Workers Compensation Settlement Calculator

A workers' compensation claim has three money components, and every state builds them the same way even though every state sets its own numbers. Temporary total disability replaces wages while you cannot work, at two thirds of your average weekly wage but capped at a state maximum. Permanent partial disability compensates lasting impairment once you reach maximum medical improvement. And future medical care, in a full and final settlement, is bought out as a lump sum.

The state maximum is what makes higher earners take a real cut. Two thirds of a $1,100 weekly wage is $733, which is inside most state caps; two thirds of a $2,400 weekly wage is $1,600, which is above nearly all of them. When the cap binds, your replacement rate falls below 67% and — importantly — the cap flows through to the permanent disability award too, because that is paid at the same weekly rate.

Permanent partial disability is the impairment rating your doctor assigns at maximum medical improvement, multiplied by the number of weeks your state assigns to that body part, paid at the weekly rate. Most states publish a schedule of losses giving different week counts for a hand, a foot, an eye and so on, with a separate whole-person figure — commonly 400 to 500 weeks — for unscheduled injuries such as a back. A dozen states use wage-loss systems instead, compensating actual lost earning capacity rather than a rating.

The future medical buyout deserves more scrutiny than anything else in the settlement, because a full and final agreement usually closes medical care for that injury permanently. Once signed, the insurer owes nothing further no matter what happens to the injury later. If Medicare has an interest, a set-aside may be required and must be approved before the settlement can close. Attorney fees in comp are capped by statute, commonly between 10% and 20%, and generally require judicial approval — a meaningful difference from the contingency fee in an injury case. Comp benefits are generally not taxable, and comp is an exclusive remedy against your employer, though a claim against a negligent third party can run alongside it.