Imagine how a janitor or custodian feels after scrubbing and cleaning all day long, a warehouse worker who has to repetitively lift heavy items day after day, an office worker who types all day long for years, or a bus boy whose job requires constant lifting of and cleaning. 

When these clients come to me, they tell me about pain in their wrists, backs, necks, and knees. They tell me about the pressure and stress put onto them by their bosses to work faster and harder. They talk to me about being bullied, or made fun of.  

Why do they continue to work with the pain, or under these toxic circumstances? The answer is almost always the same, because they have no other choice. Because they have to provide for their families, because their life situations would make it difficult to find another job, because they are scared that if they said something, that they would be fired. 

And you know what, their fears are accurate. They are real. And usually, they work for as long as they can, most of the time years, sacrificing for the benefit of their families, in pain, day after day. I sit in compassion for these clients, not judgement or blame, as in most cases, this is their only option. 

These clients are the heroes of their family stories, and the journey of the hero is a journey of sacrifice. But that is only the first part of the journey. Usually, the hero finds a saving grace, or a reprieve that helps him on this journey. I like to think of temporary disability as that saving grace or reprieve. Temporary disability is a benefit in Workers’ Compensation that provides wage replacement for the time that injured workers need to heal from injuries. Injuries that are obvious like a fall off of a ladder, or injuries that may not be so obvious, like carpal tunnel pain after years of scrubbing showers or typing on a keyboard. Again, temporary disability allows for a reprieve, a financial benefit that allows workers to heal the body and mind. 

How does this look in the real world? Well, if an employee is feeling aches and pains, and he or she believes that it may be caused by repetitive work activities, that employee has the right to go to a medical doctor, paid for by the insurance company of the employer, to see if the work is arising from or contributing to these aches and pains. If the doctor believes that the work is causing or contributing to the pain of the worker, the doctor will place the worker on temporary disability and commence a course of treatment to provide healing to the injured worker. 

Temporary disability is considered a wage replacement benefit, and it provides the injured worker with two-thirds of his or her gross pay while they heal. In January, 2021, the law increased the temporary disability benefit to injured workers. Today, injured workers’ can receive about $1350.00 per week depending on their individual wages

The law California provides for up to two years of temporary disability wage replacement. The time that it will take for an injured worker to heal is different for everyone, but it is important to know that there are benefits that an injured worker is entitled to that will allow them to heal their minds, body, and soul so that they can continue to earn a living pain free. 

Give us a call today for a free consultation on temporary disability, and let us be your voice.