Workers' Comp Settlement Calculator · 2026 Edition
Workers' Compensation Settlement Calculator, from your state's own benefit formula.
Calculate your estimated workers' compensation benefits, including TTD, PPD and medical costs, from your state's own formula, with its filing deadline.
Method
Your state's benefit formula
Covers
50 states + DC
Cost
Free, no signup
Workers' Comp Settlement Calculator
Enter your case details
Employment & wages
Before your injury
$
Benefit maximums are set by the date you were hurt, not by today’s date.
California max weekly benefit: $1,764.11/wkCalifornia replaces 66.67% of gross wages.
Effective January 1 to December 31, 2026. The maximum rises each calendar year with the state average weekly wage.
Time out of work
Weeks completely unable to work
Still out of work?
Injury & disability
Type and severity
Disability type
Medical costs
All injury-related expenses
$
$
Your estimate is shown as one lump-sum value. California's statute on settling a workers' comp claim, Cal. Lab. Code § 5001, reads: “No release of liability or compromise agreement is valid unless it is approved by the appeals board or referee.”
leginfo.legislature.ca.gov refused this session (HTTP 403), so the section was read from the Legislature's bulk data file.
Read the lump-sum statuteLive estimateWC Formula
Total Estimated WC Value
$35,600
Permanent impairment award not included. This total is your wage replacement and medical costs. It does not include anything for the lasting impairment itself.
Breakdown
Weekly benefit rate$800/wk
Temp. total disability (12 wks)$9,600
Perm. partial disability (15%, Back / Spine)Pending verification
Past medical costs$18,000
Future medical costs$8,000
Total estimated value$35,600
Workers' compensation benefits do not include pain and suffering damages. This estimate reflects WC benefit value only.
Your estimate pays the weekly benefit for every week you entered. A state can cap how many weeks temporary total disability runs, we hold no verified limit for any state, and this estimate applies none. A long recovery therefore reads high here: past a state's limit, each further week adds money that cannot be paid. Your state workers' compensation agency or an attorney can tell you how many weeks apply to your claim.
We are not putting a dollar figure on the permanent impairment part of this claim. California sets its own schedule of weeks for each body part, we do not yet hold a verified copy of it, and the schedules we have read differ from each other by as much as five times on the same injury. The figures above are your wage replacement and your medical costs, which we can state. Your impairment rating and your state's schedule together set the permanent award, so a workers' compensation attorney or the California workers' compensation agency can price that part for you.
Deadlines in California
Reporting deadline pending verification. We hold no verified deadline for reporting a workplace injury to an employer in California. Our research run established none from a primary source, so this is unknown rather than absent. Report the injury to your employer as soon as you can, and ask your employer or the California workers' compensation agency what the reporting deadline is before you rely on any date.
1 year to file the claim itself. This is a separate, longer deadline from the reporting one above.
This estimate is for informational and planning purposes only. It is not legal advice, financial advice, or a guarantee of any outcome. Every case is different. Consult a licensed attorney in your state for advice specific to your situation.
Methodology
How workers' comp settlements are calculated
Workers' comp benefits come out of a statutory formula, not a negotiation. Here's exactly how each component is calculated.
01
Calculate your average weekly wage (AWW)
AWW is your average gross weekly earnings for the 52 weeks before your injury. Your benefit rate is the percentage of AWW your state's statute sets, which the calculator reads for your state, capped at the state maximum (California $1,764.11, New York $1,281.50). Every weekly benefit below is limited by this cap.
02
Temporary Total Disability (TTD)
Paid while you are completely unable to work. TTD benefit = weekly benefit rate × weeks out. Benefits stop when you return to work, reach maximum medical improvement (MMI), or hit a statutory week cap.
03
Permanent Partial Disability (PPD)
Paid after MMI when you have a lasting impairment but can still work. A state can convert your impairment rating into a number of weeks of benefits, using a schedule written into that state's own statute, and pay your weekly rate for those weeks. The schedules differ sharply between states, so this calculator does not put a figure on the permanent award.
04
Permanent Total Disability (PTD)
If your injury prevents you from ever returning to any work, PTD pays your weekly benefit for the remainder of your working life (weeks to retirement). It requires showing you cannot return to any work.
05
Medical benefits (separate from wage replacement)
State workers' comp laws require the employer's insurer to pay for reasonable and necessary treatment of the work injury, and a worker does not pay a health-insurance deductible on it. Medical is calculated separately from wage replacement and has no multiplier. Pain and suffering is not recoverable in workers' comp.
Reference
What the statutory formula returns at these inputs
These are outputs of the workers' comp calculator on this page, not awards anyone received. Each row feeds the inputs described into the same statutory formula the calculator runs. Wage replacement is the benefit rate multiplied by weeks, and the total adds medical costs, which are paid separately and carry no multiplier.
Case inputs
Weekly benefit
Wage replacement
Total estimated value
Soft tissue strain, 8 weeks out of work, full recovery
Weekly benefit$467/wk
Wage replacement$3,736
Total estimated value$9,736
Shoulder surgery, 16 weeks out, 10% permanent impairment
Weekly benefit$567/wk
Wage replacement$9,072
Total estimated value$49,072
Spinal fusion, 30 weeks out, 15% permanent impairment
Weekly benefit$800/wk
Wage replacement$24,000
Total estimated value$154,000
Permanent total disability, 20 years to retirement age
Weekly benefit$933/wk
Wage replacement$1,018,836
Total estimated value$1,408,836
Every row is run in Arizona. Our state-law data does not yet hold a verified maximum weekly benefit for Arizona, so these rows apply 66.67% of the average weekly wage with no ceiling. Arizona does cap the weekly benefit, so a real award can be lower than the weekly figure shown here. 2 rows describe a permanent impairment, and no dollar figure for it is included in those rows: Arizona sets its own schedule of weeks per body part and we do not yet hold a verified copy of it, so those rows are wage replacement and medical costs only. Pick your own state in the calculator above and the rate and the maximum both change.
