Shoulder Workers Comp Settlement by State

How common is a shoulder workers comp claim?

Shoulder injuries accounted for 6.5% of all days-away-from-work cases in the most recent Bureau of Labor Statistics survey (2024), or roughly 119,830 cases that kept a US worker out of work for at least one day. The national count across every body part is around 1.83 million DAFW cases per year, so this category is one of the larger slices.

Source: BLS SOII 2024 Table R2: Detailed industry by selected parts of body affected (Number) .

Shoulder Max PPD Payout by State, Ranked

Each number is the result of multiplying the state's statutory weeks for total loss of the shoulder by the current state maximum weekly benefit. A worker who earned less than the state cap before the injury collects two-thirds of their own average weekly wage instead, so this column is the ceiling, not the typical payout.

Each state name links straight to that state's full shoulder settlement breakdown with worked payout examples at three wage levels and a calculator for your specific case.

Shoulder medical context and impairment ratings

Shoulder injuries are the second most common cause of lost-time claims in heavy-labor occupations. The rotator cuff is the most-injured shoulder structure, and rotator cuff repairs are the most common shoulder surgery in workers comp. A SLAP tear or labral tear often comes with the rotator cuff injury, and the surgeon repairs both in one operation. The combined rating is what drives the PPD value.

Diagnoses and terms searchers use: rotator cuff, rotator cuff tear, labrum, labral tear, SLAP tear, AC joint, frozen shoulder, impingement, bicep tendon, bicep tear.

Whole-person impairment rating ranges

Ratings reference the AMA Guides to the Evaluation of Permanent Impairment. Most states use the 5th or 6th edition; your state hub names the version it follows.

Surgery is the lever that drives shoulder settlement values

Workers often ask whether having surgery helps or hurts the settlement number. Mechanically, surgery usually raises the permanent impairment rating, which raises the PPD value of the case under any state's scheme. It also extends time spent in temporary disability, which means more weeks of TTD before MMI and a later settlement conversation.

Shoulder recovery and MMI timeline

Rotator cuff repair recovery normally runs three to six months for return to light duty and nine to twelve months for full strength. MMI follows about a year after surgery in most cases. Workers in physically demanding jobs frequently see permanent restrictions even after a successful repair.

The settlement conversation almost never starts until the doctor declares maximum medical improvement (MMI). Before MMI, the carrier normally keeps paying weekly TTD and medical bills. After MMI, the case can be valued against the schedule and the impairment rating.

How a shoulder workers comp settlement actually gets calculated

Numbers on the chart above are statutory ceilings. The settlement you sign almost never matches the ceiling exactly. Five things move the real number:

1. Your impairment rating. A doctor's percentage rating scales the schedule down. A 25 percent rating on a 200-week scheduled body part pays 50 weeks, not 200.
2. Your average weekly wage. Workers below the state cap collect two-thirds of their own wage; workers above the cap collect the cap. High-wage workers leave money on the table because of the cap.
3. Surgery, recovery, and the final impairment rating. A successful surgery often lowers the rating after recovery. A failed surgery or one with complications raises it. The settlement amount tracks the rating at MMI.
4. Open vs closed future medical. A settlement that leaves future medical care open is worth less in cash than one that closes it out, because the carrier loses control of future cost.
5. How easy the carrier finds the claim to defend. Strong causation evidence and consistent treatment records push the settlement closer to the schedule ceiling. Gaps, prior injuries to the same body part, or disputed causation push it down.

Impairment-rating states

These states do not use a body-part schedule. A doctor assigns a whole-person impairment rating after MMI, and the state pays a statutory number of weeks per percentage point. The PPD value depends on the rating and the state's weekly cap.

