Thomas E. Davis provides the following answers to questions our team frequently encounter in advising and assisting clients on matters related to workers’ comp in Akron and surrounding areas:

• What is workers’ compensation?
• What are the types of benefits I am entitled to?
• How much is wage replacement?

What is workers’ compensation?

Workers’ compensation is an insurance-based program run by the state that covers employees from the first minute of their employment for on-the-job injuries, which can range from the minor to the extremely serious, including death. The law requires the employer to pay workers’ compensation benefits to employees to compensate them for work-related injuries or illnesses. The injury or illness can be related to a single specific event, such as falling and hurting your back, or repeated on-the-job exposure, such as losing your hearing due to constant loud noise. Regardless, the key is that the injury or illness is caused by your job. A knowledgeable and experienced Akron area workers’ comp attorney can help you understand any aspect of workers’ compensation law and assist you through the process of obtaining benefits.

What are the types of benefits I am entitled to?

• Workers’ comp insurance provides the following benefits to injured employees, which should be discussed in greater detail with a knowledgeable Akron area workers’ compensation attorney serving your particular area:
• Reasonable and necessary medical care to cure, relieve and otherwise assist you in your recovery from a work-related injury, including doctor bills, medicines and crutches, hospital fees, lab tests, x-rays, and travel expenses for necessary medical treatment.
• Tax-free temporary disability benefits to compensate you for lost wages during your recovery period and the time you are unable to perform your regular job in whole or in part. If you can’t work at all during this time, you will receive temporary total disability (TTD) benefits, and if you are able to work some, but less than your full schedule, you will receive wage-loss benefits.
• Permanent partial disability (PPD) benefits to compensate you in the event you do not completely recover from your injury or illness, as determined by a doctor’s evaluation.
• A vocational rehabilitation program which can provide supplemental job displacement benefits for education-related training or skill enhancement, in the event you are unable to recover from your injury or illness and can’t return to work for your employer.
• Death benefits as determined by state law that are paid to your spouse or other dependents if you die from a work-related injury or illness.

How much are the wage replacement benefits?

• Temporary disability benefits are paid at a statutory percentage of the injured worker’s wages at the time the injury took place, subject to statutory minimums and maximums. Permanent disability benefits are fixed by statue and are determined based on your disability rating, date of injury and your wages before your injury occurred.