Like most of the questions an injured or ill employee will have about workers’ compensation benefits, asking “What does workers’ comp pay in Ohio?” deserves a simple and a complicated answer.

The Simple Answer

First, wage loss benefits are calculated as two-thirds of the individual’s wages at the time of the injury or job-related exposure to a harmful substance. For instance, a person who earns an average of $900 each week will receive $600 in weekly workers’ comp wage loss benefits.

This most basic workers’ comp benefit is usually limited to 52 weeks. It becomes available after a person spends seven consecutive days off the job due to a work-related injury or illness, and the check for the first week of missed work will not be cut until the person spends at least 14 days straight days not working.

The workers’ comp program promises to issue initial decisions regarding the awards of benefits within 28 days of receiving all the required application materials. Importantly, Ohio enforces a 1-year statute of limitations on most workers’ compensation claims. Filing quickly is essential following an accident or exposure on the job is essential.

The Complicated Answer

Lost wage benefits are just one type of payment available though the Ohio Workers’ Compensation program, however. Figuring out how much an approved work-related injury or occupational illness claim will be worth depends on many factors.

In Ohio, workers’ comp pay can include lost wages, living maintenance (LM), percentage permanent partial disability (%PP), permanent total disability (PT), scheduled loss (SL), and temporary total disability (TT) payments in various combinations. The amounts of those other possible types of Ohio workers’ comp pay may be reduced for an individual who receives Social Security disability (SSD) or Social Security retirement (SSR) benefits.

During 2019, the basic Ohio workers’ comp weekly benefits chart looked like this:

  • TT and LM without SSR maximum = $950/week
  • TT and LM with SSR maximum = $633.33/week
  • TT minimum = $316.67/week
  • LM minimum = $475/week
  • PT maximum without SSD = $950/week
  • PT maximum with SSD = $633.33/week
  • PT minimum $475/week
  • WL maximum $950/week
  • %PP maximum $316.67/week
  • SL weekly rate $950/week
  • Death benefit maximum $950/week
  • Death benefit minimum $475/week

A scheduled loss is a standard payment for an amputation, loss of an eye, or loss of hearing. Scheduled loss benefits can be taken as lump sums or in installments. Death benefits are paid to a surviving spouse, child, or parent. All types of benefits payments can be settled and taken as lump sums at the beneficiaries request.

But wait. Even all those details do not add up to the complete picture of workers’ comp pay in Columbus or elsewhere in Ohio.

Special rules apply to firefighters, police, and other first responders. Individuals who receive wage loss payments for longer than 90 days can be required to undergo medical exams and physical assessments by health care professionals of the workers’ comp program’s choosing. And taking a lower-paying job because a partial disability makes returning to one’s previous position can entitle a person to wage support benefits.

Consulting with a knowledgeable and experienced Ohio workers’ compensation attorney who has helped many other injured and sick employees will help make it clear which types of benefits are available and what the payments are likely to be. To arrange an appointment with a workers’ comp lawyer in Columbus, call Agee Clymer Mitchell & Portman at (614) 678-3318 or reach out to us online.