Virginia’s workers’ compensation system is designed to help workers recover from a work-related injury or illness. Benefits include partial replacement of the income you miss out on when you cannot continue to work in your regular job. While you may be entitled to wage replacement benefits when you cannot work at all, Virginia workers’ comp also provides partial reimbursement for a reduction in the income you experience if you return to work during your recovery in a part-time or light-duty position that pays you less than you were earning prior to your injury or illness. These benefits are called temporary partial disability benefits.
Turn to Marks & Harrison for help in getting the full financial benefits you deserve when you have sustained a work-related injury or illness. Since 1911, our firm has worked tirelessly to represent clients across Virginia. In more than a century of practice, we have grown into one of the largest injury firms in the state, with a legal team of 26 experienced, knowledgeable attorneys backed by a dedicated staff of over 100 support personnel. Our firm and many of our attorneys have been recognized by numerous publications and professional organizations for excellence in the legal representation we provide to our clients.
If you have been injured on the job, turn to the experienced workers’ compensation attorneys of Marks & Harrison to get the legal advice you need to pursue the financial benefits you may be entitled to. Reach out to our firm for an initial case evaluation to learn more about your right to temporary partial disability and other benefits under Virginia’s workers’ compensation system.
What Is the Difference Between Temporary Total Disability and Temporary Partial Disability?
When you are awarded workers’ compensation benefits after suffering a work-related injury or illness, you may be entitled to temporary disability benefits when you cannot continue your pre-injury level of work. Temporary disability benefits come in two forms. Temporary total disability benefits are awarded when you cannot work at all while you recover from a work injury or occupational disease, and you are expected to recover enough to return to work eventually. Temporary total disability benefits pay you two-thirds of the average weekly wage you earned before your injury or illness.
Temporary partial disability benefits are awarded if you have restrictions which allows you to do some work during your recovery, but you earn less income than you did before your work injury or onset of your occupational illness. This usually occurs when you return to work part-time or move to a light-duty role with a lower pay rate. Temporary partial disability benefits pay you two-thirds of the difference between the income you earned before your work injury or occupational illness and the income you are now making during your recovery.
How Do I Receive Temporary Partial Disability Benefits in Virginia Workers’ Compensation?
You may begin receiving temporary partial disability benefits if your employer offers you some work that you can do within the medical restrictions imposed during your recovery. Your treating physician may require you to limit the number of hours you work in a week or restrict you from performing specific physical tasks, such as standing or sitting for longer than a particular period or lifting more than a certain amount of weight. Based on these restrictions, your employer may require you to return to your job for fewer hours per week than you were previously working or may offer you a temporary transfer to another position with less physically demanding duties that you can perform within your medical restrictions.
If your employer offers you a part-time or light-duty position that you can do within your medical restrictions, you are required to return to work for your employer in that role. You may be disqualified from workers’ compensation benefits if you refuse to return to work part-time or in a light-duty position that your treating physician has authorized you to perform.
What Is an Example of How TPD Benefits Work in Virginia?
Suppose you were earning $1,000 per week working full-time before you suffered a work injury or occupational disease. You might be able to claim temporary partial disability benefits if you return to work only part-time or if you move into a lower-paying position with your employer when your medical limitations prevent you from performing the duties of your typical job. By working only part-time or in a light-duty position that pays less than your regular job, you may earn only $700 per week during your recovery. With temporary partial disability, you can receive $200 in weekly benefits or two-thirds of the difference between your pre-injury weekly wage of $1000 and your current lowered weekly wage of $700.
How Long Can You Receive TPD Benefits in Virginia?
Under Virginia’s workers’ compensation laws, you are entitled to receive up to 500 weeks of temporary partial disability benefits and temporary total disability benefits. Weeks of TTD benefits and weeks of TPD benefits are counted together towards the 500-week limit. For example, suppose you initially receive 50 weeks of temporary total disability benefits after suffering a work injury or occupational disease but make enough progress in your recovery to return to part-time or light-duty work. In that case, you can still receive up to 450 weeks of temporary partial disability benefits.
Once you hit the 500-week limit on temporary disability benefits, you will usually be evaluated to determine if you have sustained a permanent disability or impairment. If you are determined to have a permanent total disability then you will be awarded weeks of disability beyond the 500 weeks.
Speak with a Virginia Workers’ Compensation Lawyer Today
If you believe you may be entitled to temporary partial disability benefits while recovering from a work injury or occupational disease, contact Marks & Harrison today for a free, no-obligation consultation. Let a Virginia workers’ compensation lawyer from our firm sit down with you to discuss how we can help you get the maximum financial recovery you may be entitled to from Virginia workers’ comp.
