How Much Are Workers' Compensation Benefits in Arizona?

If you've suffered a work-related injury or illness in Arizona, you may be eligible for workers' compensation benefits, including coverage of your medical bills and payments intended to help make up for part of your lost earnings. In this article, we explain the state's basic rules for calculating the amount of workers' comp benefits. The actual amount you'll receive will depend on several factors, especially the nature and extent of your injury.

(To get these benefits, you'll need to report your injury to your employer promptly, tell the doctor that your medical problem is related to your work, and sign the form you'll receive. Although the medical provider should turn in the form—which constitutes your workers' comp claim—it's your responsibility to make sure that your claim has been filed within a year.)

Temporary Disability Benefits

If your doctor says that you can't work at your normal job while recovering from your workplace injury or occupational disease, you're entitled to temporary disability benefits to make up for some of your lost earnings. You won't receive these benefits for the first week you're off work unless you're out for two consecutive weeks. Unlike many states, Arizona doesn't have a set time limit for these benefits. The payments will last until you can return to your regular work or your medical condition has stabilized (more on that below).

Temporary Total Disability Benefits

If you're unable to work at all during your recovery, you'll receive temporary total disability (TTD) benefits equal to two-thirds of your average monthly wage before you were injured or became ill, up to a maximum that changes every year. For injuries that happened in 2023, the maximum wage for purposes of calculating the benefit amount is $5,393.37, which translates into maximum monthly benefits of about $3,596. (See Arizona's list of the maximum wages for injuries in other years.)

If you have anyone who depends on your financial support, you can also receive an additional monthly allowance of $25 (in total, not per dependent).

Temporary Partial Disability Benefits

If you can return to work but you aren't able to earn as much while you're recovering, Arizona workers' comp pays temporary partial disability benefits. The benefit amount will be two-thirds of the difference between your pre-injury monthly wages (subject to the same maximum as for TTD benefits) and what you're earning while you're still recovering. For example, if you used to earn $3,200 a month but now can only earn $1,700, you'll get $1,000 in benefits (two-thirds of $1,500).

Permanent Disability Benefits

Once it appears your condition is stationary—meaning that it won't improve any more, even with further treatment—your doctor will evaluate you to see if you have any permanent disability as a result of your workplace injury or occupational disease. Arizona has different ways of calculating permanent disability benefits, depending on the affected part of your body and the extent of your impairment.

Scheduled Permanent Partial Disability Benefits

Arizona law sets out a schedule for the amount and duration of PPD benefits when you've lost the functional use of an extremity (including a finger, toe, arm, hand, foot, or leg) or you suffered loss of hearing or eyesight. The amount of the benefits will be based on a percentage your pre-injury wages (up to the current maximum), as follows:

• 50% for partial loss of use
• 55% for an amputation or total loss of use, or

• 75% if you can't return to your regular work because of lost use of the body part.

You'll receive those benefits for a period of time listed in the schedule for each affected part of the body. For example, the payments will last 15 months for total lost use of a thumb, 20 months for complete hearing loss in one ear, 25 months for lost sight in one eye, and 50 months for loss of your dominant hand.

If your disability to any of the listed body parts is partial, the payments will last for a number of months proportional to the percentage of disability. For example, if your doctor determines that you've lost 50% of the use of your dominant hand, you'll receive benefits for 25 months (50% of 50 months).

Unscheduled Permanent Partial Disability Benefits

If you have a permanent impairment to your organs or other parts of your body that aren't listed in the schedule—such as the hips, shoulders, lungs, spine, or digestive tract—you may receive PPD benefits only if the disability causes a reduction in your earning capacity. The amount of these benefits will be 55% of the difference between your pre-injury wages and the amount you're able to earn now.

After you've received a workers' comp award for unscheduled PPD, your benefits may be adjusted up or down if your earning capacity changes as a result of your work injury or illness (not, for instance, because of age or another unrelated injury or illness).

Permanent Disability Benefits for Disfigurement

When your injury has caused a permanent disfigurement to your head and face (including lost teeth), the Industrial Commission of Arizona (ICA) will decide on a fair amount of PPD benefits for a period of time up to 18 months.

Permanent Total Disability Benefits

If you're permanently and totally disabled as a result of your work-related injury or illness, you may receive benefits for the rest of your life at the same rate as temporary total disability. Certain impairments are presumed to be permanent total disability, including:

• complete loss of sight in both eyes
• amputations of both feet, both hands, or one hand and one foot
• a spinal injury that has caused a certain level of paralysis, and
• severe mental impairments caused by traumatic head injury.

Other types of impairments may also qualify if medical evidence shows that you're completely disabled and unable to work.

Lump-Sum Payments for Permanent Disability

The ICA may allow an award or settlement for permanent disability benefits over time to be converted to a lump sum. However, there are dollar limits on these lump-sum awards (depending on the type of disability).

Other Types of Workers' Comp Benefits in Arizona

The Arizona workers' comp system also provides other types of benefits for employees who are injured or become ill because of their work, including

• Medical benefits. Workers' comp will pay for any medical care that's reasonable and necessary to treat your work injury or illness, as well as reimbursement for reasonable travel expenses if you have to travel more than 25 miles to get medical treatment.
• Vocational rehabilitation. If you can't return to your regular work because of physical limitations resulting by your work injury, you may be eligible for vocation rehabilitation through the ICA Special Fund Division.
• Death and burial benefits. If an employee dies as a result of a work-related injury or illness, surviving family members who were financially dependent on the deceased employee may receive death benefits. The amount and duration of these benefits depends on the dependent's relationship to the deceased employee. Workers' comp will also pay up to $5,000 to cover the burial expenses.

Getting Help Collecting Your Workers' Comp Benefits

If your employer's insurance company has denied your workers' comp claim or is balking at paying benefits on time or in the right amount, you should strongly consider contacting an Arizona workers' comp lawyer. A local attorney who's experienced in this legal area can evaluate your claim and work to ensure that you receive all of the compensation you deserve under Arizona law. Learn more about what a good workers' comp lawyer can do for you and what to look for in a workers' comp attorney.