Injured workers in Connecticut are entitled to several workers’ compensation benefits. The actual amount of the benefits depends on the nature of the injuries and the employee’s ability to work, among other factors.
What Are Temporary Disability Benefits?
An employee receives temporary disability benefits if they can’t work or earn their usual wages while recuperating from work-related illness or injury. Your employee will receive temporary benefits until they get back to work or when their doctor decides they’ve reached MMI (maximum medical improvement). This means the condition isn’t likely to improve any further.
Types of Temporary Disability Benefits
- Temporary Total Disability
If a worker is unable to work while recovering, they are entitled to TTD (temporary total disability) benefits that amount to 75% of their average weekly wages before the injury (Conn. Gen. Stat. §§ 301-307(a), 301-309 (2022).
- Temporary Partial Disability
If your employee is partially incapacitated but can perform light work or work part-time, they are entitled to partial disability benefits. The partial disability benefits should be 75% of the difference between the current net compensation for the employee’s pre and post-injury wages. However, these benefits cannot exceed the statewide average for workers in the manufacturing sector, which is currently at $1,370. (Conn. Gen. Stat. § 3-308(a) (2022).
Types of Permanent Disability Benefits for Connecticut Employees
Once your employee reaches the MMI stage, their doctor will determine if they have any permanent disability due to the illness or injury and the level of disability.
- Permanent Partial Disability
Your employee will be entitled to PPD (permanent partial disability) benefits if they’ve lost the use of their body parts due to work-related illness or injury. A workers’ comp law schedule lists various body parts and the compensation necessary when the function of said parts is lost either partially or completely.
- Permanent Total Disability Benefits
If an illness leaves your employee completely incapable of doing any kind of work and they’ve reached MMI, they’ll continue to receive benefits (the same amount as their TTD benefits) for as long as they are completely disabled. The benefits include yearly cost-of-living adjustments.
Additional Workers’ Comp Benefits in Connecticut
- Medical benefits – Your insurer must provide reasonable and necessary medical care as well as prescription drugs to workers suffering work-related illness or injury (without any deductible or copays).
- Vocational rehabilitation – If an employee can’t return to their previous job role due to illness or injury, your insurer may be required to pay for their retraining.
- Burial expenses and death benefits – If an employee passes on due to an occupational illness or work-related accident, your workers’ comp policy pays death benefits to eligible dependents. If the eligible survivors completely depended on the deceased worker, your insurer will pay the death benefits at a similar rate to TTD benefits, with cost-of-living adjustments.
For workers’ compensation and employer’s liability insurance that will adequately protect you and your workers, contact us at Reardon Agency Insurance today.
Comments are closed.
