Benefits depend on your situation
An employee who is temporarily unable to work at all is eligible for what's called temporary total
disability (TTD) benefits. He is paid two-thirds of his pre-injury average weekly wage and receives it at the same interval as his employer issues paychecks.
TTD benefits are subject to a waiting period as well as minimums and maximums.
In Minnesota, TTD benefits never go more than 104 weeks. In Wisconsin and South Dakota, TTD benefits continue until a physician determines that the healing process has ended.
An employee temporarily unable to work at his pre-injury wage is eligible for temporary partial disability (TPD) benefits. Typically, this is an employee who is not fully recovered but able to work within medical restrictions, so he's working at a modified or part-time position until he can return to the original job.
In Minnesota TPD benefits cover two-thirds of the difference between the pre-injury wage and the reduced wage. For instance, somebody with a pre-injury wage of $600 a week who is now earning $300 a week because of a work injury would receive a TPD benefit based on the $300 in lost wages. Two-thirds of $300 equals $200 in weekly TPD benefits.
In Wisconsin, TPD benefits are based on a percentage of lost wages. Generally, it's around two-thirds of lost wages.
In South Dakota, TPD benefits are based on one-half the difference between the average amount the employee earned before the injury and the average amount the employee is earning or is able to earn in suitable employment after the injury.
TPD benefits are also subject to the waiting period and the minimums and maximums.
In Minnesota, TPD benefits never go more than 225 weeks. In Wisconsin and South Dakota, TPD benefits continue until a physician determines that the healing process has ended.
Permanent total disability (PTD) benefits are paid to an employee who is so severely injured he can never return to work. In Minnesota, these benefits cover two-thirds of his average weekly wage until his
presumed retirement age.
In Wisconsin, PTD benefits may continue for life. In South Dakota, PTD benefits cover two-thirds of his average weekly wage and may continue for life.
PTD recipients often also receive Social Security disability benefits. The two benefit
systems coordinate the total weekly wage replacement amount.
An employee who has sustained a permanent loss of function because of a work injury may be eligible for permanent partial disability (PPD) benefits.
A physician gives the employee a disability rating when he has reached the point after which no more significant medical recovery is expected. State Rules assign each disability rating a specific dollar value. This is the PPD benefit paid to compensate the employee for the loss of function. In Wisconsin, not all injuries have assigned dollar values; in some cases, the values are based on functional limitations and loss of earning capacity.
PPD is not a wage replacement benefit, and it can only be paid once the employee has returned to work or has been found by a doctor to be so severely injured he can never return to work.
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