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Schedule of Benefits Impacting Workers’ Comp Amount

Joanow Legal Group March 31, 2020

Being hired to do a certain job or task, employees are typically aware of the known risks involved with his or her employment. However, it is not just these known dangers that could result in a workplace injury. When workers in Pennsylvania and elsewhere suffer an injury on-the-job, it is common for an employee to consider their options, especially when it comes to seeking workers’ compensation. But what some employees do not consider is the fact that what state an employee works in can greatly impact how much workers’ comp an injured worker actually gets.

Workers may not be aware that there can be a great disparity when it comes to benefits for a work-related injury or illness. This is because Congress has allowed each state to determine the benefits it allows when it comes to workers’ compensation. There are no federal minimums, which means that workers who simply live across state lines could experience vastly different outcomes for essentially the same injuries.

Pennsylvania, like all other states, has a schedule of benefits. This is comparative to an Angus beef cart, as it divides the body up. Depending on the body part impacted, a worker is awarded a portion of their wages, up to the state maximum, for a set number of weeks.

Depending on the state and how the schedule of benefits looks, this can vary tremendously. Take for example the loss of an arm. Alabama finds that this injury is worth up to $48,840 while Ohio puts it at $193,950 and Illinois calculates it at $439,858. These differences are huge, and the only varying factor is the state in which the injured worker works.

Because there is a gray area when it comes to being deemed temporary total disabled and permanent total disabled, a severely injured worker could find him or herself in financial hardship. Therefore, it is important to consider the legal options when it comes to receive all the benefits one is entitled to.

A workplace injury could completely alter a person’s life. When an injury is severe, it could impact one’s personal and professional life. A work injury goes beyond the pain associated with the injury. Losses and damages can also amount to emotional and mental pain and financial losses. Workers’ compensation benefits could help a worker offset these losses and help them return back to their normal life.