Compensation for injured employees varies from each state across America as each state is allowed to determine its own benefits, with no federal minimums. Employees who are injured at work are awarded a portion of their wages up to the state maximum for the number of weeks injured. Jeremy Lewis, 27, and Josh Potter, 25, both lost a portion of their left arm in a machinery accident. The difference being; Lewis who worked in Alabama, received $45,000 in workers’ compensation, while Potter who worked in Georgia, was awarded workers’ compensation benefits that could exceed over $740,000 in his lifetime. Most of the amounts awarded for work injuries that vary from state to state are a result of political expediency from bargains decades ago.

In turn, over the past decade, states are reducing workers compensation benefits and employers are now paying the lowest rate of workers compensation since 1970. Permanent partial disability, meant to award injured workers for their lost function and future wages, is the most controversial part of workers compensation as economists found that these benefits fall short in many states. In a 2004 study done by W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research in Kalamazoo, Michigan, it was found that employees awarded permanent partial benefits, 10 years after their injuries, had lost about 55 percent to 70 percent of their earnings. Read more about workers compensation conditions across each state here.

Our firm is comprised of talented legal professionals who have handled serious workplace injuries across the state of Connecticut. We are here to answer any questions you have and give legal advice.

If you would like to request a free workers compensation e-book, contact Attorney James A. Welcome at jwelcome@welcomelawfirm.com or call (203) 806-7922.