5588 N. Palm Avenue, Suite N1, Fresno, CA 93704
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5588 N. Palm Avenue, Suite N1, Fresno, CA 93704
If you are unable to perform your job after an injury and you experience wage loss as a result of the injury, then you may be eligible to receive Temporary Disability (TD) benefits. This usually requires a determination by a doctor before the insurance company will grant you temporary disability payments.
If you are eligible, Temporary Disability benefits should compensate you so that you receive two-thirds (2/3) of the amount you have lost, based upon your gross earnings (before taxes), according to California law.
However, TD benefits are subject to statutory minimum and maximum amounts. For example, for 2023 injuries, the amount of the benefit ranges from a minimum of $242.86 to a maximum of $1619.15 per week.
Temporarily Totally Disabled (TTD) and Temporary Partially Disabled (TPD)
Temporary disability benefits in California may be based upon an injured worker being temporarily totally disabled (TTD) or temporarily partially disabled (TPD). The former means the injured worker is not able to work at all. The latter means that the injured worker can perform some work, but cannot perform their normal job or work their normal hours.
The amount of benefits is based on your average weekly earnings before the injury, so it may be helpful to consider a fair estimate of how much you would typically be earning if you had not been injured. If you had steady work and always made the same amount, then this may be easy to calculate, based upon your past earnings. However, if you worked sporadically, it can be more difficult to calculate your average earnings.
Example for Temporary Total Disability (TTD)
For example, if you are temporarily totally disabled (TTD) as a result of the work injury, and your average earnings were $1200 per week (gross, before taxes), your calculation would be as follows:
Of course, the examples on this page assume that you are eligible for temporary disability as discussed in the first paragraph.
Example for Temporary Partial Disability (TPD)
As another example, this time for temporary partial disability (TPD), if you would normally earn $1200 per week on average, before the injury, and your primary treating physician orders work limitations so that you can only earn $600 per week due to the injury, your wage loss is $600 per week. Your TPD benefits would be $400, calculated as follows:
In California, temporary disability benefits for most injuries usually cease upon the earliest of the following: (1) when you do not continue to be disabled from working, (2) when you no longer are suffering wage loss due to the injury, (3) when the condition becomes permanent and stationary, (4) when you have received the maximum of 104 weeks of benefits, or (5) five years from the date of injury. While the above timeframes usually apply to most injuries occurring after 2007, these timeframes can vary for certain severe injuries or conditions and based upon the date of injury. Retirement or other life events can also potentially interfere with your right to receive temporary disability benefits. If you continue to be unable to work due to your injury, it is usually helpful to continue seeing your treating physician and obtaining status reports to show that you remain unable to work.
A workers’ compensation attorney may be able to help extend the period of your temporary disability payments if they were cut off prematurely. An attorney can evaluate your right to receive temporary disability benefits, based upon the medical record, and can ask the doctors involved relevant questions to determine whether or not your condition has actually become permanent and stationary.
A workers’ compensation attorney can also help to ensure that you are receiving the correct amount for your temporary disability benefits.
It is of course better to get an attorney involved in the process sooner rather than later, and it is best to have an attorney involved in your claim from the very beginning.