Understanding how to calculate workers’ compensation wages can give you insight into what a fair settlement might be and what your family’s budget could look like during your recovery.
Workers’ compensation entitles qualifying employees to receive supplemental money to cover a loss or reduction in income while a worker is hurt. The amount someone may receive depends on their average weekly wages, how much their injury limits their functioning, and other factors.
The Columbia workers’ comp lawyers at Williams & Roche can help you estimate your average weekly wages and advise you on how this impacts your work injury settlement. Our law firm provides full-service support to people who are hurt while doing their job. We take the time to understand your priorities and form a partnership with you while taking swift action to protect your best interests.
Understanding Workers’ Compensation Wage Benefits
Workers’ compensation insurance coverage provides benefits to South Carolina employees who experience job-related injuries. The policy includes the payment of qualifying medical expenses and a supplemental wage loss award. If someone is covered under their employer’s policy, they receive money based on the severity of their injury and their average weekly wages.
Key Factors in Calculating Workers’ Compensation Wages
How much someone earned each week, on average, before the accident occurred is one of the factors the Workers’ Compensation Commission uses to calculate someone’s settlement. The other factor is how much the injury impacts their ability to function and for how long.
How To Calculate Your Average Weekly Wages
To calculate someone’s average weekly wages, they would first add up qualifying employment income—his or her base salary minus excluded benefits—for the past fifty-two weeks. They would total both the amount they earned before the accident and their earning capacity afterward. They would then divide this by fifty-two and subtract the post-injury wages from the pre-injury wages. However, the person’s average weekly wages cannot exceed the maximum under the Workers’ Compensation Commission regulations.
If the person did not work for that employer for fifty-two weeks, they would add up the qualifying wages for however long they have worked for the employer. However, the person would use a different calculation if this method does not reach a fair result. An attorney can help you understand what calculation method you would use in your situation.
How Workers’ Compensation Benefits Are Calculated
Workers’ compensation benefits are calculated and paid out based on different formulas for the person’s injury. If they experience a scheduled loss, they will receive a set amount outlined in South Carolina law. If someone suffers a different type of injury, they may receive a disability classification, which determines how much their payments are.
What Are Scheduled Losses, and How Much Are They?
Scheduled losses are itemized injuries in South Carolina’s work injury regulations. If someone suffers one of the losses in the schedule, they receive benefits based on the formula in the law.
For example, if they lose a thumb, they would receive 66 ⅔% of their average weekly wages for 65 weeks.
How a Disability Rating Impacts Your Settlement
If someone does not experience a scheduled loss, a qualifying physician would classify someone’s functional losses as (1) temporary or permanent and (2) partial or total. For example, someone may receive a temporary total disability rating when the injury first happens, but it may change as their condition improves. Someone who has a total disability may receive wage loss benefits for up to 500 weeks unless they suffer a permanent loss.
Special Circumstances That Affect Wage Calculations
Seasonal and irregular employment can change how much someone’s average weekly wages are. For example, agricultural workers, who often work on a seasonal basis, may not qualify for workers’ comp benefits unless an exception applies and the worker elected to have coverage.
Likewise, having multiple jobs or being an independent contractor may make it more challenging to understand what you are entitled to and how to obtain it.
Each of these scenarios requires a case-by-case analysis to help guide you toward a solution that maximizes your possible compensation package. A workers’ compensation lawyer can speak with you about your concerns and advise you on how to calculate workers’ compensation wages in these circumstances.
Williams & Roche Can Help You Calculate Your Workers’ Compensation Wages
The method for calculating workers’ compensation wages depends on such things as whether you are an employee or independent contractor, the severity of your injury, and the law in effect at that time. Working with a knowledgeable workers’ compensation law firm can equip you with the legal help to calculate and fight for a fair settlement.
Williams & Roche is here to support you as you navigate the workers’ compensation insurance process. Before choosing to return to private practice in 2014, Andrea Roche served an eight-year term on the South Carolina Workers’ Compensation Commission. During that time, she learned valuable tools and perspectives to help her craft practical solutions for her clients.
Contact Andrea and her team today by calling 803.784.0503 to schedule a free consultation.
