As a worker, suffering an injury or illness while at the workplace entitles you to protection and compensation under the Minnesota Workers’ Compensation Act. In fact, your employers are mandated to purchase workers’ comp insurance for all their employees. Failure to do so endangers employees and the business and makes the employer susceptible to lawsuits.
Depending on the insurance provider, your workers’ comp insurance usually covers the following:
- Diseases related to your occupation
- Physical trauma and qualifying mental injuries
- Recurring work injuries
While you can rest assured that your employer covers you with workers’ comp insurance, you may wonder how exactly your benefits are calculated.
In this post, your
Workers Compensation Attorney MN will outline all the things you need to know regarding benefit calculation for workers’ comp in Minnesota.
Worker’s Comp Insurance Coverage
First, you should know what things are covered by your workers’ comp insurance. After all, you can only get your workers’ comp pay if the injuries you sustain fall under these provisions.
For instance, you cannot get workers’ comp pay if you were intoxicated when injured, even if the incident happened at your workplace. Similarly, you can’t expect benefits if you intentionally hurt yourself while working. Of course, workers’ comp pay will also not be satisfied if you injure yourself outside your work.
However, qualifying for workers’ comp pay will mean that you’ll receive:
- Coverage for your medical costs, which includes transportation
- Wage-loss benefits to cover a portion of your lost income
- Benefits for permanent and temporary bodily injuries
- Death benefits for your surviving dependent and partner
- Other benefits such as rehabilitation therapies
If you want to learn more about
Workman Injury Compensation Minneapolis, then read further or contact Osterbauer Law Firm for a free consultation.
Calculating Your Wage
Now that you’ve made sure you’re qualified for workers’ comp pay, how exactly will you know that you’re receiving the right amount of benefit?
The answer lies in your average weekly wage. We’ll multiply your daily wage rate by the number of days worked for your employer in one week. Your weekly salary can include the following:
- Tips: This income can be included in your weekly wage income if you prove that tips were routinely made for you during the week.
- Overtime: Some occupations require regular overtime from their employees. You can include overtime for your weekly wage calculation if you’re employed in these occupations.
How about employees that are only working part-time? Are they entitled to workers’ comp pay as well?
The answer is yes. Part-time and irregular employees are still entitled to workers’ comp benefits. To calculate your benefit, just add all your wages, vacation, and holiday pay in the 26 weeks before your injury. Afterward, divide the total amount by the number of days worked. Furthermore, if your status changed from part-time to full-time in the 26 weeks before your injury, you should use your full-time wage to calculate your benefit.
At most, employees are entitled to $850 per week as compensation. The minimum weekly paycheck can be as low as $130 or your actual weekly wage, whichever is lower.
You can consult with a
Workers Compensation Attorney MN if you’re unsure of your wage and benefit calculations.
Temporary Disability Benefits
There will be instances when you’re injured temporarily. Luckily, the Minnesota Workers’ Comp Act can cover both total and temporary partial disabilities for employees.
Temporary Total Disability
A temporary total disability means that you’re unable to work for a period after sustaining an injury. You will be entitled to ⅔ of your average weekly wage, which will change every October based on the statewide weekly average wage.
Your benefits will end if you meet any of the following conditions:
- You successfully return to work
- You reach 130 days of receiving workers’ comp benefits
- 90 days after your doctor declared that your medical condition has reached maximum medical improvement (MMI).
Temporary Partial Disability
In contrast, a temporary partial disability means that you can do some work but earn less for a while.
Your benefit will be ⅔ of the difference between your wage before and after your injury. This benefit can reach the maximum amount of temporary total disability benefits. However, you can only receive these benefits for 250 weeks of receiving the payment or 450 weeks after sustaining the injury, whichever comes first.
Permanent Disability Benefits
However, suppose you still have your injury after reaching your maximum medical improvement (MMI). In that case, you can be eligible for permanent disability injuries. Like temporary disability benefits, these benefits can also be categorized into total and partial disability.
Permanent Total Disability
These are disabilities characterized by your inability to work because you either lost your arms, legs, vision, mental faculties, and senses exclusively due to your injury. If you fall under this definition, then you can qualify for permanent total disability benefits.
The benefits are ⅔ of your wages before sustaining the injury up to the maximum amount you can get, similar to temporary total disability benefits. However, this amount will be adjusted once you reach $25,000 since you’ll be receiving other disability benefits from the government as well.
Permanent Partial Disability
Unlike other benefits in this list, permanent partial disability relies on a schedule under Minnesota law to determine the compensation you’ll receive.
After your doctor gives your MMI and total body impairment rating, your employers will then refer to the workers’ comp schedule. Afterward, your impairment rating will then be multiplied by the specified dollar amount in the schedule.
To illustrate, if your impairment rating is 35%, then it will be multiplied by $115,500 or $40,425. This benefit can be claimed in a lump sum or through installments. If you want to look at the complete schedule for personal partial disability, please refer to the
Minnesota statute.
Other Workers’ Comp Benefits in Minnesota
Of course, you can also look into other workers’ comp benefits like coverage for medical treatments, necessary travel expenses, and death benefits up to $15,000. You can also use vocational rehabilitation services to reintegrate you into the workplace or find a new job suitable for your physical abilities.
Need Help With Your Workers’ Comp Benefits?
If you’re having trouble claiming your workers’ comp benefits, don’t worry. Our Minnesota lawyers are experts in settling cases for
Workman Injury Compensation Minneapolis. In fact, cases like yours are not uncommon in Minnesota. Osterbauer Law Firm will help you get the compensation you deserve from your employer.
If you’re worried about the costs of working with us, then rest assured that we collect fees based on statutory limitations. This means that we’ll only get our pay once you receive your benefits from your employers, which is 20% of the first $130,000 of your benefits, excluding vocational rehabilitation and medical treatment.
Contact us now for a free, no-obligation consultation.
