Benefits Available to Injured Workers in Toledo

A number of different types of benefits can be sought by an injured worker depending on the type and severity of the injury. If you want to know more about the benefits available to injured workers in Toledo, read on. If you have been injured while working and want to pursue these benefits, get in touch with a distinguished Toledo workers’ compensation lawyer that can advocate for you.

Temporary Total Disability

Toledo lawyers probably file more claims based on temporary total disability than any other. Usually, people who are injured only have to stay off of the job for a relatively short period of time. Fortunately, people can recover from these injuries and get back to work.

Temporary total disability helps replace wages lost for those who are unable to work for a certain period of time. For example, if a worker had a pallet fall on their foot that prevented them from doing their job until they recovered from their injuries, temporary total would be the proper claim to file.

Calculating Temporary Total Disability

An injured worker must miss eight consecutive days in order to qualify for temporary total disability. For the first 12 weeks of disability, injured workers receiving temporary total disability are compensated at 72 percent of their full weekly wage.

That figure is based on the average of the gross wages earned during the six weeks prior to the injury.

After three months, a claimant receives 66 2/3 their average weekly wage. In their situation, the average weekly wage is calculated based on the worker’s average gross wages for one year prior to the injury. It should be noted that although temporary total disability does not completely replace a worker’s lost income, worker’s compensation benefits are not taxable.

Permanent Partial Disability

Sometimes workers sustain physical or psychological injuries that will remain with them forever but may allow them to continue working. The benefits available to injured workers in Toledo include a permanent partial disability award based on the percentage of the impairment.

For injuries that occurred prior to June 30, 2006, the injured worker had to wait 40 weeks before filing this type of claim. The waiting period for injuries after that date is 26 weeks.

Determining Loss of Wages

In order to determine the percentage of loss, the worker is examined by a BWC doctor, who determines the percentage of impairment of the body part in question-based on the American Medical Association’s Guides to Evaluations of Permanent Impairment.

If the injured worker thinks the percentage determined is too low, they can object to that finding and opt for examination by their own doctor. The hearing officer then examines the findings by the doctors and determines the percentage of impairment.That percentage is the basis of any compensation the worker would receive.

The percentage of disability determined by the hearing officer is used to calculate the award paid based on a formula employed by the BWC. An example of an injury that would be the basis of a permanent partial disability claim would be a worker who gets burned on the job and is left with permanent scar tissue. A percentage of disability would be determined to calculate the award paid to the worker.

Permanent Total Disability

Someone who is injured so seriously on the job that they will never be able to gain sustained employment is eligible for permanent total disability benefits. If the hearing officer grants the application for permanent total disability, the injured worker can receive compensation for life.

Compensation for this type of award takes into account the statewide weekly wage average and whether the injured worker receives Social Security benefits. A worker whose workplace injury caused them to become paralyzed would be an extreme example of someone who may be eligible for permanent total disability benefits. The injury, though, does not need to completely incapacitate the worker in order for this type of benefit to be awarded. If you want to know more about the benefits available to injured workers in Toledo, get in touch with a qualified attorney that can answer your questions.