you've been treatment free for many months.  You might still have it, but not be experiencing any symptoms.

So while we can't just give an answer that says your case is worth $X, you can bet that if you have MRSA, C-diff, etc. that is is worth something.