What Are the Workers’ Compensation Laws in Deland, FL?

With any luck, you’ll never need to know the details of Florida workers’ compensation statutes. But if you are reading this, you probably haven’t been that lucky. Nobody wants to rely on workers’ compensation. But if you are in a situation where you need to, the following information will help you keep afloat during these trying times.

Workers’ compensation laws in Deland are complicated, but you don’t need to understand them completely to benefit from them. If you qualify for workers’ compensation, then only the parts of the law that affect you will matter. 

The best way to understand workers’ compensation laws in Deland is to speak with a workers’ compensation lawyer. But until you do, the following information will give you a good head start.

Are you looking for an experienced lawyer to explain your rights regarding workers’ compensation? Contact Morgan and Morgan today to schedule a free case evaluation using our contact form.

What Workers’ Compensation Does

Workers’ compensation benefits provide income for people after they have been temporarily disabled while working in a way that limits or prevents their ability to work. 

Temporarily disabled workers receive compensation that is roughly similar to what their income was before they were disabled. The benefits end when the worker recovers from the temporary disability.

Types of Disabilities

There are two types of disabilities covered by workers’ compensation: temporary total disability (TTD) and temporary partial disability (TPD). TTD means that your disability completely prevents you from working. TPD means that you can perform some work but receive reduced income because you can’t perform all of your normal duties.

Value of Benefits

When you receive workers’ compensation benefits, you will not receive benefits equal to your income before the disability. Workers’ compensation benefits are a percentage of your previous income and have a maximum value.

If you are gaining TTD benefits, you will be paid 66.6% of your average weekly wages unless you suffered a critical injury. If you suffered a critical injury, you would receive 80% of your previous weekly wages. Critical injuries are defined as:

• The loss of a limb
• Being rendered paraplegic or quadriplegic
• Complete loss of vision

Usually, these injuries would result in permanent disability. Permanent disabilities are not covered by workers’ compensation but by Social Security disability benefits. But if they are temporary or only lead to temporary disability, then you will receive a higher rate of compensation while affected or limited by them.

If you are gaining TPD benefits, the compensation rate is a little more complicated to calculate. In simplest terms, the math works out to be 64% of the difference between your wages before the disability and your wages after the disability.

Both TTD and TPD benefits are limited to a maximum value under Florida law. This maximum value is the statewide average of all workers and is evaluated every year. Florida publishes a rate table that lets you look up the maximum compensation rate for every year.

Start and End of Benefits

Workers’ compensation benefits begin after you report your injury to your employer. If the disability only prevents you from working for 21 days or fewer, payments only start on the eighth day of your disability. If the disability lasts longer, benefits begin on the first day of your disability.

You will continue to receive benefits until you can work again or until you have received two years of benefits. Workers’ compensation laws in Deland allow some exceptions to the two-year limit. If you think you might need more than two years of benefits, speak to a Morgan and Morgan attorney to learn more about your options.

Reporting Your Injury

You can only receive workers’ compensation after you have reported your injury to your workplace. As a matter of company policy, and in some cases as a matter of law, you should report any injuries you suffer on the job immediately. 

It doesn’t matter if you were at your workplace when you were injured. If you were working while you were injured, you should report the injury.

Workers’ compensation laws in Deland require that you report the injury no more than 30 days after it occurred. While you have 30 days to report, it is generally best to report it as soon as it occurs. This will speed up the timeline for getting workers’ compensation benefits.

Hiring a Workers’ Compensation Attorney

There is only one good reason to delay reporting an injury to your employer. You should generally wait to report your injury until you have hired a workers’ compensation attorney to represent your case.

Workers’ compensation laws in Deland allow you to have legal representation when making a workers’ compensation claim. And your employer can’t fire you for hiring a lawyer. This is important because some employers will attempt to deny your benefits or illegally fire you after you report an injury.

Additionally, workers’ compensation claims are paid by an insurance company. The insurance company gets to choose what doctor evaluates and treats you. This power can be used to restrict or deny your claim. Workers’ compensation attorneys can fight against an unfair evaluation to get you the money you deserve.

Florida law makes it uncomfortably easy for insurance companies to misdiagnose you, incorrectly calculate your compensation, or outright deny your claim. The attorneys at Morgan and Morgan can fight these mistakes in and out of court to ensure you get every dollar you deserve.