If you’ve suffered a work injury and you’re out of work, receiving temporary total disability checks may be all that’s keeping food on your table and the electricity running. Knowing you’ll be receiving weekly checks is a huge relief. But the first day goes by, and you haven’t received your workers’ comp check yet. “That’s okay,” you think to yourself. “It’s only the first day. It’s not unusual to wait a couple of business days to receive a check.”
But then after two or three days you begin to worry. And after six days, you’re beginning to wonder if your check will ever come. But don’t panic yet. Your check is coming. In fact, this is completely normal: There is a seven-day waiting period before you receive your workers’ comp check from your employer.
However, just because it takes a week for the insurance carrier to start paying your workman’s compensation benefits, doesn’t necessarily mean you won’t get paid for that time. If your work injury results in a disability or inability to work for more than 14 days, then the insurance company is supposed to pay you for the original seven-day waiting period.
If the insurance company refuses to pay you for that time, you should contact an experienced attorney to find out what action you should take next. It may just be that they haven’t sent your check yet. Unfortunately this can happen, and as long as they get the check to you within the proper window, they won’t be held accountable for your late check.
Don’t let insurance companies take advantage of you. If you’re waiting on weekly disability checks, and you’re not sure whether you’ve been waiting too long or not long enough, one of the attorneys at Oxner + Permar would be more than happy to evaluate your case.
