Your Workers’ Comp Claim Is Unique
Every workers’ compensation claim is different. How long you receive workers’ comp benefits after you’re hurt on the job will depend on your case.
You never should have to pay out of pocket for health care associated with your workplace injury.
Your payments for lost wages, indemnity benefits, should start two weeks after you reported your injury and not any later. You should get payments every week.
Weekly payments should keep going until a doctor clears you to return to work.
If you qualify for Permanent Partial Disability (PPD) benefits, you could receive a lump sum payment no later than 30 days after a doctor determines you have a permanent impairment.
Some people can return to work fairly soon after their injury. For others, it can take a long time. You could get a lump sum or ongoing payments.
Either way, you should be covered by workers’ comp.
Important:
To receive any kind of workers’ comp, make sure to report your injury right away. You have a 30-day deadline after the date of your incident.
A lawyer could tell you more about your specific circumstances. An initial assessment with one of our attorneys at Mitchell & Associates is always free.
Different Lengths of Workers’ Comp
The severity of the injury you have could place you under different categories with different time frames for workers’ comp:
- Under Temporary Total Disability (TTD), you get indemnity benefits to replace lost wages until your doctor says you can work again.
- Under Supplemental Earning Benefits (SEB), you get payments to help make up for the drop in your earning power if you can still work but your injury leads to a long-term disability. These benefits are limited to 10 years maximum.
- Under Permanent Partial Disability (PPD),you can still do some limited work and receive some workers’ comp indemnity benefits based on the body part injured and the anatomical loss found by your doctor.
- Permanent Total Disability (PTD) pays benefits when your injury was so severe that you can never work again. You should receive workers’ comp benefits indefinitely.
In addition to lost wages, your workers’ comp benefits pay for health care resulting from your injury and potentially for training for a new kind of job.
Sometimes They Pay Too Slow. Sometimes They Cut You Off.
Unlike some areas of law, protecting your rights under workers’ comp is not an all-or-nothing job.
Sometimes you have to fight a lot of little battles to get all the benefits you deserve.
Your employer’s workers’ comp insurance company might agree to pay for lost wages but take too long to start sending checks.
Or they could decide all of a sudden to stop benefits you’ve already been receiving.
If you have an experienced lawyer working for you, your lawyer can stay on top of all the twists and turns in workers’ comp, so you can focus on your health.