Workers' Compensation Glossary
Advance Payment - a partial lump-sum payment
Average Weekly Wage - the wage upon which indemnity benefits are calculated; usually this is based upon the average of the injured worker's weekly wages during the thirteen weeks immediately before his or her accident
Claim - a request for payment of money, medical treatment, or other available workers' compensation benefits based upon the occurrence of an occupational injury or illness
Closed Claim - a claim in which all benefits due have been paid and/or a claim that has been settled in its entirety
Compensable Claim - a claim that qualifies the injured worker or dependents for workers' compensation benefits under the law
Indemnity Benefits (Income Benefits) - payments made to the injured worker as a result of his or her compensable lost time from work or payments made to dependents of a deceased worker whose death resulted from his or her occupational injury or illness
Indemnity Claim - a claim for which at least one day of indemnity benefits has been paid
Lost-Time Claim - a claim in which an injured worker has missed more than seven days of work as a result of a disabling occupational injury or illness
Lost Work Days - days that an injured worker missed as a result of his or her occupational injury or illness; lost work days does not include the day of the injury or any days during which the injured worker was not scheduled to work
Lump-Sum Payment - a single payment of all remaining weekly income benefits (or permanent partial disability benefits)
Medical-Only Claim - an occupational injury for which medical benefits are being paid or authorized, but for which no income benefits have been paid
Nature of Injury or Illness - the physical characteristics and/or medical diagnosis of an injury or illness, such as a sprain, a herniated disc, a second-degree burn, an amputation, etc.
Open Claim - a claim in which workers' compensation benefits may still be paid
Part of Body - the part or parts of the body of the injured worker directly affected by the injury or illness for which the worker is seeking or receiving workers' compensation benefits
Permanent Partial Disability - disability that is partial in character but permanent in quality; results from a loss of use of body members or from partial loss of use of the body as a whole
Processed Claim - a claim for which data from at least one case progress report and/or first report of injury has been entered into the State Board's Integrated Claims Management System
Temporary Partial Disability - disability that is partial in character but temporary in quality; able to perform work at a reduced rate of pay for no more than 350 weeks immediately following an occupational injury and before the employee has reached maximum medical improvement
Total Disability - disability that is total in character and either temporary or permanent quality; unable to perform any work for pay as a result of an occupational injury or illness
Type of Accident - the event that directly resulted in the injury or illness
If your claim is based on an occupational disease, you have one (1) year from the date you became aware of your disease or, in the exercise of reasonable diligence, should have know of the relationship between your condition and its employment. Any claim based upon an occupational disease must be filed within seven years of the last date you were exposed to the work-related hazards that caused your disease; however, if your claim is based upon a diagnosis of asbestosis or mesothelioma resulting from exposure to asbestos, you have one (1) year from the first date of disability following your diagnosis to file a claim..png)
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