Temporary/ Total Disability Benefits Guide

If you are an injured worker entitled to temporary total disability benefits you should know how benefits are figured.  You will want to know what to expect so you can plan for your financial future.  You will need to know how total disability benefits are figured so you can check on the figures your employer is giving you.  You will want to verify you are receiving the correct amount of benefits. 

Total disability benefits are given to a worker injured in an accident at his job.  He must have lost work hours and be treated by a doctor.  If the injury is repetitive motion injury, such as carpel tunnel the date of the injury is the same as the diagnosis.  The date may be the last day they were able to work their job. 

The formula for temporary total disability benefits is easy to figure.  You calculate two thirds of the worker's average gross weekly salary for the entire year before the accident. Take your gross weekly wages times 2/3 and that will give you a weekly rate.  Dividing that number by 7 will give your TTD daily rate.

If the injury causes the worker to lose more than three working days the worker is entitled to begin drawing temporary total disability benefits on the fourth day.  If the worker is unable to return to work for more than fourteen days or more, the benefits will begin on the first day of injury.  A worker should receive his benefits within 14 days of the employer's notice of the injury.  If it is takes longer, the worker should receive a written communication from the employer explaining the reason they have not received benefits.  If the worker does not receive his benefits in a timely manner an attorney's advice is needed. 

There is no time limit for payments of temporary total disability.  It will continue to be paid until the doctor releases the worker to return to his job.  There are no limits for this benefit as long as the worker is not released for work. 

If a doctor releases the injured worker for "light" duty but the employer cannot accommodate the worker for restricted or light duty, temporary total disability payments will continue.  Some worker's comp insurance companies will find ways to justify the ending of these benefits.  They may ask a company doctor or an independent third-party examiner see the injured worker. 

If an employee works two jobs when he is injured, the temporary total disability payments will be based on all the jobs he works.  This could change if the employer where he was injured did not have prior knowledge the worker was working a second or third job. 

As you can see, worker's comp and temporary total disability payments are meant to benefit an injured worker.  You may need an attorney's advice and help to collect what is because of you because of your injury.