When you are injured at work, it could restrict your ability to perform necessary job duties. When your employer cannot reassign you to light-duty work, you could qualify for temporary total disability workers’ compensation payments. The well-versed workers’ compensation attorneys at Smith Hulsey Law could help you understand your options for pursuing compensation and advocate for you to receive just payment.
To have the best chance of a successful claim and to receive the total amount according to your work history and disability status, you could benefit from calculating temporary total disability payments in Gainesville workers’ compensation claims with one of our skilled lawyers.
Temporary total disability (TTD) benefits in Gainesville are available when an employee sustains a workplace injury that results in a disability that prevents them from performing their ordinary work and, therefore, filing a workers’ compensation claim. However, though the injury is considered total—as in the inability to use one’s right arm because it was broken in a job site accident—the inability to work is likely only temporary.
A physician must write and sign an official doctor’s note saying the worker cannot work for more than seven consecutive days. Workers who are only out for seven days cannot receive benefits, but those out for at least 21 days will be paid for all the days they cannot work. Employees should receive their first TTD paycheck sometime within the first 21 days. After that, the worker should make weekly payments.
Employees should follow workers’ compensation guidelines and rules, or the Georgia State Board of Worker’s Compensation (SBWC) can terminate benefits. One specific law that every employee receiving TTD benefits must follow is not performing an alternative job. This rule applies even if they had a second job before being hurt at their primary place of employment.
In addition to ending their benefits, if SBWC finds a TTD recipient is working a second job, they can demand payment of all the workers’ compensation benefits paid to the Gainesville worker while working the second job. If SBWC determines a worker was over-paid benefits because of it, they could get a court order to take away the worker’s wages and their tax returns.
The SBWC uses a specific formula to calculate disability payments, but the method is slightly different depending on the type of disability classification. The state has four workers’ compensation disability categories:
When calculating an employee’s weekly benefit amount for TTD, the insurer and SBWC look at the worker’s last 13 weeks of work and other factors. The result is usually a benefit payment of two-thirds of the employee’s average weekly wages. When a worker is relatively new to their job and does not have 13 weeks of wages, the insurer and SBWC will apply a similarly situated formula by looking at the average weekly wages of a similarly situated employee and use that amount to determine the worker’s temporary total disability.
Though the TTD benefit amount is usually two-thirds of the worker’s average weekly wages, state workers’ compensation law restricts weekly benefits amounts to no more than $600 and $75. The maximum TTD benefit time limit is 400 weeks. Workers whose disability status changes to permanent total disability can still receive TTD payments since state law does not have a classification for permanent total disability. After 400 weeks, workers can apply for social security disability.
Calculating temporary total disability payments in a workers’ compensation claim could be challenging, and consulting a Gainesville attorney may be wise. Our skilled legal professionals at Smith Hulsey Law could effectively file a hurt worker’s claim so that they could receive the maximum amount of TTD benefits based on their case.
When applying for workers’ compensation benefits, seeking help from a local lawyer at Smith Hulsey Law is crucial. Though employees can apply for workers’ compensation benefits, they could receive incorrect weekly payment amounts. Our attorneys could help you understand the process so that payments are correct.
Workers could get the results they deserve with a lawyer helping them accurately calculate temporary total disability payments in Gainesville workers’ compensation claims. Call, chat, or stop by our office to set up an initial consultation with one of our attorneys today.
Smith Hulsey Law
Tap Here For Free Case consult 