The specific amount that you should expect from your workers’ compensation benefits will differ depending on the circumstances of your worksite accident and the severity of your injuries. Regardless of the precise amount, it is unlikely to be as much as your regular wages.
The overseeing healthcare provider will examine you and determine how to classify your injuries in one of the following legal categories:
Temporary total disability – Your earning capacity has been completely, but temporarily, lost.
Permanent total disability – Your earning capacity has been completely and totally lost.
Temporary partial disability – Your earning capacity has been partially lost, but only temporarily.
Permanent partial disability – Your earning capacity is only partially lost, but the damage to your wage-earning potential is permanent.
The weekly benefit that you receive from your workers’ compensation claim will depend on the categorization of your disability, as well as the average weekly wages that you earned during the previous year. The standard equation that is used to determine the specific weekly benefit amount in a given case is as follows:
2/3 x your average weekly wage x percentage of disability = expected weekly benefit