Workers’ comp settlement calculator

How a workers’ comp settlement is calculated

A workers’ compensation settlement is valued from three parts: wage-loss benefits still owed, permanent disability benefits for the impairment rating your doctor gives at maximum medical improvement, and, if the settlement closes your medical benefits, the expected cost of future care. The calculator shows each part:

1. Weekly benefit (temporary total disability): average weekly wage × the state’s rate, usually 66⅔%, never above the state maximum or (in most states) below the minimum.^[1]
2. Waiting period: the first 3 to 7 days are unpaid unless the disability lasts long enough to be paid retroactively.
3. Permanent partial disability (PPD): impairment rating × weeks per percentage point × the PPD rate, in states with a single statewide formula.
4. Future medical: added to the high end only, because many settlements leave medical benefits open.

Workers compensation settlement calculator: 2026 weekly maximum by state

The state maximum is the biggest limit on benefits for higher earners: it ranges from $1,199 a week in New Jersey to $2,007 in Massachusetts.^[2][4] Most states reset it once a year from the statewide average weekly wage.

A state appears here only after its current maximum has been read on the state agency’s own page; this update covers 10 states, and more are added as each is confirmed. “—” for the minimum means no minimum is applied because the current figure was not confirmed. Rates are set by the date of injury, so an older injury keeps the maximum of its year.

Weekly benefit examples

Because of the maximum, the same wage pays very different benefits in different states; a worker earning $2,000 a week is capped in nearly every state.^[3][5][6][7]

Permanent partial disability settlement calculator

Permanent partial disability pays for lasting loss of function after you reach MMI. In Tennessee, Texas, the statute converts a whole-person impairment rating into a number of weeks, which the calculator multiplies by the PPD rate. Other states use schedules of body parts (for example, a set number of weeks for the loss of a hand), wage-loss formulas or a judge’s rating, so the calculator shows only the weekly benefit there. Ask your adjuster which method your claim uses.

MMI settlement: when and how cases settle

Most workers’ comp cases settle after maximum medical improvement, when the doctor says your condition has stabilized and gives a rating, because before MMI nobody knows the permanent disability. A settlement either pays a lump sum and keeps medical benefits open, or closes everything (often called a compromise and release or clincher). Closing medicals is the bigger decision: a back injury needing future surgery can cost more than the cash offered. Medicare beneficiaries, or those likely to be soon, may need a Medicare set-aside.

Mistakes that shrink a workers’ comp settlement

• Wrong average weekly wage. Overtime, a second job and the value of some benefits can count; check the insurer’s calculation.
• Settling before MMI or before a second-opinion rating.
• Missing the claim deadlines. Workers’ comp has its own notice and filing deadlines, separate from the statute of limitations by state for lawsuits.
• Overlooking a third-party claim. If someone other than your employer caused the injury, such as a driver in a work crash, you may also have a negligence claim: see the car accident settlement calculator and the personal injury settlement calculator.

To see what you keep after the attorney fee (workers’ comp fees are usually capped by state law at 10%–25%), use the settlement calculator.