WCB Permanent Clinical Impairment (PCI) Award and your work injury
The Workers’ Compensation Board may pay you a one-time lump sum payment called a Permanent Clinical Impairment for your work-related injury if you have suffered:
- a measurable change or disfigurement of a body part or function.
- a loss of a body part
- a loss of the use of a body part, or function.
The WCB will arrange for a clinical impairment evaluation only when you have reached a medical plateau of your condition. This timeframe varies according to your injury however generally two years following surgery or enough healing time has passed which would indicate a permanent injury.
PCI evaluations can occur through a documentary review of the medical information on your file or through an in-person assessment. Your Case Manager will let you know which assessment will best suit your situation.
Once the assessment has been completed the report will be sent to a WCB Medical Consultant, who is an expert at assessing PCI’s, and determine the appropriate rating based on the Alberta Clinical Impairment Guidelines. You will be assigned a percentage of whole-body impairment. This percentage is used to then calculate the corresponding financial award called a Non-Economic Loss Payment, NELP. The percentage calculation is sent to the case manager to administer the NELP award.
The maximum PCI award is 100% disabled and equates to a one-time lump payment of $110,900. A loss of a thumb would be estimated at a PCI of 10%, or $10,090. While the UFCW Local 401 Union considers these payments to be inadequate, considering the serious loss to our members lives, we are bound by the Alberta WCB Act and legislation for assessing these injuries and obtaining more.
The PCI award is designed to provide recognition of the organic damage that has been done to your body and does not pay for quality-of-life scenarios. The WCB of Alberta does not have a policy which would allow them to pay for quality-of-life issues related to your injury. Any award provided includes a provision for pain, scarring or loss of sensation.
If your condition deteriorates after a period of time the WCB can re-evaluate your PCI.
If you believe that you are entitled to this payment, then please contact the WCB at 1-800-922-9221 or the UFCW Local 401at 1-800-252-7975.