Workers’ compensation benefits can include medical care paid for by your employer to help you recover for your injury; temporary disability payments if you lose wages because of your injury; permanent disability benefits if you do not recover completely, and your injury causes a permanent loss of function; supplemental job displacement benefits to help pay for retraining. And, death benefits to a spouse, children or other dependents for a job-related death.
In order to determine which benefits, you are eligible for, several issues will have to be addressed; are you able to continue working? Did you receive a permanent disability? Do you have workplace restrictions? Are you able to work in any capacity?
What Types of Benefits Does Workers’ Compensation Include?
- Medical benefits– which is paid by your employer to assist your recovery from injury or illness related to work.
- Temporary Disability benefits – while you recover from your injury, which are payments if you lose wages due to your injury, which stop you from doing your normal job while you recover.
- Permanent Disability benefits – which are payments if you don’t recover completely.
- Supplemental Job Displacement Benefits – which is available for injuries that occurred in 2004 or after, and includes, vouchers to help pay for retraining or skill enhancement if your do not recover completely and do not return to work for your employer.
- Death benefits – workers’ compensation, also provides for death benefits if a loved one passes away due to a work-related injury. Death benefits are payments to your spouse, children or other dependents if you die from a job injury or illness.
- as well as reimbursement for mileage and incidental expenses related to medical treatment.
If you were injured in 2004 or later and have permanent, you may be eligible to receive a supplemental job displacement benefit “SJDB”. The type of SJDB you may eligible to receive depends upon your date of injury and whether you were offered suitable work by your employer. A SJDB is a voucher that helps you pay for educational re-training, at eligible schools. The voucher may be used for tuition, fees, books, tools, or other expenses required for retraining. It also may include personal certification fees, and or related examinations. Up to $600 of the voucher may be used for the services of a placement agency, or vocational/return to work counselor. Up to $1000 may be used to purchase a computer. Up to $500 may be used upon request for various expenses. The total value of the voucher is up to $6000. Please contact one of our attorneys for more detail.
Remember after your injury or illness occurs your employer must;
- provide a claim form to you within 1 working day, of when the injury or illness was reported
- return a completed copy of the form within one working day of receipt
- forward the claim form to the insurance administrator within one working day of receipt
- within one working day of receiving your claim, your insurance administer should authorize up to $10,000 in medical treatment, unless the claim is denied.
- Your employer must provide light if appropriate