Once you return to a less paying job after an accident, you should still receive temporary partial disability benefits. However, there are certain situations where men and women do not get these disability benefits. Whether someone gets their benefits is dependent on the type of situation he or she are experiencing.

When You Should Receive Temporary Disability Benefits

Your doctor may clear you to return to the workforce, but limit the hours you are allowed to work due to the lingering effects of your injury. If you are forced to work fewer hours, you will obviously make less money.

Your doctor can also restrict the places in which you can work after an injury. If your worker’s compensation approved doctor sees that you have improved enough to work, but not enough that you can return the possibly dangerous job that caused you your injury, they could limit the places you can work. That often means finding a low paying part time job for most workers’ compensation users

In both situations, workers’ compensation should subsidize you for the wages you would have been making if you were at your old job.

How much partial temporary disability should I get?

To learn how much partial disability will subsidize for you, you must compare your two wages. The first wage is what you can earn after the accident, and the second should be the salary you receive weekly from you worker’s compensation claim. Your worker’s compensation wage will reflect your payments before your accident.

The total amount of partial disability you will receive will be calculated as two-thirds of the difference between the two payments. The maximum you can receive is $383 a week.

As an example, suppose you were making an average weekly wage of $800. When your doctor cleared you to return to the workforce, the job you took only pays you $500 a week. So the difference between the two wages is $300. The amount of your weekly subsidizing check will be two-thirds that difference. Therefore, your weekly worker’s compensation check will be $200.

How often will you receive your temporary partial disability benefits?

The receiving of temporary partial disability benefits can be quite confusing because the amount you receive may change from week to week. Also, your employer has the right to choose two different methods of choosing how much of your partial compensation to give. The first option is that they give you your check with an amount that is based on your week to week wages. They may also elect to have the check payout depending on a number of your wages for every thirteen weeks.

Regardless of the method your employer chooses, they should still pay you your temporary partial disability every week while you are injured. The only difference between the two different methods is whether the calculate you check to your weekly wages or the average over thirteen weeks.

It is your responsibility to ensure that the insurance company is paying you fairly. Insurance companies and employers often mess up and fail to pay you weekly. They also may attempt to use the thirteen-week method to avoid adjusting for under or overpay at the end of each thirteen-week period. You should look over all of your checks at the end of each thirteen-week period you are injured to ensure you are getting what you are owed.

Time limit on temporary partial disability benefits

Georgia poses deadlines for how long someone may work at a lower paying job and still draw temporary partial disability benefits. You may receive temporary partial disability benefits for as many as 350 weeks after your injury. While that may seem like a great and excessive amount of time, it is not uncommon for injuries to leave people with permanent damage that prohibits them from returning to their old position for a long time, if ever.

Events that may cause your temporary partial disability benefits to stop

If you return to work, you will no longer have your temporary partial disability benefits. If a doctor clears you to return to your old job without restrictions, you will also lose your temporary partial disability benefits.

If you get a raise at your temporary lower paying part-time job, the amount of money you will receive every week will be diminished.

If you believe that you are not being treated fairly by your employer or worker’s compensation insurance provider, call our office. We specialize in workers’ compensation and work-related injuries in Atlanta and can help you receive the benefits you deserve so that you can get back on your feet.