WORKER'S COMPENSATION

Workers' Compensation law in Missouri provides three types of benefits for a person who is injured while performing work-related duties.

First the employee is entitled to receive medical treatment for the work-related injury and does not have to pay for that treatment. The employer or insurer makes payment. But remember that the employer has the right by law to select the physician. So if you seek treatment that has not been authorized, you may have to pay for that treatment yourself.

Second Temporary total disability (TTD) is compensation for the time the doctor says you are unable to work because of the injury. You will not receive TTD benefits for the first three regularly scheduled workdays you are off unless you are off longer than 14 calendar days. Those benefits are calculated at two-thirds of your average weekly wage not to exceed a maximum rate set by the legislature. Your average weekly wage is determined according to how your wages are fixed, whether by the week, by the month, by the year or by some other method, such as amount of sales. Temporary total disability benefits cease when the doctor says you are able to return to work. Although those wages are only two-thirds of your average wage, it is important to remember they are tax-free.
Compensation for a permanent disability.

Third once a doctor has done all he or she feels can be done medically to help you, and you are not as physically able as you were before the injury, then you have a disability. And if there isn't anything else the doctor can do to make you any better, your disability will be "permanent," meaning you will suffer the effect of the injury from that point on. That disability will either be "total" meaning you are unable to perform any work, or "partial" which means you are able to work but there are limitations or restrictions as to what you are able to do. If you are determined to be permanently and totally disabled, your benefits will continue for the rest of your life.

If your disability is a permanent partial disability (PPD), the legislature has established a formula to convert that disability into a dollar amount. The maximum weekly wage amount for a permanent partial disability is less than the maximum for the temporary total disability because the disability is partial instead of total. Compensation is for the disability only. The law does not provide compensation for pain and suffering.

If you've been injured on the job and would like to file a claim for compensation, please do not hesitate to contact us.