The answer to what is my workers comp case worth in Wisconsin depends on many factors, including the type of injury, the date of injury, whether the injury is temporary or permanent, the injured worker’s rate of pay and other issues.
The type of injury is important because in Wisconsin, different body parts and compensated in varying amounts and the extent of injury also factors into the money dollar value of the case. For example, a permanent back injury rated at 5% has a higher money value than a permanent shoulder injury rated at 5%.
A temporary injury may involve temporary total disability checks while an injured worker is in his period of healing, but if the doctor does not assign any permanent disability rating, there are no permanent disability benefits available.
Both temporary disability and permanent disability workers compensation benefits depend in part on how much money the injured worker was earning at the time of the injury. This date of injury is the date a traumatic injury happened but its more complicated to determine the date of injury for a work injury or condition that occurs over time. An over time or occupational injury date of injury is usually the date an employee first misses work due to the disability or the last date of work for the employer whose job duties contributed to the condition.
The most significant difference in determining how much money a workers compensation case is worth in Wisconsin, is whether the injury is scheduled or nonscheduled. A scheduled injury is a leg or arm injury and the dollar value is set by a schedule in the statutes. A scheduled injury is worth the number of weeks listed in the statute times the percentage loss of use assigned by a doctor. On the other hand, an unscheduled or nonscheduled injury, which is typically to the head, neck, back, chest or abdomen is based on a 1,000 weeks of disability times the loss of earning capacity percentage assigned by a vocational specialist. Only unscheduled injuries are eligible for a loss of earning capacity evaluation.
Both scheduled and unscheduled injuries are eligible for vocational retraining benefits if the injured worker has permanent work-related restrictions which prevent him or her from returning to his employer earning 85% to 90% of what they were earning at the time of injury. Vocational retraining includes TTD being paid during the periods of schooling.
In Milwaukee, Wisconsin McCormick Law Office attorneys get the best results in workers compensation cases by asking doctors to assign an appropriate permanent partial disability percentage and any permanent work restrictions and before determining the benefits money value in an honest and trustworthy manner.
