How Long Can an Injured Worker Stay on Workers’ Compensation in Delaware?

Delaware workers’ compensation benefits can take several forms. They can be temporary or permanent. In some cases, you can apply for Delaware workers’ compensation disfigurement benefits, or if a worker dies because of a work-related incident, then surviving family members may be eligible to receive death benefits.

How long you can receive these benefits can be subject to time limits. In this blog post, we will cover each of these types of benefits and address how long they may be available to you.

If, after reading, you have any questions about what kinds of workers’ compensation you may qualify for in Delaware, then call us at Silverman McDonald & Friedman today to speak with an experienced workers’ compensation attorney.

What are temporary workers’ compensation time limits in Delaware?

You can receive temporary disability benefits under Delaware workers’ compensation throughout your period of recovery from a work injury or other work-related medical condition, like an illness, if you either cannot go back to work or can only perform limited work duties.

In general, workers’ compensation will pay for your reasonable and necessary injury-related medical expenses for the duration of your treatment. This has no relationship to how long you receive compensation benefits.

A key consideration in receiving temporary disability benefits is when your treating doctor determines that you have reached your point of maximum medical improvement, or MMI. Once you reach MMI, then, depending on your injury, your workers’ comp benefits may end or change into permanent disability benefits.

Temporary partial disability benefits

Sometimes your work injury does not prevent you from being able to work, but it does keep you from going back to the job you had before you were injured. Or if you can go back to your job, you cannot put in full-time hours because of your medical condition.

In these situations, Delaware temporary partial disability benefits can provide partial wage replacement compensation until you are either fully recovered, or reach MMI, or for up to 300 weeks.

Temporary total disability benefits

If your injury keeps you from working in any capacity, but you will eventually be able to return to work, then temporary total disability workers’ comp benefits may apply to you. These benefits are for 66 and two-thirds percent of your average weekly wage, up to the current statutory maximum amount.

What are the permanent disability time limits in Delaware?

Permanent partial disability benefits

A permanent partial disability is often one that involves the loss of use of a body part, like an arm or a leg, but it does not prevent you from being able to work, even if you cannot return to your pre-injury job.

Under Delaware’s system of workers’ compensation, for a permanent partial disability, you can receive compensation for a certain number of weeks. How many weeks depends on the kind of injury you have.

Some examples of permanent partial disability benefit durations include:

• Loss of use of an arm or leg: Up to 250 weeks
• Loss of use of a hand: Up to 220 weeks
• Loss of use of a foot: Up to 160 weeks
• Loss of use of an eye: Up to 200 weeks
• Loss of hearing in both ears: Up to 175 weeks

Permanent total disability benefits

A total permanent injury is one that keeps you from being able to work again in any capacity. If you qualify for this benefit, then your workers’ compensation benefits will be 66 and two-thirds of what your average weekly wage was before your injury, up to a maximum weekly limit that is adjusted annually.

Permanent total disability benefits will continue until you can return to work.

What are other Delaware workers’ compensation benefit time limits?

Disfigurement benefits

Disfigurement benefits may be available if you have been seriously and permanently disfigured after surgery for any work-related scar, burn, or amputation that is visible and offensive when you’re fully clothed.

You can receive these benefits for up to 150 weeks, depending on the severity of your disfigurement.

Death benefits

Under Delaware law, the spouse and dependent children up to age 18 of a deceased worker are eligible to receive death benefits if the worker dies because of a work-related injury or illness. These beneficiaries can receive benefits for up to 400 weeks after the worker’s death, although they can be extended under some circumstances. For example:

• Spouses of deceased workers may receive benefits until their deaths.
• Children who are full-time students can receive death benefits up to age 25.

Employer or insurance company benefit challenges

Aside from the built-in time limits provided by Delaware workers’ compensation laws, sometimes your employer or its workers’ comp insurer might seek to review your disability through an employer-requested medical examination or, in other ways, like periodic reviews, look for an opportunity to challenge your ongoing benefits eligibility.

Settlement of workers’ compensation claims

Often, insurance companies are willing to settle workers’ compensation claims in a lump-sum payout instead of through scheduled payments. This has some potential advantages, like making more of your compensation available to you sooner. But it can also have potential downsides, like the risk that a lump sum will not adequately anticipate all your possible future medical treatment needs.

Do you have questions about how long your Delaware workers’ comp benefits will last?

Knowing how long you can expect to receive workers’ comp benefits, including partial wage replacement payments, can be an important consideration in the peace of mind you have when you need to count on workers’ compensation after a work accident.

It can be hard to calculate on your own when your benefits eligibility may expire. Fortunately, though, you do not have to go it alone when navigating Delaware workers’ comp laws or dealing with an insurer who seems interested in ending your benefits as soon as possible.

At Silverman, McDonald & Friedman, our workplace injury lawyers can help you receive the workers’ compensation benefits you are entitled to for as long as you need them and the law allows. We can help you file your claim. If you enter settlement negotiations for a lump sum payment, we represent our clients’ interests with the insurance company.

You may complete our contact form to schedule a free consultation with us or call us now to do the same. We provide workers’ compensation support and guidance throughout Delaware from our offices in Newark, Wilmington, and Seaford.