You are entitled to Temporary Total Disability (TTD) payments when a doctor declares you to be “temporarily totally disabled” because of a work injury. Although you are not allowed to claim actual lost earnings as part of a worker’s compensation claim, TTD benefits are designed to approximate your lost earnings.
You are entitled to TTD benefits until you are declared to be “permanent and stationary” (P&S) by a physician.
Generally, there is a 3-day waiting period before the insurance carrier must pay you benefits. If you are disabled for longer than 14 days, then you are eligible to receive benefits for those first 3 days.
The aggregate disability benefits for a single injury causing temporary disability is not to extend for more than 104 compensable weeks.
However, for an employee who suffers from certain injuries or conditions such as acute and chronic hepatitis B or C, amputations, severe burns, human immuno-deficiency virus (HIV), high-velocity eye injuries, chemical burns to the eyes, pulmonary fibrosis, or chronic lung disease, aggregate disability payments may extend for up to 240 compensable weeks within a period of five years from the date of injury.
TTD benefits are based on your Average Weekly Wage (AWW), which is calculated by taking an average of your gross earnings from all sources, including those from a second job, tips, overtime, and bonuses. 2/3 of this average is then used for your weekly TTD benefit payment amount within statutory limits on both minimum and maximum rates.
Beware, there are different ways to calculate this average and it is not unusual for insurance companies to use calculations that are to their advantage rather than yours.
