What Do I Get If I Win My Worker’s Compensation Case?
The value of a settlement in workers’ compensation depends on the amount the injured worker was making and the extent of the permanent damage to the worker’s wage earning capacity.
Unlike personal injury actions, there is no recovery for pain and suffering or damage to the family from the accident. The recovery is for the loss of wage earning potential of the injured employee. The job of the attorney for the injured employee is to make certain that every element of possible recovery is considered.
An injured employee covered by workers’ compensation is entitled to medical treatment at the employer’s expense. If the employee misses any work due to the injury or is permanently injured, the employee is likely due one or more of three types of cash benefits. These cash benefits are:
- Temporary Total Disability (TTD)
- Total Partial Disability (TPD)
- Permanent Partial Disability (PPD)
Your workers’ compensation benefits are first based your average weekly wage (AWW). That wage figure is then applied to the type of disability benefits you are entitled to. Your average weekly wage is computed by averaging your wages from the 13 weeks prior to the injury.
This figure includes salary, hourly pay, tips, meal allowances, lodging allowances, clothing allowances, and even year-end bonuses. Depending on how much you worked/made in the 13 weeks before the injury, this calculation could end up benefiting you or unfairly setting your wage lower than you think it should be.
You are entitled to what is known as TTD benefits if your work injury results in your total disability from work. TTD benefits are two-thirds of your of your average weekly wage, but no more than $500 per week. Unless your injury is determined to be catastrophic, you are only entitled to TTD benefits for a maximum period of 400 weeks from the date of injury.
Catastrophic injuries are not subject to the 400 week cap and include such injuries as paralysis, brain injury, severe neurological disorders, total blindness, and amputations of an arm, hand, foot or leg. We can advise you if your injury may be considered catastrophic under Georgia law.
You do not necessarily have to be 100% physically disabled to be disabled from work. It does mean that you have a 100% impairment of earning capacity. If you are able to return to light duty work and your employer cannot or will not accept you back at work, you may still be entitled to TTD benefits.
You are entitled to TPD benefits when your earning capacity is impaired but you are not totally disabled from work. This means if you are injured and are unable to earn a weekly wage equal to the wage you were earning, you are entitled to two-thirds the difference between your wage before and after the accident, but no more than $334 per week.
When you are injured, your employer is responsible for paying this benefit whether you are earning a lower wage with the same or a different employer. You are eligible for these benefits for up to 350 weeks after you are injured.
Unlike TTD and TPD, the PPD benefit relates entirely to your level of physical disability, not your earning capacity. An employee may be entitled to this benefit even if they never missed a day of work or lost any wages due to an injury. PPD is based entirely on a formula that takes into account your percentage of impairment (as determined by your doctor, not your employer), the part of the body impaired, and your compensation rate. However, PPD benefits will not begin until after an employee stops receiving weekly TTD or TPD payments.
