TD Stopped After MMI? Check Your California PD Payments

Your temporary disability checks stop after a doctor says you reached maximum medical improvement. The claims administrator says your condition is now permanent and stationary. But no permanent disability check arrives.

That gap may be explainable. It may also expose a missing notice, an unresolved medical issue, a return-to-work wage exception, or a payment record that does not match California's rules.

Do not start by guessing the final value of the case. Start with five records: the last temporary disability payment, the notice sent with it, the MMI or permanent-and-stationary report, your return-to-work wages, and every permanent disability payment or estimate.

This article provides general information, not legal advice. Whether permanent disability benefits are payable, when advances should begin, and whether any payment was late depend on the injury date, medical record, return-to-work wages, notices, disputes, prior payments, and other facts. Do not use this article to calculate a rating, award, penalty, or deadline in a specific claim.

First, Separate TD, MMI, and PD

The acronyms are close enough to make a bad situation worse.

• Temporary disability (TD) generally replaces part of the wages lost while a work injury temporarily prevents the worker from doing the usual job.
• Maximum medical improvement (MMI) means the doctor believes the condition has stabilized. California workers' compensation also uses permanent and stationary (P&S) for this medical status.
• Permanent disability (PD) addresses lasting impairment from the work injury that affects earning capacity under the workers' compensation system.
• A PD advance is a payment based on a reasonable estimate before the final PD amount has been determined.
• A PD rating is the percentage calculated from the medical impairment record and other rating factors.
• An award or settlement comes later. Payments already advanced may be credited against the amount ultimately due.

MMI does not mean the worker is cured. It also does not automatically prove that PD exists or establish a final percentage. Review the actual medical report for what it says about permanent impairment, restrictions, future care, causation, and, when applicable, apportionment.

Our California MMI guide explains the treatment, restrictions, and future-care questions in more detail. This article stays focused on the last-TD notice and the transition to PD payments.

The payment question begins with what the report says and what happened when TD ended.

Find the Notice That Should Accompany the Last TD Payment

California Labor Code section 4061 says the employer must provide a prescribed notice together with the last TD payment.

Depending on the claim's posture, the notice should explain one of these positions:

1. the employer alleges there is no permanent impairment or limitation and no PD will be paid;
2. the employer determined that PD is payable and identifies the amount, basis, future-medical-care position, and whether payment is being deferred under the return-to-work exception; or
3. PD may be or is payable, but the amount cannot yet be determined because the worker's condition is not P&S.

That notice is not junk mail. It may identify the exact reason a check did not begin.

Preserve:

• the complete notice;
• the envelope and postmark;
• email or portal timestamps;
• every attachment;
• the final TD check stub or direct-deposit record;
• the dates covered by that final payment.

If the last TD payment arrived without a section 4061 notice, document that gap. If a notice says the condition is not P&S but a treating doctor or QME already said MMI/P&S, preserve both documents rather than assuming one silently controls.

The General 14-Day Rule Has an Important Exception

Labor Code section 4650 says that when an injury causes permanent disability, the first PD payment generally must be made within 14 days after the last TD payment, subject to a statutory exception.

When the last TD payment is made under Labor Code section 4656(c), section 4650(b)(1), subject to the return-to-work exception in section 4650(b)(2), requires the employer to begin timely PD payments even if the extent of PD cannot yet be determined and to continue them until the employer's reasonable estimate has been paid. After the first TD or PD payment, subsequent payments are due every two weeks on the day designated with the first payment.

But section 4650 also says a PD payment is not required before an award when either:

• the employer offered a position paying at least 85% of the wages and compensation paid at the time of injury; or
• the worker is employed in a position paying at least 100% of the wages and compensation paid at the time of injury.

That is a payment-timing exception, not a ruling that the worker has no lasting impairment. When an award is later made, section 4650 addresses calculation from the last date TD was paid or the P&S date, whichever is earlier.

The wage comparison needs documents, not assumptions. Save:

• the written regular, modified, or alternative work offer;
• pay stubs from the injury period;
• current pay stubs;
• overtime, shift differential, bonus, commission, or other compensation records;
• schedules and timecards;
• the doctor's restrictions;
• the actual duties performed after return to work.

A job title alone does not show whether the wage threshold was met. A verbal statement that “you are back at work” does not show what you earned.

No Missed Work Does Not Automatically Eliminate PD

Some workers continue working after an injury and never receive TD.

DWC's permanent-disability fact sheet explains that when no work was missed, PD payments may be due from the date the doctor says the worker is P&S, subject to the facts and return-to-work payment rules.

That matters in cumulative-trauma, repetitive-work, hearing-loss, joint, or other claims where the worker stayed on the job while the condition became permanent.

Preserve the P&S date, wage records, medical report, benefit notice, and any document explaining why no PD advance was issued.

A PD Advance Is Not the Final Rating

The claims administrator may estimate PD before the exact percentage is settled or decided. That estimate can produce advances while the medical and rating process continues.

The DWC Disability Evaluation Unit calculates ratings from medical descriptions of impairment. DWC explains that payments already made before the rating are credited against the PD benefits indicated by the rating.

This creates several distinct questions:

• Did a doctor find permanent impairment?
• Is the medical report complete and ratable?
• Has a DEU summary rating or another rating issued?
• What estimate did the claims administrator use?
• How much has already been advanced?
• Did the advances stop because the reasonable estimate was exhausted?
• Is the final rating disputed?
• Is an award or settlement still pending?

Do not treat the last advance as a final award. Do not treat an early estimate as proof that the rating is correct.

