What Does Workers' Comp Actually Pay For?

Workers’ comp covers a specific, defined list of things — and leaves out one big thing people expect. Knowing the difference helps you spot when you’re being shortchanged.

What it pays

• Medical treatment — authorized doctor visits, surgery, physical therapy, prescriptions, medical devices. In Georgia from the panel of physicians; in Florida from carrier-authorized providers.
• Wage replacement — roughly two-thirds of your average weekly wage while an authorized doctor keeps you out of work or on restrictions with no suitable work available, up to a statutory cap.
• Permanent impairment benefits — if the injury leaves lasting damage, the impairment rating assigned at MMI translates into additional benefits.
• Mileage — travel to and from authorized medical appointments.
• Vocational rehabilitation — in serious or catastrophic cases.

What it does NOT pay

• Pain and suffering. This is the big one. Workers’ comp is a no-fault trade-off: you don’t have to prove fault, but you give up pain-and-suffering damages. (Those live in a personal injury claim, when a third party is at fault.)
• Your full salary — only the partial wage-replacement percentage.
• Punishment of the employer — comp isn’t a lawsuit, it’s an insurance system.

Where benefits quietly shrink

The most common place value leaks isn’t a denied benefit — it’s a miscalculated average weekly wage, which drags down every wage-based payment, or a low impairment rating, which shrinks permanent benefits and settlement value. Both are correctable if caught.

Not sure you’re getting everything you’re owed? Get a free evaluation.