WHAT IS MAXIMUM MEDICAL IMPROVEMENT (MMI) AND WHAT IS A PERMANENT IMPAIRMENT RATING?
In a typical automobile accident case in which a person has suffered permanent injuries, it may take anywhere from six months to twelve months before the injured person is placed at maximum medical improvement (MMI) by their doctor. Maximum medical improvement, or MMI, indicates the time in which the injured person’s medical condition has stabilized and/or plateaued and is not expected to improve any further. At that time, the MMI date, if the injured person has suffered a permanent injury as a result of the motor vehicle accident, the injured person’s physician will, typically, assign a permanent impairment rating quantifying the injured person’s injury. Usually, physicians use the American Medical Association (AMA) guidelines for the evaluation of permanent impairment or some other medical guidelines, together with the physician’s experience and expertise in order to arrive at a permanent impairment rating.
