Workers compensation explained

When you are injured on the job, the paychecks may stop coming for a while, but unfortunately, your bills will indeed keep finding their way into your mailbox. For this reason, people who are unable to work due to injury need to know how workers compensation insurance works. Let’s break it down.

The amount of cash benefits an injured worker is entitled to is calculated based on his or her average weekly wage over the thirteen weeks preceding the disability. This calculation includes all sources of compensation, including things like gratuities, allowances for meals, clothing, or and/or lodging, and even bonuses. This can benefit the injured party if you happen to have done especially well in the weeks leading up to the injury, and conversely, it can hinder others if the reverse is true. If you were not working at all during the thirteen weeks before the injury (for instance, if you were hurt during one of your first days on the job), your compensation would be based on the average weekly earnings of an employee working in a similar capacity for similar pay.

There are three different types of cash benefits: Total Temporary Disability (TTD), Total Partial Disability (TPD) and Permanent Partial Disability (PPD).

TTD is due you when you are completely unable to work as a result of your injuries. The amount that you are eligible to receive is two-thirds of your average wage up to a limit of $500 for a maximum of 400 weeks. (”Catastrophic” injuries are not subject to the 400 week limit.)

TPD is awarded when your ability to work and earn are limited by your injuries. So if you are working, but unable to earn as much as you were making before the disabling event, TPD pays you two-thirds of the difference between what your average weekly wage was before the disability and what you are now making. TPD is limited to $334 per week for a maximum of 350 weeks.

The third type of cash benefit, PPD, is not related to your ability to earn. It is paid based on the level of physical impairment that you suffer from as a result of your injury. It is possible for an individual to be awarded a PPD cash benefit even if they never actually lost any time on the job due to the injury. The amount that you may be entitled to for a PPD claim varies, and there are formulas that are applied when all of the facts are compiled.