Have you recently suffered a permanent disability in a work-related accident in Clearwater, Florida? You may qualify to receive Permanent Total Disability (PTD) through your employer’s workers’ compensation insurance policy. The experienced Clearwater permanent disability lawyers at Perenich, Caulfield, Avril & Noyes Personal Injury Lawyers can help you fight to make sure you get all of the benefits you deserve.
Since 1955, Perenich, Caulfield, Avril & Noyes Personal Injury Lawyers has been a fierce advocate for injured workers and families in Clearwater, Florida. Collectively, our award-winning personal injury lawyers have over 300 years of experience and have won hundreds of millions on behalf of our clients.
A permanent disability fundamentally changes your life. Don’t accept less than you deserve. Contact our law office in Clearwater at (727) 796-8282 or contact us online and get our top-rated workers’ compensation lawyers in your corner. Your first consultation is free, so reach out for assistance today.
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How Our Clearwater Workers’ Compensation Lawyers Can Help You Get Benefits For a Permanent Disability
What exactly qualifies as a permanent disability? How do you know if you qualify for PTD? How do you know if you’re getting the full value of the benefits to which you’re entitled under Florida workers’ compensation law?
These can be difficult questions to answer, and it’s easy to get confused or overwhelmed. Don’t try to figure it out on your own. Instead, turn to our Clearwater workers’ compensation lawyers for help.
We know that your injury has been devastating. You’re unable to work and earn a living, which can add considerable stress to the situation. Perenich, Caulfield, Avril & Noyes Personal Injury Lawyers will help you make sure that your employer’s workers’ compensation insurance company pays you the benefits you need to survive.
Our top-rated legal team around Pinellas County will handle every aspect of your claim for Permanent Total Disability benefits:
- Work with independent medical professionals to ensure that your workplace injury is properly diagnosed
- Prepare and file a workers’ compensation claim supported by evidence of your permanent total disability
- Appeal your claim for benefits if it’s denied
- Negotiate with the insurance company on your behalf
- Seek social security disability (SSD) benefits and/or damages from liable third parties to supplement the PTD benefits you’re awarded, if appropriate.
We work on a contingency fee basis, so there’s no upfront cost to get our attorneys to take on the insurance company for you. You only pay for our legal representation if we win your claim for PTD benefits. Call to arrange a free consultation and learn more today.
What Is a Permanent Total Disability?
If your workplace injury or occupational disease is so severe that it prevents you from working in any capacity, you may qualify for Permanent Total Disability benefits.
Specifically, Florida law provides that PTD benefits can only be awarded if you’re:
- Physically incapable;
- Of performing at least sedentary employment;
- Within a 50-mile radius of your home.
If you can work in some (even very limited) capacity, then PTD benefits won’t be available.
The following injuries are specifically listed in the Florida code as examples of permanent and total disabilities:
- Spinal cord injury resulting in the severe paralysis of your arm, leg, or trunk
- Severe traumatic brain injury resulting in severe sensory disorders, motor disturbances, episodic neurological disorders, communication disturbances, or similar consequences
- Amputation of an arm, hand, foot, or leg to the extent that you can no longer use the limb effectively
- Second or third-degree burns across at least 25 percent of the body
- Third-degree burns affecting 5 percent or more of the face or hands
- Total or industrial blindness.
To be clear, you don’t have to suffer from one of these specific injuries to qualify for PTD benefits. However, you will be presumed to have a permanent and total disability if you suffer one of these types of injuries and are unable to work.
How Much Are Permanent Disability Benefits in Clearwater, Florida?
If you qualify for PTD, you’ll be entitled to receive 66.67 percent of your average weekly wages (prior to your injury).
If you earned $900 a week right before you got hurt, your PTD benefits would equal $600.21. ($900 x .6667 = $600.21).
Note that Florida does cap workers’ compensation benefits. For injuries sustained in 2022, the maximum average weekly wage will be capped at $1,099. So, if you earned $1,200 a week before you became disabled or ill, the most you can use to calculate PTD benefits would be $1,099.
Permanent Total Disability benefits will be paid until you can return to work in a limited, even sedentary, capacity or you’re 75 years old.
Schedule a Free Consultation With a Workers’ Compensation Attorney in Clearwater, FL
The insurance company may try to fight you when you claim to have a permanent and total disability after your Clearwater workplace accident. Don’t let them push you around. Your financial future is quite literally on the line.
Contact Perenich, Caulfield, Avril & Noyes Personal Injury Lawyers and let our Clearwater permanent disability lawyers stand up and fight back for you.
We’re here to make sure you’re properly compensated for your traumatic on-the-job accident. We will work tirelessly to get you all of the benefits you deserve, including impairment benefits and PTD. Don’t hesitate to contact our Clearwater, FL law office to discover how we can make a difference in your life. We’re standing by to take your call today.
