A workplace injury can disrupt your health and income. When bills keep arriving, uncertainty about when your benefits could end may add further strain.
If pain keeps you from working, you might worry about medical costs and your family’s needs. Knowing how long support generally lasts can help you plan your finances and anticipate when payments might end.
In New Jersey, workers’ compensation does not follow one timeline. Some payments may stop when you recover enough to work, while others can cover lasting loss of function. The duration often depends on the type of benefit you receive.
Temporary disability benefits can last up to 400 weeks
Temporary total disability payments generally continue until you return to work, become medically able to resume your duties or reach maximum medical improvement. Doctors use this term when further care is unlikely to improve the injury.
These payments have a 400-week limit. You become eligible if the disability keeps you from working for over seven days. Benefits then cover the period beginning with your first lost workday.
Permanent partial benefits follow a set schedule
Permanent partial disability payments generally cover a lasting impairment that does not prevent all employment. The period depends on the body part and degree of lost function.
The schedule assigns each body part a certain number of weeks. Your percentage of lost function may determine how much of that period applies. For an unscheduled condition, such as back damage, the award typically reflects a percentage of 600 weeks.
Permanent total benefits start with 450 weeks
If your injury leaves you permanently unable to work, total disability payments initially run for 450 weeks. They may continue if you complete any ordered rehabilitation and still cannot earn what you made when the accident occurred. After that period, the payment could decrease if you earn income.
Medical benefits have no fixed week limit
Authorized medical care has no fixed number of weeks. The employer or insurer generally chooses the provider and pays for services tied to your injury.
Employer-authorized treatment can affect the filing deadline because New Jersey treats that care as compensation. You generally need to file a formal petition within two years after the injury or last compensation payment, whichever comes later.
What you can do when payments may end
A cutoff notice can cause concern when symptoms still limit your duties. You can gather your medical records, work restrictions and payment notices to determine why the insurer changed or stopped support.
You may also ask an attorney to assess the benefit period, dispute a premature cutoff and track the filing deadline. That review could protect your claim for wage payments and medical care.