• Alaska (max weekly $1,418.00): Alaska uses an impairment-rating approach. Shoulder cases are valued by the doctor's whole-person impairment rating multiplied by the statutory weeks per percentage point.
• California (max weekly $1,764.00): California uses an impairment-rating approach. Shoulder cases are valued by the doctor's whole-person impairment rating multiplied by the statutory weeks per percentage point.
• Kentucky (max weekly $1,277.99): Kentucky uses an impairment-rating approach. Shoulder cases are valued by the doctor's whole-person impairment rating multiplied by the statutory weeks per percentage point.
• Minnesota (max weekly $1,536.84): Minnesota uses an impairment-rating approach. Shoulder cases are valued by the doctor's whole-person impairment rating multiplied by the statutory weeks per percentage point.
• Montana (max weekly $1,004.00): Montana uses an impairment-rating approach. Shoulder cases are valued by the doctor's whole-person impairment rating multiplied by the statutory weeks per percentage point.
• Nevada (max weekly $1,364.15): Nevada uses an impairment-rating approach. Shoulder cases are valued by the doctor's whole-person impairment rating multiplied by the statutory weeks per percentage point.
• North Dakota (max weekly $1,535.00): North Dakota uses an impairment-rating approach. Shoulder cases are valued by the doctor's whole-person impairment rating multiplied by the statutory weeks per percentage point.
• Oregon (max weekly $1,943.41): Oregon uses an impairment-rating approach. Shoulder cases are valued by the doctor's whole-person impairment rating multiplied by the statutory weeks per percentage point.
• South Dakota (max weekly $1,067.00): South Dakota uses an impairment-rating approach. Shoulder cases are valued by the doctor's whole-person impairment rating multiplied by the statutory weeks per percentage point.
• Tennessee (max weekly $1,426.70): Tennessee uses an impairment-rating approach. Shoulder cases are valued by the doctor's whole-person impairment rating multiplied by the statutory weeks per percentage point.
• Texas (max weekly $1,271.00): Texas uses an impairment-rating approach. Shoulder cases are valued by the doctor's whole-person impairment rating multiplied by the statutory weeks per percentage point.
• Vermont (max weekly $1,839.00): Vermont uses an impairment-rating approach. Shoulder cases are valued by the doctor's whole-person impairment rating multiplied by the statutory weeks per percentage point.
• Wyoming (max weekly $974.00): Wyoming uses an impairment-rating approach. Shoulder cases are valued by the doctor's whole-person impairment rating multiplied by the statutory weeks per percentage point.

Wage-loss states

These states pay based on actual wage loss after the injury, not a body-part schedule. The settlement turns on the gap between pre-injury wages and post-MMI earning capacity, capped at the state's maximum weekly rate.

• District of Columbia (max weekly $1,799.31): District of Columbia pays based on actual wage loss after the injury, not a body-part schedule. Shoulder settlements here turn on the gap between pre-injury wages and post-MMI earning capacity.
• Florida (max weekly $1,358.00): Florida pays based on actual wage loss after the injury, not a body-part schedule. Shoulder settlements here turn on the gap between pre-injury wages and post-MMI earning capacity.

States that schedule other body parts but not shoulder

The states below maintain a body-part schedule but do not list the shoulder as a separately scheduled member. Cases here normally get valued under the general impairment provision of the statute, with the doctor's whole-person impairment rating driving the number of weeks of PPD payable.

