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​Experienced ILLINOIS Workers’ Compensation Lawyers
& CHICAGO Injury Lawyers

Calculating Average Weekly Wage for Auto Workers

Lawyers for Work Injury Claims in Chicago

Many disabled auto workers are concerned about how much they can get in disability payments. Your average weekly wage is a crucial aspect in valuing your workers’ compensation action. If you have questions about calculating the average weekly wage for auto workers hurt on the job, the skilled Chicago workers’ compensation attorneys of Katz, Friedman, Eisenstein, Johnson, Bareck & Bertuca may be able to assist you in determining the benefit amount you may be eligible for.

Calculating Average Weekly Wage for Auto Workers

Your average weekly wage needs to be calculated appropriately from the very beginning of your case. Your average weekly wage is the most important factor in your claim and will determine how much you’ll be able to obtain in benefits if you are disabled. Temporary total disability benefits are 2/3 of the average weekly wage up to a maximum that the law sets. The average weekly wage can be calculated in different ways depending on how long you were at your job at the time of the accident.

Methods of Calculation

Under Section 10 of the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Act, one way to calculate your average weekly wage is by looking at actual earnings in the 52-week-period that ends with the last day of your last full pay period just before the accident. This won’t include overtime or bonuses or fringe benefits. The sum is divided by 52 to get an average weekly wage. This method only works if you worked a full year without losing 5 or more calendar days. The calculation is based on either your actual salary or hourly wages before taxes are withheld from them. The earnings cannot be potential.

However, if you lost 5 or more calendar days during the 52-week-period before you got hurt, the actual earnings would be divided by the number of weeks and parts of the week remaining after the time lost has been deducted. The lost time is the same as off time. When the work schedule is erratic, the number of days worked in the past 52 weeks should be divided by the number of days in the work week and the earnings should be divided by that sum.

If you worked over a period of less than 52 weeks, the way of dividing the earnings in that period by the number of weeks and parts during which the employee actually earned wages should be followed. If you are a full-time employee that’s scheduled to work a full work week, the number of days you worked before your injury is supposed to be divided by the number of days in a full work week to get to the number of weeks and parts thereof by which the pre-injury wages should be divided. For example, this method can also be appropriate for a teacher who develops job-related carpal tunnel syndrome or slips and falls on the job, since the annual wage is divided by the period of time when work was actually being performed.

Calculating the average weekly wage for auto workers needs to be done differently where employment is more casual or brief, and an experienced workers’ compensation attorney can help you determine what amount might be appropriate in that situation. When the amount of time the employee has been employed is brief, it may be appropriate to calculate the average weekly wage by looking at the average weekly amount that was being earned in the 52 weeks before injury, or that would’ve been earned by someone at the same level employed doing the same thing for each of the 52 weeks for the same number of hours each week by the same employer.

Dedicated Workers’ Compensation Attorneys Serving Chicago

If you are an auto worker with job-related injuries in Chicago, your benefits will depend on a proper calculation of your average weekly wage. At Katz, Friedman, Eisenstein, Johnson, Bareck & Bertuca, our team of lawyers also represents injured workers in Quincy, Rockford, Springfield, Champaign, Aurora, and Quincy, as well as Winnebago, Kane, Cook, Adams, Sangamon, and Champaign Counties. Additionally, we will evaluate the facts of your case to figure out whether damages in a personal injury lawsuit or SSDI may also be available. Call us at 312-724-5846, or contact us online.