Factors
What actually moves your settlement
Two cases with the same medical bills can settle for very different amounts. These are the variables that pull them apart.
Average weekly wage
Your AWW determines your weekly benefit rate. A higher earner reaches the state cap, and above it the effective replacement rate drops below the percentage the state sets. Make sure every pay record, overtime included, is in the AWW you document.
Disability rating & body part
A PPD award turns on two things: the impairment percentage your physician assigns, and the number of weeks your state's statute attaches to the part of your body that was injured. Those week counts differ sharply between states, and the same rating on two different body parts can pay very differently.
Injury classification
The TTD/PPD/PTD classification your treating physician and the WC board assign determines which formula applies. A dispute over classification, TTD against PTD above all, can change the dollar value of a WC claim a great deal.
Ability to return to work
If you return to your pre-injury job, your claim ends at MMI. If you need modified duty or vocational rehabilitation, additional benefits may apply. If you cannot return to any work, PTD or a negotiated lump-sum is possible.
Lump-sum (C&R) availability
A state can allow settling your entire WC claim for a one-time Compromise & Release payment. This trades ongoing weekly benefits and future medical for certainty. Not available in all states, and not always in your interest.
State maximum weekly benefit
Every state caps the TTD/PPD weekly benefit. The maximums in our state-law data include California $1,764.11, Texas $1,314, New York $1,281.50, Florida $1,358. The cap bites above its figure and directly limits your PPD award.
Deadline
Workers comp settlement: filing deadlines by state
Once this deadline passes, a court can dismiss the case however strong it is. Some states pause or extend the period, for a minor for example. The calculator counts each period from the date of the incident, and a lawyer in your state can confirm when yours began.
California1 year
Texas1 year
New York2 years
Florida2 years
Illinois3 years
Pennsylvania3 years
Georgia1 year
Ohio1 year
Michigan2 years
Arizona1 year
North Carolina2 years
Massachusetts4 years
Ohio: Ohio Rev. Code 4123.84 generally requires a claim within 1 year after the injury, subject to that section's own provisions.
Decision
Do you need a lawyer?
You may not need one
- Claim is undisputed, employer is cooperative, injury was minor
- You returned to your pre-injury job without any permanent impairment
- Insurer accepted the claim and is paying benefits without delay
Talk to a lawyer
- Claim is disputed or employer is contesting compensability
- Disability rating is contested or an independent medical exam (IME) was ordered
- Insurer is delaying, denying treatment, or has reduced your benefit rate
- You're considering a lump-sum (C&R) settlement offer
- A third party (contractor, equipment maker) may share liability
Related calculators
Pain and Suffering
Calculate pain and suffering damages using the multiplier method, see how general damages are calculated in personal injury, and check your state's deadline.
Slip and Fall Settlement
Estimate your slip and fall settlement with our free calculator.
Car Accident Settlement
Estimate a car accident settlement, then read minimum car insurance by state, no-fault states and PIP, and uninsured motorist coverage, quoted from state law.
Related pages
Workers' Comp Settlement FAQ
Not for negligence. Workers' comp is the exclusive remedy and replaces your right to sue your employer for negligence, though exceptions exist for intentional misconduct. You may still be able to sue a third party whose negligence caused your injury (an equipment manufacturer, a subcontractor, a property owner), and that claim is a full personal-injury lawsuit with pain and suffering.
No. Workers' comp pays wage replacement (TTD/PPD/PTD) and medical benefits only. Pain and suffering, which can be a large part of a personal-injury settlement, is not recoverable in the WC system. That is why a third-party claim, where one is available, can recover more.
It is an agreement that ends some or all of your claim for one payment in place of weekly benefits. What it is called, who must approve it, and what it can close out, future medical care included, are set by your state's statute, and some states allow a lump sum only in the cases their statute names. The calculator above quotes your state's statute. It is not always in your interest, so a workers' comp attorney should review any settlement offer before you sign.
TTD pays while you're completely unable to work, until you reach maximum medical improvement (MMI) or hit a statutory week cap. PPD is a fixed-weeks award, and how the weeks are counted is set by your state: some run every unscheduled injury off one fixed base, others give each body part its own figure. PTD can pay for your entire working life.
Filing deadlines vary by state, and workers' comp windows are among the shortest in the data set: of the 51 jurisdictions we track, the published windows run from 1 to 4 years, and 3 have a window shorter than a year that we do not publish as a number at all. More urgently, your state can require you to report the injury to your employer within days or weeks of it happening. Missing that notice deadline can forfeit the claim long before the filing deadline matters, so report first and check the deadline second.
For straightforward claims with a cooperative employer and insurer, you may not need one. If your claim is disputed, your disability rating is contested, the insurer delays treatment authorizations, or you're considering a C&R settlement, a workers' comp attorney (paid a percentage of the award where state law sets one) can be worth the fee.
A permanent impairment rating is a percentage a physician assigns at maximum medical improvement to reflect the lasting functional loss from your injury. It is a central lever in a PPD award, because your state's statute converts that percentage into weeks of benefits. If you disagree with the rating your employer's physician assigned, your state may let you seek a second opinion or an independent medical examination, and a rating dispute can take a WC claim in front of a judge.