Oklahoma Workers’ Compensation Benefits

In Oklahoma, most employers are required to have workers’ comp insurance for workplace injuries. When workers in Oklahoma get injured on the job, the state’s workers’ compensation system entitles them to specific financial benefits that help them obtain the medical treatment they need for their injuries and compensates them for lost income for missed time from work and permanent disability due to the injury. An experienced lawyer in your corner can improve your chances of maximizing compensation in a workers’ comp claim or settlement after a workplace injury. Turn to the attorneys of Ryan Bisher Ryan & Simons to guide you through the workers’ compensation settlement process.

Since 1984, our firm has helped injured workers secure the financial benefits they need to recover from devastating work injuries. Each of our attorneys focuses on a specific area of law, giving us in-depth knowledge and insight. At our firm, you can expect one-on-one attention so you never feel like you have to go through the recovery process alone.

If you’re hurt in a work-related injury, you may have the right to seek workers’ compensation benefits or a workers’ comp settlement. Let an Oklahoma workers’ compensation lawyer from Ryan Bisher Ryan & Simons help you maximize your financial recovery. Contact us for a free initial case evaluation to discuss how our firm can assist an injured worker in their workers’ comp claim.

Benefits Included in The Average Compensation Package

How does a workers’ comp settlement work? Oklahoma’s workers’ compensation system provides various financial benefits for employees suffering from work injuries or occupational diseases.

A workers’ comp settlement package can include benefits such as:

• Medical benefits that cover the cost of all reasonable and necessary medical expenses, rehabilitation, and pain management for a work injury or occupational disease
• Partial reimbursement for lost wages during a worker’s recovery from their injury or illness
• Financial payments for permanent disabilities caused by a work injury or occupational disease
• Vocational training and job placement for workers whose disabilities prevent them from returning to prior occupations
• Death benefits for surviving spouses and dependent children/family members

Examples of Workers’ Compensation Settlements Achieved in Oklahoma

At Ryan Bisher Ryan & Simons, our Oklahoma workers’ compensation attorneys have secured millions of dollars for clients in workers’ comp settlements. Sometimes, a workers’ compensation lawsuit is necessary to ensure that employers pay injured workers what they are owed. Some of our most notable workers’ compensation settlements include:

• $150,000 workers’ comp settlement
• $120,000 settlement
• $105,000 construction accident settlement
• $100,000 workers’ comp settlement

Average Cost by Cause in Workers’ Comp Settlements

According to the National Safety Council, motor vehicle accidents were the most costly cause of work-related injuries at about $90,000 per claim in one recent year. Other average costs for workers’ comp by cause include:

• Burns: $52,161
• Slip/trip and falls or falls from heights: $49,971
• Caught/entanglement accidents: $47,076
• Struck-by accidents: $40,104
• Strains: $36,200
• Cumulative injuries: $33,909
• Striking against accidents: $31,150
• Cuts/abrasions/puncture wounds: $24,250

Average Cost by Body Part in Workers’ Compensation Settlements

The National Safety Council also reports that head or central nervous system injuries had the highest cost for workers’ compensation at $94,285 per claim. Other average costs for workers’ comp by affected body party include:

• Neck: $65,659
• Leg: $60,901
• Hip/thigh/pelvis: $60,155
• Arm/shoulder: $49,838
• Lower back: $39,328
• Upper back: $35,439
• Knee: $35,332
• Face: $33,635
• Ankle: $30,720
• Trunk/abdomen: $29,243
• Feet/toes: $28,051
• Fingers/hands/wrists: $26,284
• Chest/chest organs: $20,386

Workers’ comp claims involving multiple body parts had an average cost of $62,257

Weekly Death Benefits Approved by the Oklahoma Government

The Oklahoma workers’ compensation system has established a workers’ comp settlement chart listing the death benefits that surviving beneficiaries of a worker who dies from a work injury or occupational disease might receive. The chart lists weekly benefits that a surviving spouse, children, or deceased worker’s dependents can receive. 

• A surviving spouse can receive 70 percent of the worker’s average weekly wage. 
• If a worker leaves one dependent child, that child will also receive 15 percent of the worker’s average weekly wage on top of their surviving parent’s benefits. 
• If a worker leaves a spouse and two or more children, each child will receive a benefit equal to 30 percent of the worker’s average weekly wage divided by the number of dependent children.
• If a worker has no surviving spouse but leaves one or two dependent children, they will receive a benefit equal to half of the worker’s average weekly wage divided equally among them.
• If the worker leaves three or more dependent children without a surviving spouse, the children will divide 100 percent of the worker’s average weekly wage equally. 
• Finally, if a worker has no surviving spouse or children but leaves other dependent family members, each dependent will receive 25 percent of the worker’s average weekly wage.

The chart also lists lump sum payment benefits available to surviving spouses and children, which include:

• Spouse only: $100,000
• Spouse and one child: $100,000 to the spouse, $25,000 to the child
• Spouse and two or more children: $100,000 to the spouse, $50,000 divided equally among the children
• No spouse and up to two children: $25,000 per child
• No spouse and more than two children: $25,000 per child, up to a maximum of $150,000 for the family
• Spouse’s benefit upon remarriage: Two years’ indemnity benefit

How Does Oklahoma Calculate Your Average Weekly Wages?

Under Oklahoma’s workers’ compensation law, an employer must calculate a worker’s average weekly wage to determine workers’ compensation benefits by dividing the worker’s gross earnings by the number of full weeks of employment with the employer, up to a maximum of 52 weeks. For part-time workers, employers calculate average weekly wages by dividing the worker’s earnings by the number of hours required to earn the wages during a period not to exceed 52 weeks preceding the week of the worker’s injury and multiplying that hourly wage by the number of hours in a full-time workweek for the employer. 

The law also requires employers to add a worker’s overtime earnings to their average weekly wage by dividing the earnings by the number of weeks worked for the employer, not to exceed 52 weeks.

Contact the Workers’ Compensation Lawyers at Ryan Bisher Ryan & Simons for Help

If you have more questions about the workers’ compensation settlement process in Oklahoma, Ryan Bisher Ryan & Simons can provide the answers you need to better understand your rights. Contact our firm today for a free, no-obligation consultation to discuss your legal options for pursuing a workers’ comp settlement with our attorneys.