Learn about the many types of workers’ compensation benefits available in Arizona and how the state determines the amount of those payments.
If you have a work-related injury or sickness in Arizona, you may be eligible for workers’ compensation benefits, which include medical bill coverage and payments to help make up for a portion of your lost wages. We describe the essential guidelines for calculating workers’ compensation payments in this post. The amount you get will be determined by numerous variables, including the kind and degree of your injuries.
(To obtain these benefits, you must quickly report your accident to your employer, inform your doctor that your medical issue is connected to your job, and sign the form you will be given. Although the medical practitioner is responsible for submitting the document that makes your workers’ compensation claim, it is your obligation to ensure that your claim is submitted within a year.)
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Benefits for Temporary Disability
If your doctor advises you can’t work at your regular job while recuperating from a workplace accident or sickness, you’re eligible to temporary disability payments to compensate for part of your missed wages. You will not get these benefits during the first week you are out from work unless you are absent for two weeks in a row. Unlike many other states, Arizona does not have a time restriction for receiving these benefits. The payments will continue until you are able to return to work or your medical condition has stabilized (more on that below).
Benefits for Temporary Total Disability
If you are unable to work at all during your recuperation, you will get temporary total disability (TTD) payments equivalent to two-thirds of your average monthly income before to being injured or unwell, up to a yearly limit. The highest pay for calculating compensation amounts for injuries that occurred in 2020 is $4,888.56, which translates into maximum monthly benefits of almost $3,259. (See Arizona’s list of maximum wages for injuries sustained in previous years.)
If you have someone who is financially dependent on you, you may earn an extra monthly allowance of $25. (in total, not per dependent).
Benefits for Temporary Partial Disability
If you are able to return to work but cannot earn as much as before, Arizona workers’ compensation awards temporary partial disability payments. The benefit amount will be two-thirds of the difference between your pre-injury monthly income (subject to the same limit as TTD benefits) and what you’re earning while healing. For example, if you used to make $3,200 per month but can now only make $1,700, you’ll get $1,000 in benefits (two-thirds of $1,500).
Benefits for Permanent Disability
When it looks that your condition is stationary—that it will not improve further despite more treatment—your doctor will assess you to determine whether you have any persistent handicap as a consequence of your job accident or occupational illness. Arizona calculates permanent disability compensation differently based on the afflicted portion of your body and the severity of your impairment.
Benefits for Scheduled Permanent Partial Disability
When you lose functional use of an extremity (including a finger, toe, arm, hand, foot, or leg) or suffer loss of hearing or vision, Arizona law establishes a timetable for the amount and length of PPD benefits. The benefits will be calculated as a percentage of your pre-injury salary (up to the current limit), as follows:
50% for temporary loss of use
55% for amputation or entire loss of function, or
75% if you are unable to return to your usual job due to loss of use of a bodily part.
You will enjoy those advantages for the duration specified in the program for each damaged body part. For example, payments for entire loss of use of a thumb will last 15 months, 20 months for full hearing loss in one ear, 25 months for loss of sight in one eye, and 50 months for loss of your dominant hand.
If you have a partial handicap in any of the mentioned body parts, the benefits will be made for a number of months according to the percentage of impairment. For example, if your doctor judges that you have lost 50% of your dominant hand’s usage, you will get benefits for 25 months (50% of 50 months).
Benefits for Unscheduled Permanent Partial Disability
If you have a permanent impairment to your organs or other portions of your body that aren’t specified in the schedule, such as your hips, shoulders, lungs, spine, or digestive system, you may be eligible for PPD payments only if your earning capability is reduced as a result of the disability. These benefits will be worth 55% of the difference between your pre-injury salary and the amount you may earn today.
If your earning capacity changes as a consequence of your work injury or illness, your benefits may be changed up or down after you’ve obtained a workers’ compensation award for unplanned PPD (not, for instance, because of age or another unrelated injury or illness).
Disfigurement Permanent Disability Benefits
When your accident has resulted in permanent disfigurement of your head and face (including tooth loss), the Industrial Commission of Arizona (ICA) will determine a reasonable amount of PPD payments for up to 18 months.
Benefits for Permanent Total Disability
If you are permanently and completely incapacitated as a consequence of a work-related accident or disease, you may be eligible for lifetime payments at the same rate as temporary total disability. Certain disabilities, such as: are believed to constitute permanent complete incapacity.
total blindness in both eyes
amputations of both feet, both hands, or one hand and one foot a spinal injury that has produced a specific amount of paralysis, and\s significant mental disabilities induced by traumatic brain damage.
Other sorts of disabilities may also be eligible if medical proof demonstrates that you are fully handicapped and unable to work.
Permanent Disability Payments in a Single Installment
The ICA may enable a lump sum judgment or settlement for permanent disability payments to be converted over time. These lump-sum rewards, however, have monetary restrictions (depending on the type of disability).
Other Workers’ Compensation Benefits in Arizona
The Arizona workers’ compensation system also offers additional benefits to employees who are injured or get sick as a result of their job, such as
Medical advantages. Workers’ compensation will pay for any reasonable and required medical care to treat your workplace injury or sickness, as well as payment for reasonable travel fees if you have to travel more than 25 miles to obtain medical treatment.
Rehabilitation for the workforce. If you are unable to return to your usual job due to physical restrictions caused by a workplace accident, you may be eligible for vocational rehabilitation via the ICA Special Fund Division.
Benefits for death and burial. If an employee dies as a consequence of a work-related accident or sickness, survivors who were financially reliant on the dead employee may be eligible for death benefits. The dependent’s connection to the dead employee determines the amount and duration of these benefits. Workers’ compensation will also pay up to $5,000 in funeral fees.
Obtaining Assistance in Collecting Workers’ Compensation Benefits
If your employer’s insurance carrier has rejected your workers’ compensation claim or is refusing to pay benefits on time or in full, you should definitely consider calling an Arizona workers’ comp lawyer. A local attorney with knowledge in this area can analyze your claim and work to ensure that you obtain the full amount of compensation that you are entitled to under Arizona law. Find out what a competent workers’ compensation lawyer can do for you and what to look for in a workers’ compensation attorney.