Average of claimant’s post-injury earnings, not week-by-week comparison, should be used since this method accounted for the weeks where the claimant earned more than the pre-injury average weekly wage.

The Board noted that the term “partial disability” is not defined in the Act, but stated that the purpose of partial disability benefits is to assure that a claimant who suffers a loss of earning power caused by a compensable injury can recover the difference between pre-injury wages and earning power after the injury. The Board stated that “actual earnings” and “earning power” are not synonymous. The Board concluded that the week-by-week comparison of the post-injury earnings to the pre-injury average weekly wage, as the claimant argued for, did not properly reflect the weeks for which the claimant had received more than her pre-injury average weekly wage. Instead, the Board agreed with the employer that an average of the claimant’s earnings for the extended periods of post-injury earnings when she could not perform full duty gave a more accurate estimate of her loss of earning power.

^{_{Case Law Alerts, 1st Quarter, January 2017. Case Law Alerts is prepared by Marshall Dennehey Warner Coleman & Goggin to provide information on recent developments of interest to our readers. This publication is not intended to provide legal advice for a specific situation or to create an attorney-client relationship. Copyright © 2017 Marshall Dennehey Warner Coleman & Goggin, all rights reserved. This article may not be reprinted without the express written permission of our firm.}}