Learn about the benefits available in Nevada for a work-related accident or sickness, how the state determines the amount of those benefits, and if you may claim workers’ compensation if you contract COVID-19 on the job.
If you were injured or were ill on the job in Nevada, you may be entitled to workers’ compensation benefits, which include medical care and reimbursement for lost income. This article describes how the most essential workers’ compensation benefits in Nevada are calculated and how much you could earn. (To get these benefits, you must submit a workers’ compensation claim and demonstrate that your injury or sickness was caused by your job.)
Can You Get COVID-19 Workers’ Comp in Nevada?
If you are a healthcare professional, emergency medical technician, police officer, or fireman and contract COVID-19 after being exposed to the coronavirus at work, you may be eligible for workers’ compensation payments. Exposure to a contagious illness is considered an unintentional work-related injury in Nevada if it occurs while you are executing your responsibilities as a police officer or fireman, or while delivering medical services (including emergency medical treatment) in the course of your profession.
If you do not work in one of these professions, it will be very difficult to get COVID-19 workers’ compensation payments. To be treated as an occupational sickness in Nevada, you must meet the following broad requirements:
produce proof that you were exposed to the sickness on the work, report the exposure quickly, and test negative to the disease within 72 hours of exposure, and test positive after the illness’s incubation period.
Nevada Revised Statutes 616A.265, 617.481 (2020).)
Nevada Temporary Disability Benefits
Workers in Nevada who need more than five days off work due to injuries are entitled to temporary disability compensation. Nevada Revised Statute 616C.400 (2020).)
Total Temporary Disability
Temporary total disability (TTD) payments are two-thirds of your typical monthly salary, up to a yearly maximum. The maximum payment for injuries occurring during the fiscal year commencing July 1, 2020 is $4,183.82 per month.
You will continue to get TTD benefits until you are able to return to work, your employer has given you modified employment that accommodates any limits you have, or your health has stabilized to the point that additional medical treatment is unlikely to improve your condition. Nevada Revised Statutes 616A.065, 616C.475 (2020).)
Partial Disability on a Temporary Basis
If you are able to work but earning much less than normal owing to your injuries, you may be eligible for temporary partial disability payments. In Nevada, these benefits are calculated as the difference between what you would get for TTD and what you actually earn.
Assume you regularly make $3,000 per month, but due to your injuries, you only earn $1,500 per month. If you were unable to work at all, your TTD rate would be $2,000 (two-thirds of $3,000), resulting in a monthly benefit of $500 ($2,000-$1,500).
Temporary partial disability compensation in Nevada are limited to 24 months. Nevada Revised Statute 616C.500 (2020).)
Nevada Permanent Disability Benefits
Following the completion of your medical treatment, a doctor will examine you to establish if your work-related accident or sickness has resulted in any lasting disability and, if so, to what degree.
Benefits for Permanent Partial Disability
If the doctor determines that you have a permanent partial disability, you will be given a permanent impairment rating, which will be expressed as a percentage. You will get 0.6% of your typical monthly pay at the time of your accident for each percentage of disability. Assume you have a 10% impairment and your average monthly pay is $2,400. Your monthly compensation for permanent partial disability would be computed as (.006) x $2,400 x 10 = $144.
Permanent partial benefits begin after TTD benefits cease and last for five years or until you reach the age of 70, whichever comes first. Nevada Revised Statute 616C.490 (2020).)
Total and Permanent Disability
If the doctor concludes that you are permanently and fully incapacitated, you will receive monthly payments at your TTD rate for the duration of your disability. Unless proved otherwise, some injuries, such as complete blindness and amputation or lifelong paralysis of two limbs, are automatically regarded permanently and utterly debilitating. Nevada Revised Statutes 616.435, 616.440 (2020).)
Other Nevada Workers’ Compensation Benefits
Additional benefits provided under Nevada workers’ compensation include:
Medical advantages. Workers’ compensation insurance covers any reasonable and necessary medical care for a work-related accident or sickness. Except in an emergency, you must seek care from an authorized medical professional.
Mileage reimbursement is available. You may also get reimbursed for travel to and from doctor’s visits.
Rehabilitation for the workforce. If you are unable to return to your previous employment, workers’ compensation will give vocational rehabilitation services, which may include assistance with job placement and retraining, if required.
Funeral expenditures and death benefits. When an employee dies as a consequence of a work-related accident or sickness, the surviving spouse (or other dependents if no surviving spouse) may be entitled to death benefits. The surviving spouse will often get benefits at the same rate as TTD. Workers’ compensation also covers funeral and burial costs up to $10,000.
Obtaining Assistance in Calculating Your Workers’ Compensation Benefits
If your Nevada workers’ comp claim is rejected or the insurance company is not paying you all of the compensation you are entitled to, you should contact a Nevada workers’ comp lawyer. An competent attorney in this field can examine your claim and assist you in receiving payment.