Www.Aworkinjury.Com - Temporary Disability

Temporary Disability

A. What is Temporary Disability?

Temporary Disability (TD) is a non-taxable benefit paid over a seven-day week. It is designed to replace your wages while you are unable to work because of a work-related injury. There are two kinds of T.D. First, you may be entitled to Temporary Partial Disability, (TPD) commonly called wage loss to make up for some of the money lost due to your injury. Secondly, you may be entitled to Temporary Total Disability (TTD), if you are not able to work at all because of your injury.

Some employers provide disability plans that pay your entire wage for all or part of your temporary disability period. These are called salary continuation plans. Some employers use your vacation and/or sick leave to supplement the temporary disability payments required by state law. Check with your employer to find out if you are covered by one of these plans.

B. When are you entitled to T.D?

You are entitled to T.D. payments to replace lost income during the periods that you can not work or are working fewer hours due to your work injury. In order to receive these payments all of the following events must occur:

Your claim has been accepted by the workers’ compensation insurance carrier for your employer; and

Your treating doctor has indicated in a status report that has been sent to the insurance company that you can not do your usually and customary job; and

Your employer has not offered you a modified job that complies with the restrictions your treating doctor has given you.

C. When does Temporary Disability start and stop?

T.D. is not payable for the first three days of disability unless you are hospitalized or you are disabled for more than fourteen days. Once your claim has been accepted, payments should begin within fourteen days and continue to be paid every fourteen days until you are released to return to work or until your treating doctor reports that your condition has become Permanent and Stationary (P&S). Please see the Permanent Disability section of this website.

D. How is T.D. calculated?

There are several different ways to calculate T.D. The difference in these methods is in how "earnings" are calculated. However, all of these methods result in an "earnings" figure, which is then multiplied by (2/3) two-thirds to determine the rate at which T.D. will be paid. The T.D. rate is subject to maximum and minimum amounts, which are set by state law depending on the date of injury. The current maximum is $490.00 per week.

The insurance companies often only do the easiest calculation, which not incidentally, is often the cheapest for them. This would be to average your earnings over the year prior to your injury. However, if your earnings were increasing over the year prior to your injury this method shortchanges you. This method could also result in lower benefits if your true earning capacity was not reflected by your job at the time of injury.

If you believe the insurance company is underpaying you and they refuse to increase your payments once you have provided them with your calculations, as well as any documentation that supports your calculations, it will be necessary for you to have a hearing before a Judge. The quickest way for you to get a hearing date is to file a Request for Expedited Hearing.

You should seriously consider speaking to an experienced workers’ compensation lawyer at this point in time. The failure to pay you the correct T.D. rate should be a warning sign that the insurance company is not looking out for your best interests. Furthermore, the failure to pay you the correct temporary disability rate is something for which you may be entitled to Penalties.

There are many other reasons you should speak with a lawyer. The You Need a Lawyer section of this website lists many issues that could arise in your case. If any of these issues cover you, you should speak to an experienced attorney. If appropriate, please feel free to complete the Free Case Review section of this website.

It is important that you understand that all your earnings are relevant to determining the appropriate temporary disability rate. If you were employed by more than one company at the time of your injury, then it is necessary for you to immediately provide documentation to the insurance carrier of the amount you earned at these other companies during the year preceding your work injury.

In addition to other employment, benefits provided to you by your employer are relevant in determining the correct temporary disability rate. These other benefits include: (1) free housing; (2) company vehicle; (3) food; (4) tips; (5) commissions; (6) overtime; and (7) bonuses.