Adequacy of income benefits is one of the long-standing concerns about the performance of workers’ compensation systems. However, there is little known about whether income benefits (also known as indemnity benefits) provide adequate financial support for injured workers. According to a new study, the total earnings and income benefits an average worker received within 10 years after an injury stack up to just 88 percent of what a worker would have earned if not injured.

The study – published by the Workers Compensation Research Institute (WCRI) – highlights a dimension of worker outcomes that may be useful for policymakers and stakeholders when measuring the adequacy of income benefits that workers receive after an injury. The following are among the study’s findings:

• Within 10 years after an injury, the earnings and income benefits an average worker received were projected to be 88% of what a worker would have earned if not injured. However, these aggregate results hide important differences across different types of workers.
• Workers with one to 12 months of temporary disability benefits had total income that was projected to replace 91 to 95 percent of earnings had they not been injured. Workers with permanent partial disability and/or lump-sum payments had total income that was projected, within 10 years post-injury, to replace 69 percent of earnings had they not been injured.
• Post-injury employment patterns may contribute to the estimates of adequacy presented above. While 44 percent of workers with more than one month of temporary disability benefits returned to work and stayed continuously employed, another 31 percent had a sustained initial return to work but sporadic employment after initial return to work. An additional 21 percent of workers with more than one month of temporary disability benefits either had no meaningful return to work or only had sporadic intermediate-term employment patterns. In contrast, a comparison group of workers with medical-only injuries was more likely to have sustained a return to work.

This WCRI study focused on the adequacy of income benefits for injuries in 2004. For every worker in the analysis, the study directly observed post-injury earnings through the end of 2008 (an average of 4.5 years after the injury) and projected potential earnings losses to up to 10 years after an injury. This study also marks the first study of the indemnity benefits system.

The study reflects accurately the current workers’ compensation system across the nation, particularly Georgia. Most states set a maximum limit for the amount of indemnity benefits that an injured worker would receive in a week regardless of the worker’s income. This creates financial difficulty for many injured workers to continue their pre-injury life.

The Poirier Law Firm’s goal is to make sure that all of our injured workers promptly and efficiently, receive his/her indemnity benefits and necessary medical treatment. So if you or a family member have been hurt at work and have any issues with promptly receiving indemnity benefits or medical treatment, call Poirier Law today for a free consultation. The Poirier Law Firm has represented injured workers for over 16 years. You deserve to have a zealous advocate in your corner!