What if your workers' comp pay is short or non-existent?
The law requires that they document the rate of pay using information from the employer supplied to you about your average pay before the injury. The average should be for the last 13 weeks before the injury, if possible.
This should be 70%of lost pay and should include fringe benefits (health insurance, uniforms, meals, housing, etc.).
Often insurance carriers will short you on your benefits by going off an estimate of your wages rather than pushing the employer to supply accurate records of your wages. An attorney can audit the pay rate to validate the compensation is accurate. Even if you don't think you are being shorted, an erroneously high compensation rate can come back to bite you as the insurance may correct it later and claim an overpayment, leaving you with a tiny fraction of your pay.
Workers’ compensation payments are usually one of four basic kinds: temporary income benefits (lost wages at 70% of pay following an injury), impairment income benefits (70% of pay, compensation for permanent damage regardless of work status), supplemental income benefits (64% of lost pay for serious injuries preventing a return to pre-injury wages), and lifetime income benefits (the most severe injuries, such as paralysis, blindness, disabling brain injuries, severe burns over much of the body, and amputation). Most injuries start as temporary income benefits.
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