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The workers’ compensation injury lawyers at DiMarco | Araujo | Montevideo know how confusing the workers’ compensation system can be to someone who has never needed it before. We are not confused as we have made it our career to help people who have been hurt at work since 1979. The following is general information meant to educate you about the temporary disability payment system. We would be happy to set up a free initial consultation and case evaluation to discuss and help you with your specific injury and case. Feel free to contact us at any time at (714) 783-2205 to discuss your specific questions and areas of concern. We are an experienced law firm that has helped thousands of injured employees with their workers’ compensation claims, third-party cases, and personal injury cases.
TD (Temporary disability) benefits are payments to you if you lose out on wages due to the fact that your injury prevents you from doing your usual job while you recover. Yes, there are different kinds as there are two types of temporary disability benefits that you may qualify for. If you are unable to work whatsoever during your recovery, you could receive TTD (temporary total disability) benefits. If you are able to do some amount of work while you recover, you may receive TPD (temporary partial disability) benefit payments.
Generally, temporary disability pays 2/3 of the pre-tax wages that you lose during your recovery from a job injury or work accident. However, there is a maximum weekly amount that you cannot go over. Call us so we can give you the current maximum number. Your wages are determined by using all the different types of income that you receive from your job: wages, lodging, tips, food, overtime, commissions, and bonuses. You should start preparing the proof of these earnings now so you can give it to the claims administrator.
For injuries occurring after the start of the year 2007, the minimum TTD rate is $132.25 per week, regardless of earnings. This helps protect low-wage workers. This means that even if you make less than $198.38 per week, you will still be entitled to the minimum TTD weekly payment of $132,25 (if you successfully win the workers’ comp claim). Call our firm today as the minimum TTD is most likely different (higher) as it is re-calculated each January 1st based on changes to the SAWW.
You deserve an explanation so be sure that you or your lawyer puts in a call to the claims administrator and/or your employer. The local DWC information & assistance officer is also there to assist you in the case of these situations.
Temporary disability payments will begin when your doctor has said in writing that you can’t do your usual work for more than three days or whenever you get hospitalized overnight. Temporary disability usually stops when you return to work. Two other situations where the temporary disability payments may stop are when your doctor releases you for work or when they say your injury has improved as much as it is going to. Furthermore, the DWC office has limits on how many weeks in a row you can receive TD payments but that changes constantly so call us for the current limit. You can also file a state disability insurance (SDI) claim with the Employment Development Department. You should file this claim even if your workers’ comp case is accepted. This will allow you to get SDI payments after TD payments stop if you are still too sick or hurt to go back to work.
That can sometimes be the case. If the claims administrator can’t immediately determine whether your injury is covered by workers’ compensation, they may delay your first temporary disability payment while investigating the work accident or job injury. Typically, a delay is not longer than ninety days. If there is a delay for your first TD payment, the claims administrator is required to send you a letter describing the delay. That letter must explain in writing why you will not receive payments, what additional information the claim administrator needs and when a decision on your injury case will be made. If there are even more delays, the claims administrator must send you additional delay letters. Your claim is considered accepted (in most cases) if the claims administrator does not send you a letter denying your claim within ninety days after you filed the claim form. Regardless, it is a good idea to keep in contact with the claims administrator so you are aware of the current status of the claim.
It depends on many factors but it is possible. If the claims administrator sends a payment late, they must pay you an additional 10% of the payment. This remains true even if there was a reasonable excuse for the delay. In the case of there not being a reasonable excuse for the delay, you could be awarded a larger extra payment. Keep in mind, though, that there is not going to be a penalty if the claims administrator sends you a delay letter as explained in the previous section.
If you want clarification as to how the above laws, rules and situations apply to your specific situation or if you have any other question, please feel free to call us. We want to help you and your family in whatever way we can. All initial case consultations and evaluations are free. You will not incur any legal fees or costs for our time and assistance unless we win the case. Our Orange County work injury attorneys are ready and available to meet at our office, your home, or hospital room Monday – Friday 8:30 am to 5:30 pm. If you prefer evenings or weekends, we are also available then by appointment. We are well known throughout Southern California and Orange County as ethical workers’ compensation attorneys. Thank you for reading this page on temporary disability payments and we hope that it has helped you become more informed about this complicated topic. Contact our attorneys today at (714) 783-2205.