The six major Ohio BWC benefits
Ohio’s workers’ compensation system is designed to provide multiple categories of financial support to injured workers. The problem is that nobody explains the full picture. The BWC doesn’t volunteer information about benefits you might be eligible for. Your employer certainly won’t. And without an experienced attorney, most injured workers receive a fraction of what they’re entitled to. Here are all six categories.
1. Temporary Total Disability (TTD)
TTD is the bi-weekly compensation check you receive when you cannot work at all due to your injury. For the first 12 weeks, it is calculated at 72% of your Full Weekly Wage (FWW). From week 13 onward, it drops to 66.667% of your Average Weekly Wage (AWW). TTD continues until your treating physician releases you to return to work or declares you at Maximum Medical Improvement (MMI).
2. Average Weekly Wage (AWW)
The AWW is not a “benefit” in itself — it is the foundational number that determines every other benefit amount. Under R.C. § 4123.61, your AWW is calculated from all wages earned in the 52 weeks prior to your injury, divided by the number of weeks worked. Getting this number right is critical. Workers who held multiple jobs, earned regular overtime, received bonuses, or worked variable schedules often have an understated AWW. An AWW error of just $50 per week compounds into thousands of dollars in lost TTD, Wage Loss, and PPD over the life of a claim.
3. Wage Loss compensation
Once TTD ends — because your doctor released you to some level of work — you may still earn significantly less than you did before the injury. Wage Loss compensation pays 66.667% of the difference between your pre-injury AWW and your current earnings (or earning capacity). You can receive Wage Loss for up to 200 weeks. Many injured workers don’t even know this benefit exists, and employers have no obligation to tell you.
4. Permanent Partial Disability (PPD)
PPD compensates you for the permanent physical impairment caused by your injury — the damage to your body that will never fully heal. A doctor evaluates your permanent impairment as a percentage, and the BWC pays a scheduled amount based on that percentage and your AWW. PPD is available even if you return to full-time work. Under R.C. § 4123.57(B), you can request PPD evaluations whenever your condition worsens, and many workers are entitled to additional PPD awards as their conditions deteriorate over time.
5. Permanent Total Disability (PTD)
PTD is the highest ongoing benefit in Ohio workers’ compensation. If your injury leaves you permanently and totally unable to perform any sustained remunerative employment, you may receive 66.667% of your AWW for the rest of your life. PTD is determined by the Industrial Commission, not the BWC, and is based on both medical evidence and vocational factors such as your age, education, and work history. PTD awards are rare but substantial — I have obtained PTD awards that provide lifetime income for severely injured workers.
6. Settlements
A settlement is a voluntary agreement to close your claim in exchange for a lump-sum payment. Settlements in Ohio workers’ compensation are governed by R.C. § 4123.65. They are permanent — once you settle, you give up all future rights to TTD, Wage Loss, PPD, PTD, and medical benefits related to the claim. Settlements can range from a few thousand dollars to several hundred thousand, depending on the severity of the injury, your age, the allowed conditions, and the remaining benefit exposure. Never settle without an attorney who can calculate the true value of keeping your claim open.
Not sure which benefits apply to your claim? Get a free case evaluation.
How benefits interact and overlap
Ohio workers’ compensation benefits follow a general timeline from the moment of injury through the eventual resolution of your claim. Understanding this timeline helps you anticipate what comes next and avoid gaps in compensation.
The benefit timeline
When you are first injured and cannot work, you receive TTD — your bi-weekly compensation check. During this entire period, the BWC also pays for all medical treatment related to your allowed conditions. When your doctor releases you to return to work or declares you at MMI, TTD ends. At that point, if you are earning less than before or cannot find work within your restrictions, you transition to Wage Loss compensation.
At any point after your condition has stabilized, you can request a PPD evaluation. PPD is a separate payment for permanent impairment — it does not replace or offset TTD or Wage Loss. You can receive PPD while also receiving Wage Loss. If your injuries are severe enough that you can never return to any sustained employment, you may apply for PTD — lifetime benefits.
