Learn how Alabama determines the amount of compensation you may be eligible for if you are injured or unwell at work.
If you were injured on the job or got an occupational illness in Alabama, you may be eligible for payments via the state workers’ compensation system. This page describes how the state computes the most significant workers’ compensation payouts.
The precise amount you get will be determined by facts specific to your case, such as the type and degree of your injuries, your ability to return to your usual employment, and how much you were earning at the time of your accident. (To get these benefits, you must submit a workers’ compensation claim and demonstrate that your injury or sickness was caused by your job.)
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In Alabama, can you get workers’ compensation for COVID-19?
Workers’ compensation in Alabama does not cover diseases unless they fit the criteria of an occupational sickness (or develop as a result of an on-the-job accident). An illness must have developed “as a direct consequence of exposure, over a period of time,” to dangers that are unique to a specific profession and that surpass the risks of work in general to be classified an occupational disease. (Alabama Code 25-5-1, 25-5-110 (2020))
In the context of the coronavirus pandemic, most workers would struggle to satisfy that criteria. Some employees, particularly first responders and healthcare personnel who treat sick patients, may be able to establish that the specific working circumstances of their occupations provide a higher-than-average risk of viral exposure. However, even these personnel must demonstrate that they acquired COVID-19 as a consequence of on-the-job exposure over time. It is unclear how Alabama workers’ compensation courts would interpret that statutory requirement.
In response to the coronavirus pandemic, numerous states implemented legislation that makes it simpler for certain frontline workers to get workers’ compensation payments for COVID-19 by assuming that the illness is work-related until the employer shows otherwise. Alabama is not one of these states.
Alabama Temporary Disability Benefits
If your doctor determines that you are unable to perform your regular job duties while healing from your injuries or occupational sickness, you will be eligible for temporary disability compensation. Unless you’ve been incapacitated for 21 days or longer, Alabama has a three-day waiting period before receiving temporary disability compensation. (Alabama Code 25-5-59 (2020))
Total Temporary Disability
When your injuries prohibit you from working throughout your recuperation, you will be entitled to temporary total disability (TTD) compensation. TTD benefits in Alabama are normally two-thirds of your average weekly income (typically based on your earnings over the year before your injury). However, the state establishes maximum and minimum compensation based on average statewide wages. For injuries occurring between July 2020 and June 2021, the maximum TTD payment is $920 per week, with a minimum of $253 unless your pre-injury income were less. (A list of maximum and minimum benefits for previous years is available on the Alabama Department of Labor’s website.)
You should continue to get TTD benefits until you are able to return to work or your doctor believes you have attained “maximum medical improvement,” which implies your health has stabilized and is unlikely to improve further. (Ala. Code 25-5-57(a)(1), (b), and (2020))
Partial Disability on a Temporary Basis
Alabama grants temporary partial disability payments if you can work after your accident but can’t earn as much as you used to, usually because your doctor has limited you to light-duty or part-time employment. These benefits account for two-thirds of the gap between your pre-injury wages and your current earnings. Assume you regularly make $800 per week but can only manage a light-duty job that pays $500 per week. You would get $200 every week (two-thirds of $300).
Alabama limits temporary partial disability compensation to 300 weeks. (Alabama Code 25-5-57 (2020))
Alabama Permanent Partial Disability Benefits
Once you’ve achieved MMI, your doctor will assess you to see whether you have any persistent physical disability as a consequence of your accident and, if so, how severe it is. You will be assigned a percentage of disability as your permanent disability rating. Your lifelong impairment will almost always be partial.
Depending on the type of your condition, Alabama calculates permanent partial disability (PPD) compensation in many ways: scheduled awards based on impairments to specific body parts, awards for disfigurement, and unscheduled awards for additional injuries.
Scheduled Prizes
Alabama law specifies a number of weeks for the loss or loss of use of certain bodily parts, namely the extremities, eyes, and hearing loss. Amputation or total loss of use of an arm, for example, is worth 222 weeks. If you’ve lost partial use of an arm, you’d be eligible for TTD compensation for a certain number of weeks based on the amount of your disability. For example, if you lost 50% of the use of an arm, you would get paid for 111 weeks.
