After being injured on the job, most workers wonder whether they will be entitled to the benefits of worker’s compensation and the type of benefits they might receive. While speaking on this subject the renowned personality Charles Spinelli states that the biggest problem of workers is their lack of knowledge about the law. And, this becomes an advantageous point for many crooked employers and insurance companies to deprive them of the legitimate claim and benefits that they deserve.
According to him, first of all, workers need to know that only if they suffer any work-related injury, regardless it is indoor or outdoor, the law makes them eligible for the benefits and also allows leave for treatment and recovery. In this blog, he has summed up the types of benefits, limitations, and rights of injured workers.
Typically, an injured worker on the job is eligible to receive
- Weekly compensation
- Payment of medical expenses
- Vocational rehabilitation
- Permanent impairment benefits
Noteworthy, in worker’s compensation law, there is no provision for paying benefits for pain and suffering. Practically, it is designed to ensure income protection and receipt of minimal benefits because of the accident and inability to continue work.
Types of Workers’ Compensation Benefits
Injured and disabled workers are allowed to get compensation and benefits weekly. Here, disability is categorized into two types including temporary and permanent as well as total and partial. The rule may vary among states.
Difference between Temporary and Permanent Disability Benefits
Temporary disability defines a condition where the victim is still in the recovery stage and is anticipated to get better. On the contrary, permanent disability defines the condition of an employee as stable, but there is no hope for further improvement. According to Charles Spinelli, Permanent disability is also termed as a state of maximum medical improvement (MMI) but there is no change of full recovery.
Difference between Temporary and Partial Disability Benefits
Total disability refers to a condition that makes an employee incapable to carry out any kind of job. Partial disability refers to a condition that keeps the employee fit to do some kind of job preferably sitting nature.
Workers’ Compensation Benefit Amounts (On Average)
For total disability, in general, an employee is eligible to receive weekly benefits 2/3rd or 60% of his/her pre-injury weekly wage. Average weekly wage is derived from the actual income of the injured worker comprising his/her overtime pay and then dividing it by the number of weeks worked in that year. Incidentally, some states have benchmarked the weekly maximum benefit at nearly $1,000/week, regardless of the AWW of the employee.
The benefits against partial disability of an employee are calculated differently. Given, the employee is partially disabled and is expected to continue work, maybe for part-time or full-time light tasks, the amount of partial disability benefit is computed by deducting the AWW of the employee by current earnings or capacity of earning. If the pre-injury AWW of a worker is $1,000 and the capacity of current earning is $500 and the total disability rate is 60% of AWW, in a state, the partial disability rate will be 0.6 x ( 1,000 -500) = $300 weekly.
Permanent Impairment Benefits
The benefit is allowed to those employees who are detected with a permanent physical disability as per the guideline of the American Medical Association. A permanent disability refers to a condition that restricts the motion of one or more body parts. For example permanent loss of flexibility and strength of any hand. Depending upon the state laws, where the employee works the amount of benefit is decided. As per Charles Spinelli, having a consultancy with a workers’ compensation lawyer in that state is the best choice to know the amount of award.
In addition, the workers’ compensation insurance offers full expenses for medical and occupational rehab as actuals, reimbursement of transportation costs including tool charges, and parking expense.
