Why Does MMI Cause Temporary Disability (TD) to Stop?

July 22, 2026 · Employment Litigation

General education about California workers’ compensation concepts and related employment-law issues—not legal advice. Your facts, injury date, and medical reports control. This is not a Workplace Rights Advocacy case result.

TD and MMI serve different stages of a claim

California temporary disability (TD) indemnity is wage-replacement money for the period when a work injury temporarily keeps you from earning wages (fully or partially) while you heal. MMI (often called permanent and stationary status) marks the end of that temporary healing phase.

When a doctor finds you have reached MMI, the legal theory behind TD no longer fits: you are no longer in a temporary, still-improving disability period. The system then asks a different question—whether you have a permanent impairment and what ongoing benefits or job options apply.

Why the stop is built into the benefit design

Think of TD as a bridge over the healing period—not a permanent paycheck. The Labor Code ties temporary disability to temporary incapacity. Once the condition is permanent and stationary, continuing to call the disability “temporary” would blur the line between temporary indemnity and permanent disability indemnity.

That is why an MMI / P&S report so often triggers a TD cutoff letter from the claims administrator. The cutoff is common; whether it was correct and timely still depends on the medical evidence and your actual work status.

Stopping TD is not the same as ending your whole claim

Ending temporary disability does not mean your case is over. After MMI, workers may still pursue:

Permanent disability indemnity, if there is ratable permanent impairment
Future medical care for the industrial injury, when supported
Supplemental job displacement benefits in some cases where you cannot return to your old job
A negotiated settlement of remaining issues

Separately, if you are still employed (or trying to return), California employment laws may require your employer to discuss reasonable accommodations, engage in the interactive process, and avoid disability discrimination or retaliation. Workers’ compensation exclusivity does not erase every employment claim that arises around a work injury.

When an MMI-based TD stop may be wrong

Sometimes TD stops too early. Warning signs include:

Your treating doctor has not found MMI / P&S, but payments still ended
A brief or incomplete report is being treated as final when treatment and recovery are clearly ongoing
You remain temporarily totally or partially disabled under current medical restrictions
There is a genuine dispute that should go to a medical-legal evaluation before benefits are cut

If that happens, you can object, request a panel QME (when appropriate), and get advice quickly. Benefit disputes have timelines. For a broader checklist of why checks stop—including reasons other than MMI—see Why Is My Temporary Disability Stopping?

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