If you have been injured at work, your injuries entitle you to workers’ compensation in Minnesota. MN workers’ compensation payouts come out of the pockets of your employer’s workers’ comp insurance provider. These shoulder everything from your lost wages to your medical expenses.
MN workers’ compensation payouts can vary in amount. It depends on several factors, including certain fixed dollar amounts set by the state. Our workers’ compensation lawyers in Minnesota can help you calculate the right payout amount and perhaps obtain more money for you depending on the circumstances.
Read on to learn more about how much you can receive for your work-related injuries in Minnesota.
Waiting Period for MN Workers’ Compensation Payouts
A waiting period refers to the time you are unable to work as a result of your injury until you receive compensation. Depending on the type of injury, you can continue receiving compensation even when you return to work. This is especially the case if you are eligible for temporary partial disability benefits.
The waiting period begins on the first day of your disability. In Minnesota, a physician declares your disability along with permanence and impairment ratings. These ratings will be crucial in the calculation of your workers’ compensation benefits later on, as well as the type you can receive.
From the first day of your disability, your employer’s insurance provider counts the days you are on benefits. The days that will be counted are your regular working days and not your non-scheduled days.
For each day within the waiting period that you are unable to work or work fully, you will be entitled to wage loss benefits. You will receive payment for each day of work you miss. The amount will depend on the severity of your injuries and the benefits to which your injuries entitle you.
Temporary Partial Disability (TPD): Two-thirds of the Difference Between the Pre- and Post-injury Wages
Temporary partial benefits are for injured employees who can resume work at a lighter or reduced capacity. If you receive an impairment rating from a physician that allows you to work a lighter designation, you can receive TPD benefits. You receive TPD benefits on top of your average weekly wage as you continue to work.
TPD benefits are calculated by subtracting your average weekly wage after the injury from how much you used to make before your injury. Two-thirds of the resulting difference will be the TPD benefits you will receive on top of your current post-injury weekly wage.
For example, let’s say you sustained a lower back injury from lifting a heavy box. This meant that you could not work following the injury. However, your employer offered you a different designation that involved desk work. This will allow your back to recover but is a lower-paying task at your place of work.
Before you sustained your injury, you earned $1,200 per week. The new task you have been assigned pays $1,000. If we were to calculate the difference between your pre and post-injury weekly wage, we would end up with $200.
Two-thirds of $200 is about $133.33. Hence, with your post-injury wages and your TPD MN workers’ compensation payout, you’ll receive a total of $1,133.33 weekly. You can receive TPD benefits for up to 250 weeks from the first day of your injury.
Temporary Total Disability (TTD): Two-thirds of the Pre-injury Weekly Wage
For sustaining an injury that bars you from work altogether temporarily, you will be entitled to TTD benefits. TTD benefits are worth two-thirds of how much you were making weekly before sustaining your injury.
On TTD benefits, you will continue to receive two-thirds of your weekly wages weekly on bi-weekly, depending on your company’s practices of remuneration. To get a better idea of what this benefit amounts to, let us examine another scenario.
You were operating a forklift one day, and the brakes were not functioning. Suddenly, you slam into a pile of heavy boxes. The resulting crash caused significant injuries to your shoulders, neck, lower back, and knees. The severity of the injuries was so great that you would not be able to report for work for two months, according to the physician’s impairment and permanence ratings.
During the time of your injury, you were earning $1,000 per week. Now that you are on TTD benefits, your payout would amount to two-thirds of that amount which is $667 (rounded to the nearest whole number).
While you are off work, you will continue to receive this amount for up to 130 weeks. The benefit will cease if you either recover fully or return to work.
Permanent Partial Disability (PPD): Depends on Your Impairment Rating
Workers’ compensation lawyers in Minnesota determine PPD benefits dollar amount equivalents determined by the state’s statutes. According to Minnesota’s Revisor of Statutes, impairment ratings decide how much you can receive as compensation.
For example, if you sustain a hip injury on the job that permanently prevents you from bending 90 degrees, a physician might assign an impairment rating of 22% (5223.0170 Subpart A.3). Based on the current PPD benefit schedules, your impairment rating of 22% entitles you to $99,800.
Your employer may pay this as a lump sum or in installments. Should you choose to receive the amount in a lump sum, your employer’s insurance provider will have 30 days to render payment. If you choose to receive your PPD benefit in installments, you can receive installment payments until the total amount has been paid.
Permanent Total Disability (PTD): Two-thirds of Average Weekly Wages Until 72
Employees who meet the following conditions are entitled to permanent total disability benefits:
- Those who lose limbs
- The victims of sensory loss of any kind
- Workers whose injuries result in total or partial paralysis
- Employees whose injuries bring about declines in cognitive functions
According to the state’s compensation schedules, the recipients of PTD benefits will receive two-thirds of their weekly wages in the same way they were paid before the work-related injury. Recipients of this benefit will continue to receive PTD benefits until the age of 72.
Learn More About MN Workers’ Compensation Payouts
Have you been injured on the job? Osterbauer Law will be more than happy to accommodate your inquiries, concerns, and needs for legal counsel and representation.
From determining the right amount of compensation you can receive to advocating for your interests, we are here for you. Give us a call today and let’s talk about getting the compensation that you deserve and more.
