Helping Workers Seek Maximum Compensation
Under Ohio workers' compensation law, an employee's average weekly wage (AWW) and full weekly wage (FWW) are used to calculate the benefits an employee is entitled to after a workplace injury. These concepts can get very complicated, especially for employees in unique circumstances.
At Barkan & Barkan Co., L.P.A., our attorneys are experienced at arguing for the maximum possible AWW and FWW amounts for our clients. Contact us at our offices in Columbus to discuss how we can help you. If you choose to hire us, our fee is limited to a reasonable percentage of your compensation.
Carefully Analyzing Weekly Wage Calculations
Your average weekly wage is the basis for most workers' compensation benefits — including temporary total disability after 12 weeks, permanent partial disability, permanent total disability and death benefits. It is based on your total salary or wages over the course of the year before your accident.
Your full weekly wage is based on your average weekly salary or wages for the six weeks before your accident. A percentage of your FWW is the basis for your benefits for the first 12 weeks of temporary total disability.
These calculations may appear simple, but determining which numbers to use is actually a very complicated issue for many of our clients.
We are experienced at pursuing fair rulings on AWW and FWW issues at Bureau of Workers' Compensation (BWC) hearings and in other venues. We can look into whether income from another job should be included in the calculation and which time period should be used to calculate the full weekly wage.
Pursuing Deviations for Special Circumstances
In some cases, using the results of the AWW or FWW calculation to define the injured employee's workers' compensation benefits would be clearly unfair. For instance, if you were laid off for part of the last year, or if you recently graduated school and only started your job a few months ago, your average weekly wage will be much lower than your actual earnings at the time of the accident.
Ohio workers' compensation law leaves some room for deviations from the AWW and FWW numbers. Our lawyers know how to follow up on these issues to seek the results you deserve. Contact us today.
