Workers compensation is a state-mandated insurance system that provides wage replacement and medical coverage to employees who suffer work-related injuries or illnesses. The system is entirely employer-funded — workers pay no premiums and receive benefits regardless of fault. While the federal government sets no uniform benefit standard, all 50 states operate their own systems with meaningfully different weekly maximums, benefit rates, and duration rules. Understanding how your state calculates benefits — and how your injury type determines which formula applies — is the first step toward knowing what you are owed.
How Weekly Benefits Are Calculated
California PPD requires a final adjusted permanent-disability rating, not unadjusted WPI. The 2024 weekly PPD range is $160–$290; a final 20% rating has 75.5 statutory weeks ($21,895 at the $290 cap). A 100% rating belongs to PTD, and life-pension benefits at 70%+ are separate. Other states’ simplified schedules are estimates.
TPD uses actual pre-injury weekly earnings minus actual post-injury earnings, multiplied by the state replacement rate and limited by its maximum. It does not multiply wages by the impairment rating.
This is a frozen 2024 planning snapshot. Texas and Massachusetts support January–September 2024 injuries. Texas LIB requires an established qualifying injury, uses 75% of AWW with initial $176/$1,174 limits and later 3% annual increases. Massachusetts PTD uses two-thirds with $359.34/$1,796.72 limits. Low-wage and claim-specific exceptions require review.
State Variation: Why Location Matters
California PPD requires a final adjusted permanent-disability rating, not unadjusted WPI. The 2024 weekly PPD range is $160–$290; a final 20% rating has 75.5 statutory weeks ($21,895 at the $290 cap). A 100% rating belongs to PTD, and life-pension benefits at 70%+ are separate. Other states’ simplified schedules are estimates.
TPD uses actual pre-injury weekly earnings minus actual post-injury earnings, multiplied by the state replacement rate and limited by its maximum. It does not multiply wages by the impairment rating.
This is a frozen 2024 planning snapshot. Texas and Massachusetts support January–September 2024 injuries. Texas LIB requires an established qualifying injury, uses 75% of AWW with initial $176/$1,174 limits and later 3% annual increases. Massachusetts PTD uses two-thirds with $359.34/$1,796.72 limits. Low-wage and claim-specific exceptions require review.
Medical Coverage and Vocational Rehabilitation
Beyond wage replacement, workers compensation covers all approved medical treatment for the work injury — doctor visits, specialist care, surgery, physical therapy, prescription medications, and adaptive equipment — with no copays or deductibles for the worker. This medical coverage continues even after wage-replacement benefits end, as long as treatment is related to the work injury. Workers with permanent total or high-percentage permanent partial impairments are typically entitled to vocational rehabilitation services, including job retraining, education benefits, and job placement assistance, at no cost. The waiting period (3–7 days in most states) determines when wage benefits begin, but medical coverage starts immediately on the date of injury. If disability extends past the retroactive period (usually 14–21 days), wage benefits are paid retroactively to day one.