If an employee injures their right eye resulting in 25% permanent disability, what should the reserve be set for a subsequent eye injury?

• A. 25%
• B. 50%
• C. 100%
• D. Notify the excess carrier

Answer: (A)

The key concept to understand in this context is how permanent disability percentages affect reserves for subsequent injuries. If an employee has already sustained a permanent disability of 25% in one eye, this percentage reflects the extent of the impairment and serves as a baseline for assessing any future injury.

In this case, setting the reserve for a subsequent injury to the same eye at 25% is appropriate because the prior injury does not directly enhance the overall disability rating for another injury; it merely acknowledges the existing impairment that is already factored into the employee’s condition. Therefore, if the employee were to sustain another injury, it would be assessed on top of the existing 25% disability. However, since the first injury's impact is already accounted for, the reserve remains at that 25% mark, recognizing the pre-existing condition.

This financial perspective allows for accurate reserving without unnecessary duplication of disability percentages. Future injuries would typically be evaluated based on the totality of the employee's condition while respecting the established disability rate.