Temporary Total Disability Benefits

Work-related injuries can happen in a wide range of ways. Many of these injuries happen in the workplace during the performance of the worker’s regular duties. For some employees, however, a work-related injury might take the form of a rear-end collision while making a delivery for the employer, for example, or a slip and fall at a customer’s place of business. Regardless of the circumstances giving rise to a workers’ compensation claim, the Middlesex County workers’ compensation lawyers at Siegel & Siegel, P.C., are here to help people who have been hurt on the job in Middlesex and Mercer Counties seek temporary total disability benefits if these benefits are appropriate for their injury or condition.

Just as the name suggests, temporary total disability (TTD) benefits are payable when a worker who has been injured in the course and scope of his or her employment is temporarily totally disabled due to an accident or work-related illness. In order to qualify for TTD benefits, the employee must be off work for at least seven days. In some situations, the employee’s doctor may have released him or her to return to work with certain restrictions, such as limited lifting, sitting, or standing. If the employer cannot accommodate these limitations, however, the employee may be entitled to TTD benefits even if his or her physical condition does totally prevent him or her from doing some type of work.

Workers who are injured on the job are required to give their employer notice of the accident or illness within a certain time period. The employer is then required to furnish the employee with medical benefits at the employer or its workers’ compensation insurance company’s expense. As the case progresses, the employee may also need to file a claim petition or an application for a hearing in order to have his or her entitlement to benefits determined by an administrative judge. TTD benefits do not replace a worker’s regular wages dollar for dollar; instead, these benefits are paid at a rate of 70% of the employee’s pre-injury wages, subject to a minimum and maximum set by state law.

Temporary total disability benefits cannot be paid indefinitely. Generally, they end when a worker returns to his or her employment or reaches a point of maximum medical improvement (MMI). If the injured employee is still unable to work after reaching MMI, he or she may be able to receive permanent total disability (PTD) benefits. Again, these benefits are paid at a rate of 70% of the worker’s average weekly wage and are subject to an upper and lower cap, as well as a maximum number of weeks payable.

If you have been hurt at work, it is important that you talk to an attorney about your legal rights, even if you believe that your employer and its insurance company are “doing the right thing” at the moment. This situation could change in an instant, heightening the financial strain on your family and putting your future at risk. Furthermore, there may be issues that a workers’ compensation attorney’s well-trained eye can spot early in the process, preventing complications and maximizing the value of your case.

Workers who have been hurt on the job in New Jersey have a right to hire an attorney to represent them in proceedings involving their entitlement to workers’ compensation benefits. At Siegel & Siegel, P.C., we handle these cases in Plainsboro, Cranbury, South Brunswick, North Brunswick, New Brunswick, Edison, Piscataway, Trenton, Princeton, Hamilton, and West Windsor, as well as other areas of Middlesex, Mercer, Burlington, Monmouth, and Union Counties. We can be reached for an appointment online or at 609-799-6066. We also handle slip and fall lawsuits and other personal injury claims outside the workplace context. Just as with other personal injury cases, we do not require an upfront legal fee in order to get started on your case, so there is no reason to put off the call.