Have you been injured at work? Are you currently being medically treated for a work injury and feel in the dark about your care and all of the confusing terms used by both the doctors and the insurance company?

Below is a brief summary of the most commonly used acronyms in workers compensation in Indiana. Familiarizing yourself with these terms will allow you to better understand the “lingo” while in the doctor’s office for treatment or on the phone with the insurance company.

Average Weekly Wage (AWW):

Average Weekly wage of the employee for the 52 weeks before the injury. If the employee has not worked 52 weeks for the employer, AWW is determined by taking the total wages earned divided by the number of weeks worked.

Temporary Total Disability (TTD):

If an employee has been taken off work by the employer-authorized physician for longer than seven (7) days they should begin receiving TTD payments. These payments take the place of their normal paychecks and should be 2/3 of the AWW.

Temporary Partial Disability (TPD):

The same as TTD except this is for an employee who has returned to work part-time. The employer will pay the employee for the hours that they work and TPD will cover 2/3rds of the rest up to the employee’s AWW.

Maximum Medical Improvement (MMI):

When an employee is released from medical treatment by the employer-authorized physician they are released at MMI. This means that they have reached a point in their treatment where further treatment would not improve their condition.

Independent Medical Examination (IME):

When scheduled by the Worker’s Compensation Board, an evaluation by a doctor is to determine whether or not the employee is at MMI, and if not what additional treatment is needed. When scheduled by our law firm, it is an evaluation by a doctor we choose to get a second opinion on the PPI rating.

Application for Adjustment of Claim (Application):

Equivalent to a lawsuit in a civil suit. This must be filed to protect a statute of limitations.

We understand this can be a very difficult time in a person’s life. Often times, the injured person was carrying the weight of the household expenses and suddenly left without any income. Call us if you have questions about work comp or have been injured at work. We can help.