Florida, like many other states, has a specific calculation to determine workers’ compensation benefits. Benefits will vary depending on your current wages, your filing status for tax purposes, whether you have any dependents, and how many hours per week you currently work (if you are an hourly employee).
Before you get started with your workers’ compensation claim, you should be prepared and have an idea of what you can expect to receive for benefits.
Light Duty Work
If you have been injured, but can still work, your employer may put you on light duty work. This type of work will fit within the restrictions that your doctor has given you, and you will generally be paid the same wage.
In many cases, you may not be able to work as many hours, so you will work light duty work as much as you can and then receive benefits to account for the difference. This is generally referred to as “temporary partial disability.”
In other situations, you may be able to work your full days, but the tasks you are given are very different from your regular employment.
Alternate Benefits – Indemnity and Impairment
If you cannot work for more than seven days, then you should receive money to compensate you from what you were unable to earn at work. This is called “indemnity benefits.”
If your doctor instructs you not to work, then you will be entitled to “temporary total disability” benefits. If you receive this type of benefit, then you will receive a weekly check for two-thirds (2/3) of your regular wages at the time you were injured. Some more serious injuries may have a higher percentage of total wages available. You can receive up to 104 weeks of this type of benefit.
Once you are at “maximum medical improvement”, or MMI, then your benefits will change. MMI means that your doctor does not think your injury or condition will improve any more.
Then, your doctor will then assign you an “impairment rating”. This rating is a percentage that represents how much you were injured. This number is how much total damage to your body the injury or accident did from a medical perspective.
If you are assigned an impairment rating, then you will likely receive additional money to cover this decreased ability to work. Often, the money is given to you in a lump sum, but it can also continue in monthly payments in some situations.
Medical Costs and Reemployment Services
In addition to benefits to make up for compensation, you will also receive medical benefits. If you are visiting the doctor or another medical professional regarding your injury, then your employer (or its insurance) should pay for these expenses.
You will also have access to reemployment services if you are subject to permanent work restrictions. This type of service helps you train for a new job if you are unable to find one in your previous field that fits with your new restrictions.
Hire an Experienced Workers Compensation Attorney FL
If you have been involved in an accident at work, Florida law gives you many rights and benefits. Talk to an experienced workers’ compensation attorney FL to be sure that you are getting everything that you deserve.
Related Links :
- Quick Ways to Solve the Workers Compensation Problem
- When to Hire a Worker’s Comp Attorney in West Palm Beach