How much money can you get from a workers’ comp claim?

On Behalf of Miller, Rosnick, D'Amico, August & Butler

|

Nov 09, 2020

|

Blog

|

The point of workers’ compensation is to provide you financial support so that you can stay off work long enough to recover fully from your injury. Therefore, in addition to covering medical bills and related expenses, it also pays you a weekly wage to replace at least a portion of what you would otherwise earn from your job.

There are several different factors that determinehow much you can receive from work comp on a weekly basis. These include the type of compensation you receive, your regular wages and cost of living adjustments.

Type of compensation

Yourwork comp benefits can be either temporary or permanent, depending on the nature of your injury and whether you return to a pre-injury condition. The extent of your disability determines whether you receive partial or total disability benefits. These distinctions make a difference in the benefits you can receive.

Regular wages

Workers’ compensation pays you a large portion of what you would earn from your weekly wages at work in the absence of injury. Connecticut requires your employer to file a wage statement form detailing this information to the Workers’ Compensation Commission. The WCC then uses the information provided on the form to calculate your weekly work comp benefit amount.

Cost of living adjustments

Expenses related to essentials, such as food, clothing and housing, can go up due to inflation. If you receive total disability benefits from workers’ compensation, the WCC periodicallymakes cost of living adjustments so that benefits can cover your expenses adequately.

The latest recorded COLA took effect on Oct. 1st, 2019, and increased the maximum weekly compensation rate for total disability to $1,328 per week. The basis for this figure is the average weekly earnings of all employees in Connecticut. Your actual compensation rate may vary because of your regular wages.