Fee Schedule for New Jersey Workers Comp Due to Hand Related Injuries

The New Jersey Workers’ Compensation Division within the Department of Labor and Workforce Development is responsible for regulating and overseeing the administration of benefits to injured workers. A worker who is eligible for workers’ comp can receive weekly or biweekly benefits based on his prior earnings. The benefits are limited to weekly minimum and maximum statewide fee schedule. Depending on the specific type of injury to the particular part of your body, your New Jersey workers’ comp lawyer will determine exactly how much benefits you are entitled to.

Hand Related Injuries

Of the 3.6 million work-related injuries in the U.S., hands are the most common parts of the body that are injured. More than 90 percent of all acute hand injuries at the workplace are caused by human error, not equipment failure. Hand hazards can come from high temperatures, chemicals, welding or plasma fumes, dust, sharp metal edges or objects, pinch points at operating machines, and electrical systems. Following certain safety guidelines can help reduce hand injuries.

Hand injuries come in many forms. Sprains, strains, dislocations, and fractures are the most common followed by avulsions, abrasions, contusions, lacerations, and punctures.

But regardless of what the cause of your hand injury was, you should hire a New Jersey workers’ comp lawyer to get you the workers’ compensation benefits you are entitled to.

Disability Payment Schedule for Hand Related Injuries

Under the New Jersey Workers’ Compensation Act, eligible claimants can receive medical and monetary benefits on a temporary or permanent basis, depending on your specific injury. The Commissioner of Labor and Workforce Development sets annual fee schedules establishing the weekly compensation rates for injured workers.

The medical fee schedule was created to describe the maximum amounts that must be paid for reasonable and necessary medical services for individuals suffering from work related injuries. The liability for medical charges under the New Jersey fee schedule is limited to the maximum charge allowed by the schedule at the time of the service or the provider’s fee, whichever is lower. If a provider’s fee for service exceeds the amount listed in the schedule, no one is required to pay the price difference.

The Disability Payment Schedule Explained

Your New Jersey workers’ comp lawyer will need to look at the schedule of disabilities to determine how much you are owed in workers’ comp benefits. Depending on your treating physician’s certification of the percentage of your hand injury, the fee schedule sets a weekly benefit. This fee changes each year.

For hand injuries specifically, you can receive workers’ compensation benefits for a maximum of 245 weeks. The benefits range from a minimum of $529.20 for 2.45 weeks at 1 percent disability to a maximum of $119,070.00 for 330 weeks at 100 percent disability.

There is also a separate fee schedule, which establishes the weekly compensation rates for workers with permanent partial disabilities. In some dire circumstances where a hand injury necessitates amputation, the worker is deemed to have a permanent partial disability. In cases where amputation is necessary, the injured individual is entitled to an additional 30 percent of the workers’ comp benefits.

Contact Us

For more information or to schedule a complimentary consultation with a New Jersey workers’ comp lawyer, please call Dan T. Matrafajlo, Attorney At Law at (908) 248-4404.