Temporary Partial Disability (TPD): Workers Comp Benefits for Partial Incapacity
TPD Benefits Are Available if You Work but Earn Less Because of Disability from an Occupational Injury
Many employees know that workers compensation pays for medical treatment and replaces income when a work-related injury or illness disables them from all work. This wage replacement benefit is called temporary total disability (TTD).
But fewer injured employees know that workers comp payments may continue if they return to work after an injury or sickness.
These workers compensation benefits – temporary partial disability benefits (TPD) – pay part of your lost wages if you return to work but earn less because of disability from the injury or illness.
This article explains how and when to get temporary partial disability when losing money, hours, or overtime because of work restrictions from an occupational injury or disease.
Read on for more information.
Then call us if you have questions about your case: (804) 251-1620 or (757) 810-5614.
Our personal injury law firm has obtained millions of dollars in workers compensation settlements. And we want to help you.
What are Temporary Partial Disability Benefits?
Temporary partial disability benefits are payments you get if you do some work while recovering from a work-connected injury, but you earn less than your pre-injury wages.
Calculating Temporary Partial Disability Benefits
Many states have statutes explaining how to calculate TPD amounts.
For example, in Virginia, Code Section 65.2-502 says ….
when the incapacity for work resulting from the injury is partial, the employer shall pay, or cause to be paid …. to the injured employee during such incapacity a weekly compensation equal to 66 2/3 percent of the difference between his average weekly wages before the injury and the average weekly wages which he is able to earn thereafter ….
Put differently: You calculate your TPD benefits by subtracting the average weekly wage you make in the light duty job from the average weekly wage you earned before the industrial accident and multiplying that amount by sixty-six and two-thirds percent.
How Do I Qualify for TPD Benefits?
You may get temporary partial disability benefits if:
1. You meet your burden of proof and show that you suffered an illness or accidental injury from your employment.
2. Your authorized treating physician gives written work restrictions because of your work-connected injury or illness. Read this article to see what a doctor’s disability letter should say.
3. These medical restrictions prevent you from doing your regular pre-injury, limiting you to light duty only. Alternatively, you can perform your pre-injury job but cannot work as many hours as you did before the accident or illness.
4. You find light-duty employment with your pre-injury employer or a new company. Who you now work for does not matter for eligibility for temporary partial disability benefits.
5. You earn less now than when you were hurt or became sick. It does not matter if you are earning less because you accepted a new position that pays less, can no longer work overtime with your pre-injury employer, or get fewer hours at the same or a higher hourly wage. For example, many employers will accommodate light duty but refuse to provide overtime to injured workers. You may qualify for TPD benefits if this happens to you.
Example of an Injured Employee Receiving Temporary Partial Disability Benefits in Workers Comp
Here is an example of how to prove you should get TPD benefits after a work injury.
Suppose you are a construction worker who suffered a torn ACL and head trauma in a forklift accident.
You earned $1,500 per week when you got hurt. And your construction job required you to climb ladders, scaffolds, and stairs.
The torn ACL required arthroscopic surgery followed by a total knee replacement, both of which an orthopedic surgeon performed.
You received permanent restrictions after the knee replacement. You must avoid climbing ladders and scaffolds or lifting heavy items weighing over 50 pounds.
Although your pre-injury employer cannot accommodate your restrictions, you find a sedentary job as a receptionist for a trucking company.
This job is within your restrictions. But it pays $750 weekly, less than you made before the work-connected injury.
You are entitled to $500 per week in temporary partial disability benefits. This amount equals $750 ($1,500 minus $750) multiplied by sixty-six and two-thirds.
Losing Overtime Pay: You May Have to Satisfy the Marketing Requirements to Get TPD
An extra requirement applies if you do not have an award order for TTD benefits when you return to work earning less or fewer hours: marketing.
In workers comp, marketing is the official term for looking for light-duty work within your restrictions from a work-related injury or illness.
You do not have to market if you, the employer, the insurer, or the claim administrator (ESIS, Gallagher Bassett, Sedgwick, etc.) seek to convert an award for temporary total to temporary partial.
But if an award for wage loss benefits is not in place when you seek TPD, you may have to market your residual functional ability.
For example, some employers allow injured workers to return to full-time light-duty work but prohibit them from working overtime. Boar’s Head is one company we have seen do this.
If you return to modified duty for an employer like this, you may have to look for work within your restrictions to offset the lost overtime hours. Otherwise, you risk losing temporary partial disability payments that could help you and your family.
A word of warning. Many workers comp cases are lost because the Commission finds that the injured employee did not conduct an adequate job search. Don’t let this happen to you.
Can I Get Temporary Partial Disability if My Light-Duty Pay Fluctuates and Is Sometimes Higher than My Pre-Injury Earnings?
