The Various FL Laws a Workers Compensation Attorney Knows
Most people think of the state of Florida as a place where you go to retire or vacation. However, there are many hardworking people who do work in Florida as well. There are jobs of all types here, with many being of the nature where you are doing manual labor. As a result, it’s easy for a worker in Florida to become injured while on the job. That is where the state’s laws a workers compensation attorney must know come into play and are extremely important for enabling people who are hurt while working to collect compensation for their injuries and loss of wages. Your workers compensation attorney knows all about these laws and fights on your behalf to get you the amount that you deserve. Here are the various workers compensation laws in Florida.
Laws a Workers Compensation Attorney in FL Utilizes
- Statute of Limitations: There is a statute of limitations for reporting any injury to your employer in the state of Florida. That amount of time is 30 days to report to your employer with certain exceptions. There is also a two-year deadline for filing for workers compensation benefits, although there are certain exceptions.
- Limits on Benefits: As of January 2016, the limit on workers compensation benefits that could be claimed by injured workers in Florida was capped at $863 per week. Overall, for a temporary total disability (TTD), the amount is calculated as 66.23 percent of your average weekly earnings, but for individuals who are critically injured, it is 80 percent. Temporary partial disability benefits are 80 percent of the difference of your wages before your injury and your wages after the injury. Impairment benefits are also determined by the level of your impairment after injury by using what is known as the impairment income benefit calculator.
- Time Limits on Benefits: For disabilities that last for under 22 days, your benefits begin on day eight. However, if the disability lasts longer than 21 days, you receive benefits on the first day. For psychiatric claims that arise after you are physically injured, benefits are limited to six months. TTD and/or TPD benefits have a time limit of 104 weeks.
- Additional Limits: If the individual injured on the job is a minor who was illegally employed, the monetary amount of damages is doubled.
What are Workers Compensation Benefits?
Florida is one of the states that requires the majority of employers to provide workers compensation insurance for employees. Generally, workers compensation is exactly what it sounds like: it is money that is paid to a worker when they have been injured and are unable to work for an extended period of time. The amount that you receive depends on the severity of your injury and how it affects your ability to work. There is no need to prove to your employer that your injury was caused by a coworker or the company itself; as long as you were working at the time of your injury, you are able to claim workers compensation benefits. Generally, injuries must be physical in nature and cannot be psychological or mental unless those issues develop as a result of a physical injury.
If you have been injured while working, it’s important to get in touch with someone experienced with the laws a workers compensation attorney should know immediately. The Payer Law can help. Get in touch with the Payer Law so that you can be paired with a skilled workers compensation attorney.