If the problem is a factual or medical error in the QME report, use the correct report-review procedure rather than calling the evaluator to argue. Our QME report-error guide explains why factual corrections, incomplete reports, and medical disagreements require different responses.

Build a TD-to-PD Payment Timeline

Create a simple chronology with one row for each event:

1. injury date or claimed cumulative-trauma period;
2. DWC-1 delivery date;
3. first and last TD payment periods;
4. date of the final TD deposit;
5. date and source of the MMI/P&S opinion;
6. date the section 4061 notice was sent and received;
7. return-to-work offer date, wages, and actual start date;
8. date and amount of every PD advance;
9. DEU, QME, AME, or treating-doctor rating information;
10. every written question and response about the missing or stopped payment.

For each payment, preserve:

• check or deposit date;
• period covered;
• gross amount;
• deductions;
• payment type shown on the stub;
• check number or transaction identifier;
• date actually received.

Keep TD and PD in separate columns. A payment labeled “disability” without identifying the benefit type can create confusion later.

Ask the Claims Administrator a Precise Written Question

A phone call can help, but it should not become the whole record.

A short written follow-up can ask:

My final temporary disability payment covered [dates]. The MMI/P&S report is dated [date]. Please identify whether permanent disability advances are being issued, deferred under Labor Code section 4650(b)(2), or not paid for another stated reason. Please also provide the benefit notice and payment calculation being used.

Do not accuse the adjuster of violating the law before you know the position. The useful goal is a dated answer tied to a notice, medical report, wage comparison, and payment calculation.

Late-Payment Increases Are Not a DIY Calculation

Under section 4650(d), the amount of an indemnity payment not made timely as required by that section is increased by 10% and paid without application. The subdivision contains exceptions, including for qualifying salary-continuation plans and certain payments due before or within 14 days after submission of the claim form.

A missing check does not let a public article determine:

• whether PD was payable at that time;
• whether the return-to-work exception applied;
• what amount was due;
• whether the payment was late under the statute;
• how section 4650 interacts with another penalty provision or dispute.

Preserve the due-date evidence and obtain advice before demanding a number. An accurate payment timeline is more useful than a penalty calculation built on the wrong starting assumption.

The Audit Unit and the Individual Claim Are Different Tracks

DWC says its Audit and Enforcement Unit audits insurers, self-insured employers, and third-party administrators; assesses penalties; orders unpaid compensation paid; and monitors whether benefits are delivered accurately and on time.

DWC also provides complaint and referral materials. But an Audit Unit submission is not automatically the same as resolving an individual PD dispute before the Workers' Compensation Appeals Board. It does not by itself establish the rating, create an award, or suspend another deadline.

Before choosing a path, identify whether the problem is:

• no section 4061 notice;
• a disputed MMI/P&S opinion;
• no impairment finding;
• a return-to-work wage exception;
• a missing or incorrect PD estimate;
• an exhausted estimate while the final rating remains unresolved;
• a late payment;
• a broader claims-administration pattern.

Different problems can require different responses.

What to Bring to a WCLG Consultation

Put these records in one folder:

1. DWC-1 and proof of delivery;
2. complete MMI/P&S, PTP, QME, or AME reports;
3. every work-status slip;
4. last TD payment and section 4061 notice;
5. all PD notices, estimates, stubs, and deposits;
6. DEU rating or other rating documents;
7. written return-to-work offers and actual duty records;
8. injury-date and current wage/compensation records;
9. written communications about starting, deferring, stopping, or calculating PD.

Keep originals unchanged. Use copies for highlights. Record the received date of every notice and medical report.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does MMI automatically mean I should receive a PD check?

No. MMI/P&S is a medical status. Whether PD exists and when an advance is payable depend on the impairment findings, notices, return-to-work wages, statutory rules, disputes, and other facts.

Should the final TD payment include an explanation?

Section 4061 requires a prescribed notice together with the last TD payment addressing whether PD will be paid, the amount and basis when determined, future medical care, deferral under the return-to-work exception, or why the amount cannot yet be determined.

Are PD advances the final settlement?

No. Advances are based on an estimate. A later rating, award, or settlement may determine the final amount, with prior payments credited as applicable.

What if I returned to modified work?

Save the written offer, restrictions, pay stubs, schedules, and actual duties. Section 4650's pre-award exception uses wage-and-compensation thresholds; “modified work” by itself does not answer the payment question.

What if the adjuster says the estimated PD was already paid out?

Request the estimate, payment ledger, dates, and calculation in writing. Compare them with the medical report and any rating. Exhausting an estimate is not necessarily the same as resolving the final PD amount.

Official Sources

• California Labor Code section 4650
• California Labor Code section 4061
• DWC Fact Sheet D: Permanent Disability Benefits
• DWC Disability Evaluation Unit
• DWC Audit and Enforcement Unit

Talk to WCLG Before the Payment Gap Becomes the Record

When TD ends after an MMI/P&S report, the next question is not merely whether a check arrived. The last-TD notice, medical findings, return-to-work wages, PD estimate, rating documents, and payment ledger should tell one coherent story.

Workers' Compensation Law Group helps injured workers in Downey, the Gateway Cities, Southeast Los Angeles County, and throughout Los Angeles County review disability-payment records and California workers' compensation disputes. Learn about WCLG's wage-replacement services.

Call (562) 608-8870 or contact WCLG online for a free consultation. Whether benefits are payable, when they begin, and what amount is due depend on the medical record, wages, notices, prior payments, and complete claim facts.