How does Tennessee calculate total temporary disability?

When it comes to workers’ compensation claims, it is helpful to know what benefits to expect in various scenarios according to your state’s guidelines. Tennessee, like all other states, has specific statutes that determine how benefits for injured workers are calculated, depending on the nature of the disability.

Many injuries entail complete disability with regards to your work, but are only temporary. Such an injury could be a leg that was broken on the job and required significant surgery. Depending on the nature of the work, this worker would be completely unable to perform nearly any of the duties required by his or her job, and would therefore qualify for Temporary Total Disability.

Temporary Total Disability benefits may be received when an employee cannot perform any of the tasks in the scope of his or her job. These benefits will become available to the worker after being unable to work for more than eight days, and a worker may receive retroactive benefits for the first through eighth day of disability if the disability extends beyond 14 days.

These benefits are typically equal to two-thirds of your average pay over the 52 weeks prior to the inciting injury. In the event that you have not been working for the same employer for at least 52 weeks, benefits may be calculated based on your gross income for the period worked, divided by the number of weeks you have worked, or else by using the income history of a worker in the same and income over the prior 52-week period.

Workers’ compensation benefits are complex, and deserve to treated seriously. If you believe that your workers’ compensation benefits are not what they should be, the guidance of an experienced attorney can help you explore your options for pursuing fair compensation.

Source: Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development, “Temporary Disability Benefits,” accessed Nov. 04, 2016