How Much Are Workers' Compensation Benefits in Oklahoma?

Learn how Oklahoma calculates the amount of compensation you may receive for a work-related injury or illness.

By , Legal Editor

If you were injured or got sick because of your job in Oklahoma, you may be eligible to receive a range of benefits through the state workers' compensation system, including medical treatment and payments to cover part of your lost wages. Your eligibility for specific benefits—and the amount you receive—will depend on several factors unique to your case, including the nature of your injuries, your ability to return to work, and the amount you earned before you were hurt.

This article explains how the most important workers' comp benefits are calculated in Oklahoma. (To get these benefits, you'll need to file a workers' comp claim and show that your injury or illness is work related.)

Temporary Disability Benefits in Oklahoma

If you aren't able to return to your regular job duties—or you can't work at all—while you're recovering from your injuries, you may be eligible for temporary disability benefits. In Oklahoma, these benefits aren't paid for the first three days that you're out of work. (Okla. Stat. tit. 85a, § 45(A) (2023).)

Temporary Total Disability

You'll be entitled to receive temporary total disability (TTD) benefits if your injury or illness prevents you from performing your job or any alternate work that your employer offers you. TTD benefits are calculated as 70% of your average weekly wage (AWW) in the year preceding your injury, up to a maximum based on average statewide wages. For injuries that happened in 2024, the maximum TTD benefit is $1,038.31. (That amount is adjusted annually for inflation; see the "Benefit Charts" section on the Oklahoma Workers' Compensation Commission (WCC) website for updated figures.)

Even though these benefits are lower than your normal earnings, it's worth pointing out that workers' comp benefits are generally not taxable.

You will continue to receive TTD benefits until you:

  • return to work
  • reach maximum medical improvement (MMI), which happens when your doctor determines that your condition will no longer improve with treatment; or
  • have received TTD benefits for the maximum amount of time allowed under the law.

The time limit on TTD benefits is generally 156 weeks. There are much shorter limits for soft tissue injuries (eight weeks), hernias (six weeks), and psychological problems resulting from the original physical injury (26 weeks). All of these limits may be extended under certain circumstances. (Okla. Stat. tit. 85a, §§ 13, 61, 62, 45(A) (2023).)

Temporary Partial Disability (TPD)

If you can't perform your normal job duties while you're recovering from your injuries, but you're able to do any alternative work that your employer has offered, you'll be entitled to receive temporary partial disability (TPD) benefits—unless you refuse that alternative work offer. These benefits are calculated as 70% of the difference between your pre-injury average weekly wages and your current earnings. However, the combination of your actual earnings and your TPD benefits may not add up to more than the TTD rate.

For example, say you earned $900 per week before your injury, and you're now working at a light-duty job that pays $500. The basic calculation of TPD benefits would come to $280 ($900 – $500 = $400 X .7). However, $280 plus your actual earnings would total $780 per week, which is higher than the TTD rate for your pre-injury wages ($900 X .7 = $630). So as not to exceed that TTD rate, your TPD benefits would only be $130 a week ($500 + $130 = $630).

You may continue receiving TPD benefits until you reach MMI or return to work at your pre-injury wages, or for a maximum of 52 weeks. (Okla. Stat. tit. 85a, § 45(B) (2023).)

Permanent Disability Benefits in Oklahoma

Once you reach MMI, a doctor will evaluate you to see if your work-related injury or illness has left you with any permanent limitations and, if so, to what extent.

Permanent Partial Disability Benefits

If you have permanent limitations that don't completely prevent you from working, the doctor will give you a permanent partial disability (PPD) rating, expressed in a percentage. PPD benefits will be 70% of your pre-injury wages, up to a maximum of $360 per week, multiplied by a number of weeks that depends on the percentage of your disability rating and the affected parts of your body.

A schedule in Oklahoma law lists the number of weeks for amputation or total lost use of certain body parts (mostly the extremities, ears, and eyes). For less than total loss of use, the PPD formula will use a number of weeks proportional to the percentage of impairment. For example, the schedule shows 220 weeks for loss of a hand. If you lost 50% of the use of a hand, you would receive 70% of your pre-injury wages or $360 (whichever is less) for 110 weeks—or a total maximum benefit for that impairment of $39,600.

Permanent impairments to other parts of the body—such as a back injury, head injury, or damaged kidney—are compensated as a percentage of the whole body, which is worth a total of 360 weeks. So if the doctor gave you a whole body PPI rating of 25% for a back injury, you would receive benefits for 90 weeks (25% of 360), for total maximum benefits of $32,400 ($360 X 90). (In the "Benefits Charts" section on the WCC website, referenced above, you can find "PPD Rate Charts" that show estimated benefit calculations for percentages of disability to the whole body and to scheduled body parts.)

If your injury has left you with serious and permanent disfigurement, and you haven't received other PPD benefits for the affected part of your body, you may receive an award for the disfigurement, up to a maximum of $50,000.

PPD benefits are paid regardless of whether you return to your pre-injury job. Instead of getting these benefits in weekly payments, you may agree to receive a lump sum for the total amount as part of a workers' comp settlement. (Okla. Stat. tit. 38a, §§ 45(C), 45(F), 46 (2023).)

Permanent Total Disability

If your injury or illness has left you completely unable to earn wages doing any kind of suitable work, given your experience and training (including training you received through vocational rehabilitation), you'll be entitled to receive permanent total disability benefits at the same rate as TTD benefits.

These payments will continue for 15 years or until you reach the full Social Security retirement age, whichever happens later. To keep receiving the payments, however, you must file an affidavit every year confirming that you still aren't capable of gainful employment. (Okla. Stat. tit. 85a, § 45(D) (2023).)

Other Workers' Comp Benefits in Oklahoma

Oklahoma workers' compensation also provides additional benefits, including:

  • Medical care. Workers' comp pays for all medical treatment that's reasonable and necessary for your work-related injury or illness, without any copays or deductibles. (Okla. Stat. tit. 85a, §§50, 51 (2023).) Learn more about how to get medical treatment through workers' comp.
  • Vocational rehabilitation. If you're entitled to receive PPD benefits, you'll also be eligible for vocational rehabilitation services. And even before you reach MMI, the judge may order that you receive these services if your doctor believes you probably won't be able to return to your former job. (Okla. Stat. tit. 85a, § 45(C)(10), (E) (2023).)
  • Death benefits and funeral expenses. When an employee dies as a result of a work injury, the surviving spouse and children may be eligible to receive death benefits. The amount varies, depending on the number of surviving dependents. Workers' comp also pays up to $10,000 for the actual funeral expenses. (Okla. Stat. tit. 85a, § 47 (2023).)

Getting Help Collecting Workers' Comp Benefits

If your employer's insurance company has denied your workers' comp claim, is holding back benefits, or won't authorize needed medical treatment, you should consider speaking with a workers' comp lawyer. A local attorney who's experienced in this area can evaluate your case, discuss the advisability of filing an appeal, make sure your rights are protected in a settlement agreement, and help you get all of the benefits you deserve. (Learn more about how a good workers' comp lawyer can help.)

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