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Workers’ Compensation Permanent Total Disability (PTD) Benefits in Ohio

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Hurt on The Job and Can Never Work Again? Get Some Financial Relief

For many hardworking Ohioans, a catastrophic injury on the job is a worst-case scenario: your injury or illness is permanent, and it steals your ability to ever work again.

Your life will never be the same, but support is available. Workers’ compensation benefits in Ohio include permanent Total Disability (PTD) benefits for workers with long-term, work-ending impairments. It’s payable for life.

Securing PTD benefits, however, can be difficult.

The Ohio Industrial Commission must rule that you qualify. To get approval, you’ll have to apply, submit medical evidence of the severity of your injury and undergo an independent examination by an Industrial Commission doctor.

If the exam confirms you’re facing a permanent disability, you can start collecting PTD benefits. If you’re not approved yet, you’ll be scheduled to attend a hearing before one of the commission’s staff hearing officers.

The process is stressful, especially when your future income and economic security hang in the balance.

A skilled workers’ compensation attorney is invaluable to winning your case and making sure you get the most benefits you can. At Horenstein, Nicholson & Blumenthal (HNB), our Ohio attorneys are focused on protecting workers and securing the benefits they need to stabilize their lives.

  • We help workers in any occupation after they’re hurt at work.
  • Our lawyers have won over $500,000,000.00 in awards, benefits and settlements for injury clients.

If you live in Ohio and suffered a permanent injury on the job, we can help.

We want you to say, “Helping me, that’s HNB.”

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    How to Apply for PTD Benefits

    The Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation (BWC)defines Permanent Total Disability as “the inability to perform sustained remunerative employment due to the allowed condition in the claim.”

    To simplify: it means you have a total impairment, can’t work, can’t earn an income, this is unlikely to change, and you’re going to need lifetime compensation—all because you were hurt on the job.

    To qualify for workers’ compensation PTD, you must prove two facts:

    1. You aren’t going to recover further from your injuries.
    2. You can’t do any job that would bring in a steady paycheck.

    To prove your condition is permanent, you’ll provide extensive medical evidence, including doctor’s reports, courses of treatment and your response to treatment.

    In most cases, the doctor—who is certified by the Bureau of Workers’ Compensation to oversee your treatment—must declare you have reached “maximum medical improvement,” or MMI, meaning that further treatment won’t change your impairment.

    At the same time, you have to show you can no longer work not just at your former job, but ANY job. If the doctor certifies that this is the case, you can apply for PTD.

    The other challenge applying for PTD is timing. When you’re seriously hurt or get sick on the job, you can’t work, and you seek workers’ compensation benefits, you usually start with Temporary Total Disability Compensation (TTDC).

    It is not advisable in most cases to apply for PTD when you’re receiving TTDC because your doctor can’t certify that you have a temporary disability and permanent disability at the same time.

    Most injured workers wait until their TTDC period ends before applying for permanent total disability.

    Also, it’s best not to have your doctor declare that you’ve reached MMI, the point when no further recovery is expected. The problem with your doctor finding MMI is that it cuts off your TTDC compensation.

    Because it can take several months to get an Industrial Commission hearing on a PTD application, you will be without money for a long time because your TTDC ended.

    Rather than having your doctor find that you’re at MMI just so you can apply for PTD, let the Industrial Commission to decide you have reached MMI.

    It’s critically important that you don’t miss deadlines. The HNB workers’ compensation lawyers help you keep your case on track. We’ve helped thousands of injured Ohio workers.

    If you’re considering applying for PTD or have any questions about your workers’ compensation case, get in touch. We’ll evaluate your situation for free.

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    How Much Does Permanent Total Disability Pay?

    If you qualify for permanent total disability, the BWC will pay two thirds of your weekly wage before you were hurt or got sick, up to the state maximum. This benefit is for the rest of your life because you can no longer work.

    Having a total impairment and being unable to work can also qualify you for Social Security Disability (SSD) benefits. But there is an “offset” rule that will reduce your SSD benefits if, combined with workers’ compensation, they exceed 80% of your average earnings before your injury.

    In such cases, workers’ compensation is paid first. Injured workers can then collect SSD up to the 80% limit.

    It’s important to know that permanent total disability under workers’ compensation is different from “permanent and total disability” benefits awarded to military veterans whose injuries or illnesses are connected to their service in the armed forces.

    At HNB, we know the math is complicated. And whether it’s filing for workers compensation, applying for Social Security Disability or claiming veterans’ disability benefits, we aim to maximize the financial assistance available for everyday Ohioans dealing with health issues.

    Let us shoulder some of the load for you and get you on the best path to receive benefits that let you move on with living your life.

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