What workers comp benefits are available if hurt on the job in Wisconsin are generally temporary total disability or TTD benefits while you are off work and in your period of healing. TTD benefits are two-thirds of your weekly gross pay (does not include fringe benefits) and there is a maximum limit that changes every year. To get TTD, it is very important that the doctor your are treating with gives you an off work slip cover all the dates you cannot work or have restrictions which the employer cannot accommodate. In addition, the employer or its workers’ compensation insurance company is responsible to pay for your work-related medical treatment. They are also responsible for your mileage to and from the doctor’s appointments but this is something you must keep track of an submit yourself to the insurance company, they usually do not offer to pay mileage unless you specifically ask.
At the end of healing, as determined by your doctor, if you have lingering effects in the nature of a permanent injury, the doctor may assign a permanent partial disability percentage to the injured body part. For example, an injury to a single disc level is often assessed at five percent. If you have a work-related permanent partial disability rating then the workers compensation insurance company is responsible to pay PPD benefits as determined by statute and based in part on the date of injury and your gross wage rate. Usually the maximum PPD rate applies but not always.
If you cannot return to your job because of work-related permanent restrictions which the employer cannot give you a job back after a work injury, you may be entitled to loss of earing capacity or vocational retraining benefits. Loss of earning capacity benefits are only available with nonscheduled injuries, most often to the back, neck or head. Vocational rehabilitation benefits are available to you for scheduled or nonscheduled injuries, but only if the employer cannot hire you back because of work-related restrictions at approximately 90% of your pre-injury wage rate.
When employees call asking what workers comp benefits do I get if I’m hurt on the job, most often they have already been denied by the worker’s compensation insurance company adjuster using an IME doctor or independent medical examiner. We see construction workers and factory workers who are hurt on the job but do not realize that the job duties over time caused their back injury or neck injury. McCormick Law Office in Milwaukee, Wisconsin has attorneys experienced in workers compensation back injury and back surgery claims. Benefits obtained for TTD, PPD and medical treatment depend on the support of treating physician and surgeons.
