State ex rel. Bittinger v. NACCO Mining Co.

Two questions are before us: (1) whether permanent partial disability and impaired earning capacity are the same; and (2) whether the commission, in determining impaired earning capacity, must consider nonmedical disability factors. We answer both questions in the negative.

The first query was conclusively resolved in State, ex rel, Johnson, v. Indus. Comm. (1988), 40 Ohio St. 3d 384, 533 N.E. 2d 775. Johnson held that partial disability does not translate into an equivalent percentage of impaired earning capacity. Absent proof of actual impaired earning capacity, the presence of a partial…