What trips people up most is that a higher number does not automatically mean a person cannot work. An impairment rating is a medical estimate, usually given as a percentage, of how much permanent physical or functional loss remains after an injury has healed as much as it is expected to heal. It measures loss of use of a body part or system, not whether someone can earn wages, do a specific job, or live with pain day to day.

In practice, that difference matters. Doctors often use the AMA Guides or similar standards to assign the rating, and insurers may lean hard on a low rating to limit what they pay. A worker may still have serious restrictions even with a modest rating, while someone with a higher rating may be able to return to work in some form. That is why an impairment rating is only one piece of the claim, alongside work restrictions, maximum medical improvement, and evidence about lost earning capacity.

In Virginia workers' compensation, the rating can directly affect permanent partial disability benefits for certain scheduled body parts under Va. Code § 65.2-503. Disputes often come up over which doctor gives the rating, what method was used, and whether the condition is truly permanent. A bad rating can shrink the value of a claim, so the medical basis for it matters.