Yes.
It’s a common scenario.
Many light-duty positions, particularly those created by a pre-injury employer because of pressure from the insurance carrier, have fluctuating wages.
Some weeks you earn equal to or more than your pre-injury wages.
But you make less than your pre-injury earnings in other weeks.
You can get temporary partial disability benefits for any period – even one week – that you earn less money. Even if you now make more money on average.
We encourage you to seek all TPD benefits. Doing so extends the statute of limitations to file for more temporary total disability payments if the employer stops offering light duty, which happens often. In addition, ensuring the employer follows the law puts more money in your pocket.
Am I Eligible for Temporary Partial Disability if I Can Return to My Dissimilar Second Job But Not the Employment that Caused My Injury?
Yes.
Many Americans have second part-time jobs when injured in their primary employment.
Your pre-injury average weekly wages are based on both jobs if they are substantially similar. But if the second job is dissimilar from the first, earnings from the second job are not included in the pre-injury average weekly wage.
You will qualify for TPD, but not TTD, if the jobs are similar and you return to either employment after the injury.
Similarly, you will get temporary partial disability if you pick up more hours in the dissimilar second job, causing your post-injury wages to increase compared to your total pre-injury earnings.
If, however, your earnings from a dissimilar second job are the same after the accident compared to before, you will continue to receive temporary total disability.
Do Maximum and Minimum Compensation Rates Apply to TPD Payments?
Yes.
The exact minimum and maximum compensation rates for temporary total incapacity apply to TPD benefits.
This is good news for those of you who earn high wages.
For example, the max comp rate limits your TTD payments to less than sixty-six and two-thirds of your pre-injury average weekly wage if you earn $80,000 or more yearly. This cap harms many of the injured employees we stand for, including nurses, airline workers, and truck drivers.
But you can still receive TPD benefits equal to the maximum comp rate if you earn over $80,000 on light duty.
This is one more reason it’s essential to calculate the highest pre-injury average weekly wage possible. This number impacts your claim’s value and can help you make a settlement demand and give facts that scare the insurance adjuster.
Are Temporary Partial Disability Benefits Taxed?
No.
You do not pay taxes on your TPD benefits. Indeed, all workers comp benefits are tax-free.
Will My TPD Benefits Increase?
Maybe.
Unlike TTD benefits, you are not eligible for cost-of-living adjustments (COLA) when you receive temporary partial benefits.
But you can get more TPD benefits if your light-duty earnings change, or you get fewer hours and start making less.
Is There a Deadline to Claim Benefits for Temporary Partial Incapacity?
Yes.
Deadlines (called statutes of limitation) apply to TPD claims.
You have two years from the accident date to make a claim for the first period of partial incapacity from an occupational injury.
In addition, you have two years from the date you last received compensation under a Workers Compensation Award Letter if you seek a second period of temporary total or partial disability benefits. But you should file a workers comp claim for TPD immediately. Otherwise, the Commission’s 90-day rule may limit the backpay you can receive.
Further, you may have even longer to claim temporary partial disability if your pre-injury employer accommodated your restrictions before firing you.
Read this article for more information on change-in-condition claims to reopen your case.
How Long Can I Receive Temporary Partial Disability Benefits?
Each state has rules for how long you can receive wage loss payments for an occupational injury or illness.
For example, you can only receive a combined 500 weeks of temporary total, temporary partial, and permanent partial disability (PPD) benefits in Virginia unless you meet the requirements for permanent and total incapacity.
Here is an example of how the cap works.
Suppose you suffer a work-connected back injury requiring a spinal fusion.
You will likely have total disability from work for several weeks or months. During this period, you will receive TTD payments.
Then, once you reach maximum medical improvement (MMI) and undergo a functional capacity evaluation (FCE), your doctor may release you to light-duty work with permanent restrictions from the fusion.
If you return to light-duty work making less than you earned when you got hurt, the period of TPD you can receive equals 500 minus the number of weeks of TTD paid.
Can I Receive Other Workers Comp Benefits While Receiving Payments for Temporary Partial Incapacity?
Yes.
You can get temporary partial disability while receiving medical benefits and permanent partial disability for loss of a body part (amputation) or loss of use of an injured body part (permanent impairment).
The ability to concurrently receive TPD and PPD benefits is a critical difference between temporary partial and temporary total payments.
You cannot, however, receive TTD and TPD benefits simultaneously.
Attorneys Helping Injured Workers Get Temporary Partial Disability
Many Americans, including injured employees, live paycheck to paycheck.
We want to ease this financial burden by helping you get every penny you deserve under workers compensation.
Contact us today for a free consultation.
We will see if you qualify for TPD benefits if a work-connected injury or sickness prevents you from making as much money as you did before the accident or diagnosis.
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