After you incur an injury on the job, you may receive workers’ compensation benefits while you recover. There are different kinds of benefits and the kind you receive usually depends on your situation.
According to the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission, employers offer four kinds of benefits after you sustain an injury. These benefits fall into two categories, temporary and permanent.
Temporary benefits
You usually receive temporary partial disability benefits if you are still able to work after incurring your wound. In this situation, you typically do not perform your usual job but carry out other duties while you heal. You may work either full-time or part-time. You can usually receive these benefits until you resume your usual duties.
If you cannot do any work while you recover, your employer may provide temporary total disability benefits. You receive them until you go back to work or until your injury has healed as much as possible.
Permanent benefits
You may receive permanent partial disability benefits if your injury keeps you from using part of your body. This includes wounds that result in the loss of a limb or hearing loss. In this situation, you usually cannot return to your previous job but may be able to do other kinds of work.
The last kind of benefit you may receive is permanent total disability benefits. These are for workers who become completely disabled after sustaining their wounds and cannot reenter the workforce.
In all of these situations, you usually need a doctor’s evaluation. Your doctor typically examines your injury to determine how much you may recover. Sometimes, you may make a full recovery or you may reach a state called maximum medical improvement. Your expected recovery may also affect which type of benefits you receive.