At any stage, you and the employer (or MCO) can agree to a settlement that closes the claim entirely. The key question is always whether the lump sum offered is worth more than the ongoing benefits you would receive by keeping the claim open.
Important: PPD and Wage Loss can be received simultaneously — they compensate different things. PPD compensates permanent physical impairment; Wage Loss compensates lost earning capacity. Many injured workers (and some attorneys) don’t realize you can pursue both at the same time.
Benefits most injured workers miss
After nearly five decades of practice, these are the benefits I most frequently recover for clients who thought they were already getting everything they were owed.
Average Weekly Wage errors
This is the single most impactful correction I make. The BWC calculates your AWW from the wage information it receives — but it doesn’t go looking for wages that weren’t reported. If you worked a second job, earned cash tips, received quarterly bonuses, or had regular overtime, those wages may not be reflected in your AWW. Under R.C. § 4123.61, all remuneration from all employers in the 52 weeks prior to injury must be included. I have corrected AWW errors that increased a client’s total benefits by over $26,000.
Wage Loss after returning to work
When TTD ends and you go back to work — even if only part-time or in a lower-paying position — many workers assume their benefits are over. They’re not. If you are earning less than your pre-injury AWW because of your allowed conditions, you are likely entitled to Wage Loss compensation for up to 200 weeks. The BWC does not automatically start paying Wage Loss. You must file a motion requesting it, supported by medical evidence and wage documentation.
Psychological overlay conditions
Chronic pain from a workplace injury frequently leads to depression, anxiety, insomnia, and post-traumatic stress. These psychological conditions can and should be added to your workers’ compensation claim as “allowed conditions.” Once allowed, the BWC pays for your psychological treatment — medication, therapy, psychiatric care — and the conditions are factored into your PPD percentage and any settlement valuation. Many injured workers suffer in silence, not knowing these conditions are compensable.
PPD increases over time
Your initial PPD evaluation is not necessarily your last. Workplace injuries often worsen over the years — degenerative changes accelerate, surgical hardware fails, additional surgeries create additional impairment. Under Ohio law, you can request a new PPD evaluation whenever your condition materially worsens. Each evaluation can result in an additional PPD award. I have clients who have received three or four PPD awards over the life of their claim.
How to maximize your total compensation
Maximizing your workers’ compensation benefits is not about gaming the system — it is about making sure you receive every dollar the law entitles you to. Here is what that looks like in practice.
- Verify your AWW immediately. Request the AWW calculation from the BWC and compare it against your actual earnings from all sources in the year before your injury. If it’s low, file a motion to correct it.
- Get every condition allowed. Every body part you injured, every complication that developed, and every psychological condition caused by the injury should be officially allowed in your claim. The more conditions allowed, the higher your PPD, the stronger your Wage Loss case, and the more your claim is worth in settlement.
- Don’t settle too early. The value of a settlement is based on your remaining benefit exposure — future TTD, future Wage Loss, future PPD, future medical care, and potential PTD. If you settle before the full extent of your injuries is known, you leave money on the table permanently.
- File for Wage Loss when TTD ends. Don’t assume your benefits are over when you go back to work. If you are earning less because of your injury, Wage Loss fills the gap for up to 200 weeks.
- Request PPD evaluations periodically. As your condition worsens or you undergo additional treatment, you may be entitled to additional PPD awards. Don’t leave them unclaimed.
- Coordinate with Social Security. If you are also filing for Social Security Disability (SSDI), the interaction between workers’ comp and SSDI must be managed carefully to avoid unnecessary offsets. Mike co-counsels with a Social Security disability law firm to handle both sides together.
Bottom line: The difference between a well-managed claim and a neglected one can easily be $50,000 to $100,000 or more over the life of the claim. That’s not an exaggeration — it’s the reality I see in client after client who comes to me after years of being under-compensated.