By Kevin L. Connors, Esquire

Effective as of January 1, 2013, the Pennsylvania Bureau of Workers’ Compensation increased the maximum compensation payable rate, for temporary total disability benefits, to a weekly rate of $917.00.

This translates into yearly compensation benefits equaling $47,684.00.

This temporary total disability benefit rate is applicable to any pre-injury average weekly wage that equals or exceeds $1,375.90, representing sixty-six (66) and two-thirds (2/3) of the pre-injury average weekly wage.

Between a pre-injury average weekly wage of  $1,375.50 and $687.76, the average weekly wage is multiplied by sixty-six (66) two-thirds (2/3), for the temporary total disability benefit rate.

For pre-injury average weekly wages between $687.75 and $509.44, the Bureau has assigned a temporary total disability benefit rate of $458.50 per week, yielding $23,842.00 in yearly compensation benefits.

For those earning $509.43 per week or less, the temporary total disability benefit rate will be determined at a ninety percent (90%) rate.

The 2013 maximum compensation payable rate represents a rate increase of approximately 3.265 percent over the 2012 rate.

For the last five (5) years, the maximum rates have been:

  •  2012:  $888.00, equaling $46,176.00 in yearly benefits;
  • 2011:   $858.00, equaling $44,616.00 in yearly benefits;
  • 2010:   $845.00, equaling $43,940.00 in yearly benefits;
  • 2009:   $836.00, equaling $43,472.00 in yearly benefits; and,
  • 2008:   $807.00, equaling $41,964.00 in yearly benefits.

Access to Pennsylvania’s Bureau of Workers’ Compensation, now known as the Office of Adjudication, is available through the following link:

http://www.portal.state.pa.us.

ConnorsLaw LLP

Trust us, we just get it!  It is trust well spent!

Defending workers’ compensation claims throughout Pennsylvania for employers, self-insureds, insurance carriers, and third party administrators, our 100+ years of cumulative experience defending our clients against compensation-related liabilities, empowers our workers’ compensation practice group attorneys to be more than mere claim denials, entrusting us to create the factual and legal leverage to expeditiously resolve claims, in the course of limiting/reducing/extinguishing our clients’ liabilities under the Pennsylvania’s Workers’ Compensation Act.

With every member of our workers’ compensation practice group being AV-rated, our partnership with the NWCDN magnifies the lens through which our professional expertise imperiously demands that we always be dynamic and exacting advocates for our clients, businesses, corporations, and insurance carriers, seeking our trial and compensation acumen, navigating the frustrating and form-intensive minefield pervasive throughout Pennsylvania workers’ compensation practice and procedure.