Bad Luck Bob had only been working for several months for Four Aces Construction Company when he fell off his scaffolding breaking both legs. Bob was being paid $500 a week and ordinarily his workers’ compensation benefits per week would total $389.50.

Bob had three children and a wife to support and had always worked two jobs for many years. Beside working at Four Aces, Bob also worked sometimes nights and weekends at the Home Depot where he was able to earn up to an additional $300 per week.

Question: Because Bob’s injury prevented him from going back to his moon lighting job, does Bob have a right to have an increase in his workers’ compensation benefits?

Answer: Yes. Since Bob was injured at a time that he had concurrent employment with Home Depot, Bob will be able to combine his gross wages from both jobs when it comes time for the compensation carrier to figure out how much workers’ compensation benefits he is to receive per week. In this case, instead of simply the wages of $500 per week, from which to base the compensation rate, the combined total of both jobs or $800 will be used. Instead of receiving $389.50 per week, Bob will receive $533.33 per week while he is disabled. Bob’s benefits, since they are workers’ compensation benefits, will not be subject to state and/or federal taxes.

Disclaimer: The above article is for instructive purposes only and each case is fact sensitive. Consultation with an attorney should be obtained instead of reliance upon the legal issues discussed in this column.