Learn Center · Visual Explainers
The whole system — in seven pictures.
Some ideas land faster drawn than described. These seven diagrams are the entire workers' comp system at a glance — each one linked to the guide that goes deep. Every diagram is described in text too, so nothing here depends on your eyes.
1. The journey — every claim walks this road
Details differ by state; the shape doesn't. Seven stages, and the early ones decide the late ones.
The seven stages of a workers' comp claim
A left-to-right flow: Injury, then Report it, then Medical care, then Claim filed, then Decision, then MMI and rating, then Resolution.
Injury
day zero
Report it
in writing
Medical care
"at work"
Claim filed
the paperwork
Decision
accept / deny
MMI & rating
measurement day
Resolution
award / settle
The first three stages happen in days — and they carry the rest.
The full walkthrough, stage by stage: Start Here — the seven guides .
2. The two clocks — both start on day zero
Two deadlines run at the same time, and they are wildly different lengths. Missing the short one is the most common self-inflicted wound in workers' comp.
The two deadlines compared
Two horizontal bars starting from the same day-zero line. The short amber bar is the report-to-employer deadline, often thirty days or less. The long bar is the formal claim filing deadline, often one to three years.
Day 0 — the injury
Clock 1
Report to your employer — often 30 days or less. Some states: days.
Clock 2
File the formal claim — often 1 to 3 years
Surviving Clock 2 means nothing if Clock 1 already ran out. Report first, in writing, today.
Your state's actual numbers, in one minute: the Deadline Checker .
3. Your check — where the number comes from
Wage benefits aren't mysterious; they're arithmetic on one input. That input — the average weekly wage — is also the most commonly miscalculated number in comp.
How a weekly benefit check is calculated
Flow diagram: your average weekly wage, including overtime, tips and often a second job, is multiplied by about two-thirds to produce your weekly check, which is tax-free but subject to state caps.
Average Weekly Wage (AWW)
gross pay · overtime · tips ·
often your second job too
× ⅔
Your weekly check
tax-free · within state caps ·
some states pay 60–80% instead
Every check is computed from the AWW — audit it once and the correction repeats weekly.
Check the math against your pay stubs: the Wage-Loss Calculator .
4. The six benefits — what comp actually pays
"Workers' comp" is six distinct benefits wearing one name. Most claims use two or three; serious ones use more.
The six types of workers' comp benefits
Six rows: medical care with no copays; temporary total disability while you cannot work; temporary partial while on light duty; permanent partial for lasting impairment; permanent total when you cannot return to any work; and death benefits for dependents.
Medical care
All reasonable injury treatment — no copays, no deductibles, ever.
Temporary Total (TTD)
The ~⅔ wage checks while you can't work at all.
Temporary Partial (TPD)
A share of the gap when light duty pays less than before.
Permanent Partial (PPD)
Money for lasting impairment — your rating converted to weeks of pay.
Permanent Total (PTD)
Long-term checks when the injury ends all work — lifetime in many states.
Death benefits
Wage percentages for dependents plus burial costs.
Every term defined in plain language: the Glossary .
5. A settlement — three blocks, not one number
Every settlement offer is really three numbers added together. Evaluating an offer means checking each block against your own facts — not reacting to the total.
The three blocks of a settlement
Three boxes added together: unpaid past benefits, plus permanency (your rating times weeks times your rate), plus future medical care, equal the settlement value.
Unpaid benefits
checks & bills owed
but never paid
+
Permanency
rating × weeks × rate —
your state's formula
+
Future medical
what care will cost —
kept open, or bought out
=
Settlement
value
First offers usually shrink block 2 and zero out block 3. That's where the checking goes.
Play with the blocks yourself: the Settlement Estimator · then Before You Sign .
6. The dispute ladder — a denial is a floor, not a ceiling
Denials feel final and aren't. Every state runs a version of the same ladder, and a large share of pursued denials improve on the way up.
The dispute ladder after a denial
Ascending steps: the denial letter, then decode the reason and fix the evidence, then file the appeal by its deadline, then the hearing before a judge, then further appeals if needed.
Denial letter
a position, not a verdict
Decode & fix
match reason to evidence
File the appeal
the one hard deadline
Hearing
a judge, not an adjuster
Further appeal
board / commission / court
Most represented workers settle somewhere on this ladder — often before the hearing.
The full playbook, step by step: Denied Claims .
7. Three facts shape every claim
Any two workers with "the same injury" can have very different claims. Three facts do the shaping — and this site has a definitive guide for each one of yours.
The three axes of every claim
Three boxes — where you were hurt (your state), what was hurt (your injury), and what you do (your job) — with arrows converging on a central box labeled your claim.
WHERE — your state
deadlines · doctor rules · formulas
WHAT — your injury
medicine · treatment · ratings
WHO — your job
injury patterns · signature traps
Your claim
read all three — they compound
Your state · your injury · your job .