Temporary disability benefits are given to workers to replace earned income lost because they are unable to work. Payments come to an end when a worker's situation has changed.

The opportunity to take in an income during unproductive days out of work is over. Nothing lasts forever.

An Income Opportunity

California workers are protected against severe losses of income that leave them short of enough money to pay bills, or in poverty. The workers' compensation benefits get paid as long as it takes for workers to settle in to a life after an injury or illness. An income paid for by an employer gives them enough time to recover their ability to earn their own income.

A Doctor's Check Off

As soon as a worker has the strength and health to stand on their feet and return to work, their treating doctor checks them off the unable to work list. They tell the worker they can return to work. Benefits end even if the worker chooses to not go back to work.

A Return to Work

The hard times end when the injury or illness stops holding the worker back and they return to work. The Californian is no longer out of work and unable to earn income. Work that earns income might be the same old job the worker had before the injury or illness knocked them out of work, but it does not have to be. Benefits will end when an employer changes the work to make it easier for persons still recovering to do all their work. Shorter hours and an easier work station are two common changes. A different job the employer gives to the worker is also enough to end the benefits. Employers do have to follow the doctor's orders on work restrictions.

The return to work has to put the worker back in a secure situation. The job has to last 12 month, at the least. Pay has to amount to at least 85 percent of the old pay before the worker left work. And, the commute to work can not interfere with a worker's life. Distances can only be as long as a length they can handle.

As Productive As Can Be

Only so much recovery is expected. The condition a worker experiences when they become stable, and are not getting better or getting worse, the California Division of Workers' Compensation calls Permanent & Stable( P&S). Because the condition and the ability to earn income will not change, the temporary benefits end. The worker might be eligible to get Permanent Disability Benefits.

The treating doctor writes a P&S report and sends it to the workers' compensation claims administrator. Workers can get a copy. They have a right to get one. The report tells the worker if they can return to work and how much work they can do. Work restrictions are stated.

The doctor will not leave loose ends on medical care. A full return to health is the goal. Any medical care still needed the doctor will write in the report.

Two Years Are Up

After two years are up, even workers that have not recovered have to walk away form the workers' compensation income. The time limit does not cut short the benefits for workers with certain conditions, such as acute and chronic hepatitis B and acute and chronic hepatitis C, and severe burns.

Workers injured before April 19, 2004, have different limits. Visit the Division of Workers' Compensation website, www.dir.ca.gov/dwc/.

A Change In Situation

Benefits end when productivity returns or the work losses are a story that has to get cut short. When the time comes to stop using workers' compensation to live, Californians again count on the money that comes out of their own pocket.

Source:

California Commission on Health and Safety and Workers' Compensation, Workers' Compensation in California: A Guidebook for Injured Workers (Third Edition, November 2006).