What You Need To Know About Receiving Cash Benefits

If you are injured on the job, your employer should be paying for any necessary medical expenses. When it comes to the money you’d normally be making, that’s a little more complicated.
While you may be receiving medical benefits after a work related accident, your not going to see a dime of the wages you’d normally have coming to you for the first seven days you are disabled. Once you’re out of work for eight days though, it’s a different story. At this point, you’re entitled to your regular pay AND once you’ve been out of work for fourteen days, you’ll start to see some of the money you would have been making during your first seven days of being disabled.
HOWEVER, you will not be receiving the entirety of your paycheck. There’s a basic formula used to determine how much you are entitled to:
2/3 x average weekly wage x % of disability = weekly benefit
So when Kyle, who makes $300/week working in a toll booth is partially (50%) disabled when a car speeds by as he’s handing out a ticket and breaks his left hand, he is entitled to a weekly benefit of 100 dollars.
If Kyle steps out of his booth and gets hit by a car and is completely (100%) disabled, he is entitled to a weekly benefit of 200 dollars.
If you return to work but can not earn as much money as a result of your injury, you may be entitled to a cash benefit that gives you 2/3 of what you’re missing.
See the table on this page for a description of the maximum weekly benefits you are entitled to.