Average Weekly Wage
Hi, my name is Kim Wyatt, i’m the Managing Attorney of Bailey & Galyen’s Worker’s Comp department. Are you being paid the correct amount per week under your Worker’s Comp? The state average weekly rate right now is $938. This is calculated by what you made prior to your injury 13 weeks worth before taxes. You add it all up, divide by 13 and that is your average weekly wage. You want to make sure it contains bonuses, if your health insurance stopped you want to make sure they include that in your average weekly wage.
Give us a call today for a free initial phone evaluation of your case so that we can see how we might be able to help you.
So the doctor has released you back to work, but with restrictions. What do you do now? First thing is to let your employer know by either faxing the work status report to them or bringing it to them in person. Your employer then must create a job for you that accommodates those restrictions, and that must be in writing. In 99% of the cases, that will NOT be the same day you hand them the work-status report. If they don’t have light duty, then the WC insurance carrier must pay you weekly temporary income benefits while you are off from work. There is no requirement that you go and seek work elsewhere, while you are on light duty. Now, if they do have a job you can do that is within the restrictions provided by your doctor, there are certain requirements that MUST be followed:
So you think you may have hurt yourself at work…well, you know you did. You might have the following thoughts: “It’s not that bad. Work through it and see if it gets worse. The weekend is here, so I’ll rest and see how I feel on Monday. I’m seeing my doctor next week, so I’ll just check on it then.” Stop! Report your work injury, no matter how minor you think it is, even if just “for the record.” If you get better on your own, great! I have seen many instances, though, where an injury starts out as minor but never gets better. A problem occurs when you report your work injuries later.
Since you have lifetime medical benefits for the injuries that have been deemed accepted by the insurance carrier, you can pick up treatment wherever you move. You would need to locate a doctor that is willing to treat you for your workers’ compensation claim. Once you find a doctor, you would simply provide them with the insurance carrier’s information: Adjuster’s name, phone, fax, and claim number, so that they can submit their bills accordingly.
When you have reached Maximum Medical Improvement and receive an impairment rating that is 15% or higher, you may be entitled to received Supplemental Income Benefits. SIBS are paid out monthly, which is calculated by using your Average Weekly Wage (AWW).You apply quarterly, so every 3 months you apply in order to receive monthly benefits for that Quarter.
I often receive calls about injured workers who were involved in a fight at work. My first question is usually, “Who started it, and why?” This is important to determine because if an injury results from a dispute that arose from the injured worker’s duties, how the work was performed, or in self-defense, it might be considered within the course and scope of employment and be covered.
Have you been off work due to an 
A repetitive trauma injury, as opposed to a specific injury, occurs when there is repeated exposure to harmful activities in the work place. These might be any constant motions that you have to do for work each day every day. Examples are: data entry/key boarding, jobs that heavily rely on how many units or products you can crank out per hour, scanning/labeling/shipping, using certain tools that require squeezing/triggering.
There has been much confusion as to what doctors an injured worker can or cannot visit for treatment. Many insurance companies offer network doctors that you must choose from in order to receive treatment under workers’ comp. Usually, the first doctor you see, if in network, becomes your doctor for all future treatments. Most networks allow for a one-time change, but it must be approved by the network or adjuster.
Always, always report any injury you sustain on the job—no matter how minor! A lot of people think, “Let me see if it will get better.” This is a bad idea. I had a client get scratched on the job, and he thought nothing of it. Weeks later, he was in the hospital with an uncontrollable infection that required amputation of the affected body part!
Going back and forth to your doctors visit can take time and money for fuel. Especially when you have therapy that meets 3, 4 sometimes 5 times a week! Workers’ Comp. will reimburse you for mileage in some cases, for doctors visits that are further than 30 miles one way.
Be very wary of the lone vehicle parked nearby that shows up out of nowhere. The insurance carrier will stop at no means to “catch” you in the act of daily living. Anything to show that you aren’t really THAT hurt. They hire private investigators to talk to your neighbors about your activities, they will troll through social media to see if Injured Johnny is really a Good Time Charlie. You have to live and carry on in your daily life. Things such as going to the grocery store, getting fuel, dropping kids off at school – all acts of daily living. You have to do these things regardless! The problem with the videos, is they don’t lie. It IS what it IS. There is no arguing what’s caught on tape, and trust me, they are looking to catch you on tape! Also, they are trying to test your credibility: if you are supposed to be using crutches, they are going to try and catch you walking normal and not using crutches.