In Florida, temporary disability benefits can generally continue for up to 260 weeks, as long as you remain eligible. Ohio doesn’t automatically stop temporary total payments after 200 weeks. It allows a medical examination after that point to determine whether the disability has become permanent. Your payments can end earlier if you stop qualifying, including because of a change in your ability to work.
Medical care can continue after wage payments end. So when asking how much time you have left, you’ll need to distinguish the money you receive from the treatment being paid through your claim.
The temporary benefit limits in Florida and Ohio
Florida
You may have read that Florida only allows 104 weeks. That number still appears in section 440.15, but the law has to be read with the court decisions that followed it.
In Westphal v. City of St. Petersburg, a worker used the 104 weeks while he was still unable to work and hadn’t reached maximum medical improvement. His temporary payments had ended, but he hadn’t established that he qualified for permanent total benefits. The Florida Supreme Court restored the earlier 260-week limit. Jones v. Food Lion then applied that result to temporary partial disability, which can help when you’re able to work but the injury leaves you earning less.
Ohio
After 200 weeks of temporary total payments, Ohio law allows the Bureau of Workers’ Compensation to arrange an examination. Someone who continues to qualify can receive payments beyond that point. Returning to work, a release to the former job, suitable work within the worker’s capabilities or maximum medical improvement can affect eligibility.
Ohio also has wage-loss benefits for qualifying injury-related losses in earnings. Those have their own time limits. If you’re reading a letter that mentions a limit, look for the name of the benefit it concerns before treating that number as the end of all payments.
For other states, USAGov lists the state compensation offices and explains the separate federal programs. The rules come from the system handling your claim.
Identifying your benefit and counting the weeks paid
The payment record should tell you what you’ve been paid for. These are the main categories you may encounter:
| Benefit | What it pays for | What determines its duration |
|---|---|---|
| Temporary disability or wage replacement | Earnings lost during recovery, including qualifying partial losses | Medical status, work, earnings and state limits |
| Permanent partial disability or impairment | A qualifying lasting impairment | The state’s payment schedule or impairment rating rules |
| Permanent total disability | Income for a qualifying permanent inability to work | Continued eligibility and any duration or age limits |
| Medical care | Approved treatment for the work injury | Medical need, authorization, claim rules and settlement terms |
For temporary payments, ask for the dates covered by each payment. A deposit might include several weeks of overdue money. Counting that as one week would leave you with the wrong total.
Let’s say a Florida claim is subject to the 260-week limit. You received 12 full weeks of temporary total payments, followed by eight full weeks of temporary partial payments. You’ve used 20 weeks. Both types count toward the same limit, so moving to partial payments hasn’t started the count over. The history lets you add the periods actually paid, instead of estimating from the day you were injured. For the weeks ahead, your doctor’s current report matters too. It may still have you off work, or allow you to return for fewer hours.
Can payments continue when you go back for fewer hours?
You might be able to work four hours a day while your doctor still says you shouldn’t work eight. If you’re earning less because of the injury, you may qualify for partial or wage-loss benefits during that time. Keep the pay records for those weeks and the report showing the hours your doctor allowed. Together, they help explain the loss when checking what workers’ comp may pay.
The duties need to fit your restrictions, too. A job described as desk work could include carrying supplies from a storage room. Tell your doctor about that task if it would exceed your lifting restriction. Because an offer of suitable work can affect benefits, the assessment needs to account for what you’d actually have to do.
Receiving payments doesn’t establish how long your employer must hold your job. Leave rights and protections against retaliation have separate requirements.
When your doctor says further improvement isn’t expected
Your doctor may say that you’ve reached maximum medical improvement, or MMI. This means further significant recovery isn’t reasonably expected. You could still have pain, or still be unable to stand long enough to do your former job. That finding can end temporary payments even when you have weeks remaining below the state limit.
An impairment award compensates you for a lasting loss of function. You might receive it over a set number of weeks even when you’re able to return to work. Permanent total disability concerns a more extensive inability to work; being unable to do your old job alone doesn’t establish it.
For workers who qualify, Ohio permanent total disability can provide lifelong payments. Florida’s permanent total benefits have age-related limits and exceptions. Ending temporary checks doesn’t automatically start a permanent award, so the remaining restrictions and any impairment rating need to be reviewed for the benefit you’re seeking.
Can you continue treatment after the payments end?
Yes, qualifying care can continue. Ohio’s definition of MMI recognizes that treatment may still be needed to maintain your ability to function. A follow-up visit may concern keeping your condition stable even when the doctor doesn’t expect further improvement.
Florida provides for medically necessary care for the period the injury or recovery requires, subject to its rules. Ohio reviews treatment requests for their connection to an allowed condition, medical necessity and other requirements. Your provider may need authorization for a new procedure even though earlier visits were covered. Find out whether that request was submitted and whether it was approved before assuming the procedure will be paid through the claim.
A settlement can change who pays for future care. Discuss the treatment your doctor expects you’ll need and whether the agreement would leave you paying for it yourself.
If you need care again after a long gap, keep the dates of your last covered treatment and compensation payments. They help establish whether a later request is still timely under Florida’s filing and tolling rules and Ohio’s continuing-jurisdiction rules.
If a check hasn’t arrived or you’ve been told payments are stopping
Your doctor might keep you home for another two weeks, while the insurer still has a report saying you were expected back last Monday. You could be following the doctor’s instructions and waiting for money that hasn’t been approved for those extra days. Send the updated report and confirm that the person handling the claim received it. They need the new dates and medical explanation to consider payment for the additional time.
If a written decision has stopped your payments, sending a new medical report may be only part of challenging that decision. You may also need to file a request for review before the applicable deadline:
- Keep the notice and its delivery date. Identify the benefit affected and when the change takes effect.
- Read the reason alongside your records. Compare the cited medical report or work offer with your current restrictions and payment history.
- Check the deadline for challenging the decision. It may differ from the time allowed to file the original claim.
- Find out what needs to be requested. That may be a review of the decision or another benefit with separate requirements. A consultation doesn’t extend the deadline.
Podor Law’s workers’ compensation attorneys handle Florida and Ohio claims. You can request a free consultation before payments stop or before accepting a settlement. Bring your claim number, recent medical report, payment history and any letter or agreement you’ve received. We can review the dates you’ve been paid for and explain what a proposed change would mean for your income or treatment.
Sources
- USAGov – Workers’ Compensation.
- Florida Statutes: § 440.15, § 440.13, § 440.19.
- Westphal v. City of St. Petersburg (2016); Jones v. Food Lion (2016).
- Ohio Revised Code: § 4123.56, § 4123.58, § 4123.52.
- Ohio Administrative Code: Rule 4121-3-32, Rule 4123-6-16.2.
- Florida Senate – SB 376 staff analysis, page 3.
