Question: I hurt myself at work last year. My condition improved and I went back to work. but now I’m not earning the same pay as I was before I got hurt. Will the insurnace company make up the difference? D.H., Luzerne County, Pa.
When an injured worker (claimant) returns to work post-injury and has a loss of earnings that results from the work injury, the claimant will be entitled to payment of partial disability benefits. Partial benefits are in the amount of 2/3 of the difference between the pre-injury weekly earnings (the average weekly wage -AWW) and the return to work weekly earnings. For example, if you had an AWW of $600.00 and returned to light duty work and earned $500.00/week, there would be a $100 difference. Multiply $100.00 x2/3 and you get $66.66. Besides receiving your RTW earnings ($500.00), you will also be entitled to receive partial disability payment in the amount of $66.66 for that week.
If you’ve suffered a work injury and have questions about your claim, contact me at [email protected] or call (570) 347-1011 for a free consultation.
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.
