If your workers’ compensation claim is approved, you could be entitled to recover compensation for medical expenses and partial lost wages related to your workplace injury or illness.

You may receive medical care that is [reasonably required to cure or relieve your injury](http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=LAB&sectionNum=4600.) through your employer’s workers’ compensation insurance policy. This includes doctor visits, hospital services, medicines, medical equipment, lab tests, other treatment services and travel costs necessary to treat your injury.

Medical care must follow medical treatment guidelines from the medical treatment utilization schedule (MTUS) issued by the Division of Workers’ Compensation (DWC). These guidelines help doctors give appropriate treatment and help advise you on how to remain active while recovering, including changes to your work environment such as taking a different work assignment or reducing your work hours to help aid in your recovery.

After you file a workers’ compensation claim, your employer in Fresno or workers’ compensation insurance company has one day to authorize up to $10,000 for necessary treatment while the claims administrator is investigating your claim and deciding whether to approve or deny it.

You may be eligible to receive temporary disability (TD) benefits if your injury prevents you from working in the same capacity as before you were injured. You could receive payments for lost wages if your doctor says that you are unable to do your usual job for more than three days, you have to stay overnight in a hospital, or your employer does not offer other work that pays your usual wages while you are recovering. There are two different types of TD benefits:

• Temporary total disability (TTD) payments – These are paid out if you are unable to work at all while you recover
• Temporary partial disability (TPD) payments – These benefits are for employees who can do some work while they are recovering

Generally, benefits are two-thirds of the pre-tax wages you earned per week before your injury. For example, if you were making $400 per week before your injury, you could be eligible for $266 per week in TTD while you are unable to work at all. There are also no federal, state, or local income taxes to pay on TD benefits.

If you can do some work while you recover, you will receive two-thirds of your lost wages. For example, if you were making $400 per week and now earning just $200, you will receive two-thirds of the lost $200, or $133 per week.

You can receive TD benefits for a maximum of 104 weeks within a five-year period from the date of injury.

Once your workers’ compensation claim is approved, TD benefits must begin within 14 days after your employer learns of your injury and your doctor states that your injury prevents you from doing your usual job. After your first payment, TD benefits must be paid every two weeks until you are no longer eligible. TD benefits end when your doctor says that you can return to work, you return to work at your regular wages, your injury will not improve any more than it has, or you have reached the limit on the number of weeks you can receive benefits.

The claims administrator must send you a letter within 14 days after your final payment explaining why the benefits are ending with a list of all payments sent.

You may be eligible to receive permanent disability (PD) benefits if you doctor says that you will never recover completely from your injury or always be limited in the work you can do. There are two different types of PD benefits – permanent total disability and permanent partial disability.

When your condition becomes permanent and stationary (P&S), meaning your injury is not improving and not getting worse, your doctor must write a P&S report to the claims administrator describing your specific medical conditions, work restrictions, future medical expenses, ability to return to your old job, and an estimate of how much your disability is caused by your job and other factors.

The amount paid out is based on a permanent disability rating which varies based on your medical condition, date of injury, age when injured, your occupation and your doctor’s restrictions. For injured workers, a rating of 100 percent means you have a permanent total disability.

Once your doctor says you have a permanent disability from your injury, PD benefits must begin within 14 days of when your temporary disability benefits end.

A Fresno workers’ compensation lawyer can help to ensure you receive the temporary or permanent disability benefits you are entitled to under [California law](https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displayText.xhtml?lawCode=LAB&division=4.&title=&part=2.&chapter=2.&article=3.).

If you suffer from a permanent partial disability after a work-related injury, you may be eligible to receive supplemental job displacement benefits (SJDB). Benefits are available to workers unable to return to their previous job and whose employers do not offer alternative or modified employment.

These benefits come in the form of a voucher that can be used to pay for educational retraining or skill enhancement, or both, at eligible schools. You can use the voucher to pay for tuition, fees, books, tools and other expenses related to retraining or skill enhancement.

The voucher can also help pay for licensing or professional certification fees and examination preparation course fees. This includes:

• Up to $600 to pay for services from a licensed placement agency, a vocational or return-to-work counselor
• Up to $1,000 to purchase computer equipment needed for exams and certifications

Regardless of your permanent disability rating, the voucher is redeemable for up to $6,000. The claims administrator must send the voucher on a non-transferable voucher form within 20 days after the end of the period when your employer may offer you regular, modified or alternative employment.

You must use the voucher [within two years](https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displayText.xhtml?lawCode=LAB&division=4.&title=&part=2.&chapter=2.&article=3.) after the date the voucher was issued to you, or within five years after the date of your injury. All expenses, including any receipts and additional documentation, need to be submitted to the claims administrator before the deadline.

If you have received a SJDB voucher, you may also be eligible to receive an additional one-time payment of $5,000 through the Return-to-Work Supplement Program (RTWSP). This supplemental payment helps workers who have experienced a disproportionate loss of earnings from being injured.

The RTWSP application is only available online and must be received within one year from the date you were mailed the SJDB voucher. To complete the application, you must provide the entire SJDB voucher or SJDB voucher proof of service, the adjudication (ADJ) number and the workers’ compensation claim number. The RTWSP must review the application within 60 days from the date you filed and if you are eligible for the supplement, payment must be issued within 25 days after eligibility is determined.

At our firm, the workers’ compensation attorneys in Fresno have a detailed understanding of these different forms of compensation, including eligibility requirements and the compensation rates for the different types of benefits.

We can help pursue the compensation you deserve so your injury does not create a financial crisis for you and your family.