These benefits are worth $220 per week or two-thirds of your pre-injury salary, whichever is less. You may request that the complete amount of your planned award be paid in one lump sum rather than in weekly installments, but this will be granted only if the workers’ compensation judge considers it is in your best interests. Alabama Code 25-5-57(3), 25-5-68, and 25-5-83 (2020).)
Disfigurement Prizes
If your accident has left you with a major deformity that makes it difficult to find employment (and isn’t already covered by a planned loss of use), you might be eligible for PPD payments for up to 100 weeks. Disfigurement rewards have the same $220 weekly limit as planned awards, and you may request a lump sum payment. Alabama Code 25-5-57(3), 25-5-68, and 25-5-83 (2020).)
Unplanned Awards
If you have an impairment to a part of your body that isn’t on the schedule, such as your back, neck, head, or internal organs, your weekly PPD benefit will be based on the difference between your pre-injury injury wages and what you can earn in your current condition, up to a weekly maximum of $220. These benefits will be available for a total of 300 weeks, less the number of weeks you have previously earned TTD benefits. Again, you have the option of receiving these benefits in a lump payment. Alabama Code 25-5-57(3)(g), 25-5-68, and 25-5-83 (2020).)
Alabama Permanent Total Disability Benefits
If you are permanently and totally handicapped as a consequence of your injuries—that is, you are unable to work or be retrained for any gainful employment—you will receive weekly benefits at the PPD rate (subject to the same maximum and minimum) for the rest of your life. However, if your employer asserts that you are able to work as a consequence of physical or vocational rehabilitation, it may petition the court to terminate these benefits. If you refuse to accept reasonable work accommodations given by your employer or engage in physical or vocational rehabilitation, you may be denied these benefits. Alabama Code 25-5-57(4) (2020).)
Additional Advantages
Additional benefits provided under Alabama workers’ compensation include:
Medical advantages. As long as your therapy is permitted, workers’ compensation will pay for any reasonable and necessary medical care for your job injury or occupational condition. Your first doctor will be chosen by your company, but you have the right to pick another doctor from a panel or list supplied by your employer. (Learn more about how to seek workers’ compensation medical care and the responsibilities of the treating doctor.) (Arizona Code 25-5-77 (2020)
Rehabilitation for the workforce. If your doctor thinks you won’t be able to return to your previous employment, you may seek vocational rehabilitation assistance. If it is decided that such services are likely to assist you in returning to gainful work, you will get them at no cost. If your company gives you vocational rehabilitation, you must participate. Alabama Code 25-5-77(c) (2020).)
Travel and mileage. Workers’ compensation covers mileage fees for commuting to and from medical appointments and vocational rehabilitation, as well as additional travel expenses, board and housing while you are required to be away from home for vocational rehabilitation. (Alabama Code 25-5-77(c), (f) (2020).)
Benefits and funeral expenditures. Workers’ compensation will provide death benefits to surviving family members who were financially dependent on the dead employee if an employee dies as a consequence of a job accident within three years of the injury (generally the surviving spouse and minor children). The weekly benefit amount is one-half to two-thirds of the deceased employee’s pre-injury salary, depending on the number of dependents (subject to the same maximum and minimum as for TTD benefits). Death benefits will be paid for as long as the survivors are dependant, up to 500 weeks. Workers’ compensation will also cover the reasonable costs of burying the dead employee, up to $6,500. (Alabama Code 25-5-60, 25-5-61, and 25-5-67 (2020).)
Obtaining Assistance in Collecting Workers’ Compensation Benefits
If you are experiencing difficulty obtaining all of the workers’ compensation benefits you are entitled to, a knowledgeable workers’ compensation attorney may be able to assist you. And, before you sign a workers’ compensation settlement, have a lawyer analyze it to ensure that your rights are completely protected. (Learn more about when you should hire a lawyer for your workers’ compensation case.)