• Alabama: Alabama schedules other body parts but does not list shoulder separately. Most shoulder cases here are valued under the state's general impairment provision.
• Arizona: Arizona schedules other body parts but does not list shoulder separately. Most shoulder cases here are valued under the state's general impairment provision.
• Arkansas: Arkansas schedules other body parts but does not list shoulder separately. Most shoulder cases here are valued under the state's general impairment provision.
• Connecticut: Connecticut schedules other body parts but does not list shoulder separately. Most shoulder cases here are valued under the state's general impairment provision.
• Delaware: Delaware schedules other body parts but does not list shoulder separately. Most shoulder cases here are valued under the state's general impairment provision.
• Georgia: Georgia schedules other body parts but does not list shoulder separately. Most shoulder cases here are valued under the state's general impairment provision.
• Hawaii: Hawaii schedules other body parts but does not list shoulder separately. Most shoulder cases here are valued under the state's general impairment provision.
• Illinois: Illinois schedules other body parts but does not list shoulder separately. Most shoulder cases here are valued under the state's general impairment provision.
• Indiana: Indiana schedules other body parts but does not list shoulder separately. Most shoulder cases here are valued under the state's general impairment provision.
• Kansas: Kansas schedules other body parts but does not list shoulder separately. Most shoulder cases here are valued under the state's general impairment provision.
• Louisiana: Louisiana schedules other body parts but does not list shoulder separately. Most shoulder cases here are valued under the state's general impairment provision.
• Maine: Maine schedules other body parts but does not list shoulder separately. Most shoulder cases here are valued under the state's general impairment provision.
• Maryland: Maryland schedules other body parts but does not list shoulder separately. Most shoulder cases here are valued under the state's general impairment provision.
• Massachusetts: Massachusetts schedules other body parts but does not list shoulder separately. Most shoulder cases here are valued under the state's general impairment provision.
• Michigan: Michigan schedules other body parts but does not list shoulder separately. Most shoulder cases here are valued under the state's general impairment provision.
• Mississippi: Mississippi schedules other body parts but does not list shoulder separately. Most shoulder cases here are valued under the state's general impairment provision.
• Nebraska: Nebraska schedules other body parts but does not list shoulder separately. Most shoulder cases here are valued under the state's general impairment provision.
• New Hampshire: New Hampshire schedules other body parts but does not list shoulder separately. Most shoulder cases here are valued under the state's general impairment provision.
• New Jersey: New Jersey schedules other body parts but does not list shoulder separately. Most shoulder cases here are valued under the state's general impairment provision.
• New York: New York schedules other body parts but does not list shoulder separately. Most shoulder cases here are valued under the state's general impairment provision.
• North Carolina: North Carolina schedules other body parts but does not list shoulder separately. Most shoulder cases here are valued under the state's general impairment provision.
• Ohio: Ohio schedules other body parts but does not list shoulder separately. Most shoulder cases here are valued under the state's general impairment provision.
• Oklahoma: Oklahoma schedules other body parts but does not list shoulder separately. Most shoulder cases here are valued under the state's general impairment provision.
• Pennsylvania: Pennsylvania schedules other body parts but does not list shoulder separately. Most shoulder cases here are valued under the state's general impairment provision.
• Rhode Island: Rhode Island schedules other body parts but does not list shoulder separately. Most shoulder cases here are valued under the state's general impairment provision.
• Utah: Utah schedules other body parts but does not list shoulder separately. Most shoulder cases here are valued under the state's general impairment provision.
• Virginia: Virginia schedules other body parts but does not list shoulder separately. Most shoulder cases here are valued under the state's general impairment provision.
• West Virginia: West Virginia schedules other body parts but does not list shoulder separately. Most shoulder cases here are valued under the state's general impairment provision.
• Wisconsin: Wisconsin schedules other body parts but does not list shoulder separately. Most shoulder cases here are valued under the state's general impairment provision.

Common questions about shoulder settlements

What is a rotator cuff workers comp settlement worth?

A successful rotator cuff repair typically lands at a 5 to 10 percent whole-person impairment rating, and the PPD value comes from multiplying that rating by the state's statutory weeks per percentage point and the worker's weekly comp rate. A failed repair lands higher. Bilateral tears get rated for both sides.

Does a torn rotator cuff have to be surgically repaired?

No. Some tears, especially in older workers or partial-thickness tears, are treated conservatively with physical therapy and steroid injections. The impairment rating at MMI is usually lower without surgery, but so is the recovery time. The decision is medical, not legal.

Can I get a workers comp settlement for a shoulder injury without surgery?

Yes. A shoulder injury that produces a permanent impairment rating at MMI generates a PPD award, with or without surgery. Soft-tissue shoulder injuries often settle for less than surgical cases because the rating is lower.

Shoulder settlement: taxes, timing, and what comes next

Workers comp settlements are not taxable at the federal level under IRS Publication 525 and IRC § 104(a)(1). That covers weekly checks and lump-sum settlements. State taxation follows the federal rule in every workers comp jurisdiction.

The check usually arrives two to four weeks after a judge signs the settlement. Structured settlements (where the money comes through an annuity instead of a lump sum) and cases involving Medicare set-asides take longer, often months. Outstanding medical liens from providers also slow disbursement because the attorney has to clear each lien before paying the worker.

Sources

• BLS SOII 2024 Table R2: Detailed industry by selected parts of body affected (Number)
• State statutes and workers comp board rate notices, linked from each state hub.
• AMA Guides to the Evaluation of Permanent Impairment for whole-person impairment ranges.