Permanent injury is irreversible harm to a person or property. Whether an injury is permanent or temporary may factor into the calculation of damages. For example, in Allis Chalmers Manufacturing Co. v. The Industrial Commission et al., the Illinois Supreme Court found that a doctor's examination of injured employee disclosed a lumbosacral sprain was sufficient to justify a compensation award for temporary total disability resulting from back injury, but that the evidence did not sustain compensation award for permanent partial disability.
[Last updated in April of 2021 by the Wex Definitions Team]