How Much Are Workers' Compensation Benefits in Wisconsin?

Wisconsin workers' compensation pays valuable benefits to employees with work-related injuries or illnesses. These benefits include medical treatment, weekly payments to help offset earnings you've lost as a result of your injury, vocational rehabilitation, and more.

To get these benefits, you'll need to report your injury to your employer within 30 days after your injury (or after you know or should have known that your disability is related to your work) and file a workers' comp claim.

Temporary Disability Benefits in Wisconsin

Temporary disability benefits are paid while you are recovering from your injuries. You may be eligible for either temporary total disability (TTD) or temporary partial disability (TPD). In Wisconsin, these benefits are not paid for your first three days off work, unless your disability lasts more than seven days.

Temporary Total Disability

You may receive temporary total disability (TTD) benefits while you:

• are unable to perform any type of work while you're recovering from your workplace injury or occupational illness, or
• could return to restricted work but haven't been offered work that accommodates those restrictions.

These benefits are calculated at two-thirds of your average weekly wage before your injury, up to a maximum that changes annually. For 2023, the maximum TTD benefit is $1,247 (two-thirds of the maximum weekly wage of $1,870.50 for that year, which is 110% of the statewide average weekly wage).

TTD payments continue until you return to work or your doctor says that you've reached "maximum medical improvement" (MMI), which means that your condition won't improve any further with medical treatment.

Temporary Partial Disability

If you can return to work, but you aren't able to earn as much as you were before the injury or illness, you may receive temporary partial disability (TPD) benefits.

The amount of these benefits will be two-thirds of the difference between your pre-injury and post-injury wages; however, the pre-injury wages are subject to the same maximum as for TTD benefits. For example, if you used to earn $1,000 a week but now can earn only $700, you would get $200 in TPD benefits (two-thirds of $300).

Permanent Partial Disability Benefits in Wisconsin

Once you've reached MMI, your doctor will evaluate you and decide whether you have any permanent limitations as a result of your work injury or occupational disease. In most cases where there's some permanent disability, it will be partial. In that case, you'll receive a permanent impairment rating (expressed as a percentage of lost body function).

Although the amount of permanent partial disability (PPD) benefits in Wisconsin is also calculated as two-thirds of your average weekly earnings, the maximum is much lower than for temporary disability, and it isn't raised every year. For injuries that happened on or after January 1, 2023, the state's maximum compensation rate for PPD is $430 a week.

If you've returned to work, you'll still receive PPD benefits based on your physical limitations. If you're unable to earn at least 85% of your pre-injury wages, however, your award may be adjusted upward to take into account your lost earning capacity.

The length of time you receive TTD benefits will be determined in one of two ways: (1) according to a schedule for the lost use of certain body parts (scheduled loss), or (2) based on a permanent impairment rating for other lost body function.

Duration of Permanent Partial Disability for Scheduled Loss of Use

If you've completely lost the use of a body part included in Wisconsin's PPD schedule, you'll receive benefits for the number of weeks listed in that schedule. The schedule mostly covers extremities (arms, legs, hands, feet, fingers, and toes), but it also includes removal of an eye or lost vision, as well as deafness. The number of weeks will be multiplied by a certain amount if you have an impairment to your dominant hand or to multiple body parts listed on the schedule.

If you suffer a partial loss of a listed body part, benefits will last for a proportional length of time. For example, if you lost 50% of the use of your hand, the benefits will last for half of the maximum in 200 weeks in the schedule, or 200 weeks. If it was your dominant hand, that period will be increased by 25%, for a total of 250 weeks.

Duration of Permanent Partial Disability for Unscheduled Impairment

For permanent partial disability that isn't listed on Wisconsin's schedule (such as to your lungs or back), the duration of your benefits will be a percentage of 1,000 weeks, based on your permanent impairment rating. For example, if you had a back injury that resulted in a 15% permanent impairment rating, you will receive PPD benefits for 150 weeks (1,000 x 0.15).

Compensation for Permanent Disfigurement

If your injury left you with a permanent disfigurement to a part of your body that would be visible at work and could potentially result in wage loss, Wisconsin's Workers' Compensation Division may award you any amount of permanent disability that it considers fair, considering several factors such as your age, education, training, previous experience, and occupation.

Permanent Total Disability Benefits

You are entitled to permanent total disability benefits if your workplace injury or occupational illness prevents you from performing any type of work. Certain injuries (including the loss of both eyes, arms, or legs) are presumed to be totally and permanently disabling. Other serious injuries may also qualify. The benefits as long as you continue to be totally disabled (potentially for life), at the same rate as TTD benefits.

Other Workers' Comp Benefits in Wisconsin

In addition to temporary and permanent disability benefits, Wisconsin workers' compensation provides other benefits, including:

• Medical treatment. Workers' compensation will cover all reasonable and necessary medical expenses related to your work-related injury or illness, including physical rehabilitation, even if you haven't lost any time from work and didn't suffer any disability. In Wisconsin, once you've given notice of your injury, you have the right to choose the licensed health care provider who will provide this treatment. You also have the right to a second choice of provider if you aren't happy with the first one.
• Travel to medical treatment. You may be reimbursed for reasonable travel expenses needed to get medical treatment.
• Vocational rehabilitation. If it's difficult or impossible for you to do the same work you were doing before your injury, you may be eligible to receive vocational rehabilitation. Services could include career planning, job placement, and up to 80 weeks of retraining. While you're getting this training, you may also receive TTD benefits.
• Death benefits. If an employee dies as a direct result of a work-related injury or illness, Wisconsin workers' comp will pay the surviving spouse a death benefit up to a maximum amount that changes annually. (For 2023, the monthly maximum was $5,403.63, with an aggregate limit of $374,100.) The state will also pay an extra death benefit for surviving dependent children who are under 18 or incapacitated. If there's no surviving spouse, other surviving relatives may receive some death benefits, depending on the level of their financial dependence on the employee. Workers' comp will also pay for the deceased employ
• Burial expenses. Wisconsin workers' comp will also pay for the actual expense of burying an employee who dies from a work injury or illness, up to a maximum of $10,000.

Death Benefits

If an injury or illness results in death, the worker's dependents may receive death benefits. Death benefits can be up to four times the worker's annual wages (subject to a maximum benefit). Additionally, the insurance company must pay up to $10,000 for the worker's reasonable funeral and burial expenses.

Getting Help to Collect Your Workers' Comp Benefits

If your employer's insurance company has disputed your workers' comp claim or is balking at paying the benefits you think you deserve, you should contact qualified workers' comp lawyer.

A local attorney who's experienced in this area should be able to evaluate your claim and ensure that you receive all of the benefits you're owed under Wisconsin law. A lawyer can also explain any potential reduction in your benefits if you're also receiving Social Security disability benefits. (Learn more about finding and hiring a workers' compensation lawyer.)