All you need to know
A work-related injury can change your life overnight. Out of the blue, you may have to deal with extremely high medical expenses. Plus, chances are you won’t be able to work while recovering from your injury. You may be counting on workers’ compensation benefits to cover all of your medical expenses, but what about your lost wages?
Fortunately, workers’ compensation benefits will also replace any wages you lose while recovering from your injury. However, wage replacement is not available in all cases. Therefore, you should know all the details about these types of benefits when dealing with a workers’ compensation claim.
Here is everything you need to know about wage replacement in workers’ compensation.
Types of lost wages benefits
Wage replacement benefits will depend on how disabled you are due to your work injury. There are four types of disability: Partial, total, temporary and permanent.
· Temporary Partial Disability: You may qualify for these benefits if your injury prevents you from working the same hours or fully performing all of your work activities. For example, let’s say you drive daily as part of your job. If you injure your foot, you will have to perform different tasks during your recovery.
· Temporary Total Disability: On the other hand, if your injury totally incapacitates you from working in any way, you may qualify for temporary total disability benefits. In this case, you will receive money until you recover enough to return to work.
· Permanent Partial Disability: If your work injury caused permanent impairment that could affect your earning capacity, you might be entitled to this type of benefit. Permanent partial disability will cover the gap between what you were earning pre-injury and your current wages.
· Permanent Total Disability: If you sustained a catastrophic work injury that will not allow you to work again, you would qualify for permanent total disability benefits. These benefits will replace most of your wages for life.
If you are unsure of what benefits you may receive after your work injury, consulting with a Los Angeles workers’ compensation attorney, such as C&B Law Group, might be an excellent idea. Most lawyers in this city offer 100% free consultations. Contact them if you want to find out the value of your case in minutes.
How much money can I get?
The amount of money you can receive as wage replacement will depend directly on whether your injury has temporarily or permanently disabled you.
Temporary disability benefits will pay a worker up to two-thirds of his or her lost wages during recovery. According to California law, the maximum amount a worker can receive per week for this type of benefit is $1,215.27. The minimum amount is $182.29.
Permanent disability benefits, on the other hand, will cover a percentage of the injured worker’s wages up to a specific limit. The main difference, of course, is that these benefits will continue for life.
What if a worker dies on the job?
If a worker dies due to a work-related injury, his or her dependents may receive lost wages. Similar to disability benefits, they will receive up to two-thirds of the deceased worker’s weekly wages.
Spouses, children, and immediate family members may receive these benefits. In the case of spouses, they will continue to receive these benefits until they remarry. Children, on the other hand, usually receive these payments until they reach the age of 18. Other dependents, including parents, grandchildren, and grandparents, may be eligible for benefits.
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