Workers’ Compensation Can Help With Lost Wages

Workers’ compensation helps people access medical care when they’re injured on the job, and helps them pay for the medical expenses attendant to that care. But what about lost wages? Paying for medical care is certainly needed, but it doesn’t help if you can’t feed yourself or your family while you are sitting in a hospital bed, or you are unable to perform your job duties.

Workers’ Compensation and Indemnity

Florida workers’ compensation also will pay some of your lost wages that are incurred for being unable to work while you recover. These are called indemnity benefits. Workers’ compensation indemnity benefits don’t pay for all of your lost wages, and won’t completely solve your financial problems while you are out of work, but they can be extraordinarily helpful for people who need to make ends meet while they are recovering.

The first question any injured worker asks is how much will workers’ compensation pay. This largely depends on how injured you are, and whether you are temporarily, or permanently unable to work.

Formulas and Programs for Lost Wages

The indemnity formula starts with calculating your average weekly wage (AWW). This is based on what you made in the previous 13 weeks (excluding any time you were not being paid because of the injury itself). Even if you did not work for the full 13 previous weeks, the AWW will be calculated based on what a similar worker would have made in your job or profession.

People who work two jobs can add the total wages of both in calculating the AWW.

Workers’ compensation indemnity is broken down into various categories, each with its own rules, regulations, and the amount of payment. Generally, indemnity benefits include the following:

Temporary Total Disability (TTD) – You will receive just over 66% of your wages if a doctor says you are totally unable to work on a temporary basis. Benefits will continue until a doctor says that you have recovered as much as can be medically expected. You can receive a maximum of 104 weeks of TTD.

Permanent Partial Disability (TPD) – Also known as impairment income, TPD will pay you a percentage of your wages, based on the percentage of your body that is impaired due to your injury.  Your doctor will determine your percentage of overall disability.

Permanent Total Disability (PTD) – This is the most severe category of injury, for people who suffer injuries so devastating that they will likely never return to normal work. Some injuries are so serious that you don’t even need to prove you can’t return to work, as the law presumes you can’t return. If you don’t have a listed injury, you must show that your injury makes it impossible for you to do even sedentary work. PTD provides 66% of your AWW, until you reach the age of 75.

The Tampa workers’ compensation attorneys at Barbas, Nuñez, Sanders, Butler & Hovsepian can help you recover lost wages while you are recovering from a work-related injury. Schedule a consultation today.

https://www.barbaslaw.com/volunteering-you-may-be-entitled-to-workers-compensation/