Indiana Code 22-3-7-19. Awards; computation; average weekly wages
(1) with respect to disablements occurring on and after July 1, 2009, and before July 1, 2014:
Terms Used In Indiana Code 22-3-7-19
- Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
- disablement: means the event of becoming disabled from earning full wages at the work in which the employee was engaged when last exposed to the hazards of the occupational disease by the employer from whom the employee claims compensation or equal wages in other suitable employment, and "disability" means the state of being so incapacitated. See Indiana Code 22-3-7-9
- employee: means every person, including a minor, in the service of another, under any contract of hire or apprenticeship written or implied, except one whose employment is both casual and not in the usual course of the trade, business, occupation, or profession of the employer. See Indiana Code 22-3-7-9
- employer: includes the state and any political subdivision, any municipal corporation within the state, any individual or the legal representative of a deceased individual, firm, association, limited liability company, limited liability partnership, or corporation or the receiver or trustee of the same, using the services of another for pay. See Indiana Code 22-3-7-9
- occupational disease: means a disease arising out of and in the course of the employment. See Indiana Code 22-3-7-10
- Remainder: An interest in property that takes effect in the future at a specified time or after the occurrence of some event, such as the death of a life tenant.
(B) not less than seventy-five dollars ($75);
(2) with respect to disablements occurring on and after July 1, 2014, and before July 1, 2015:
(A) not more than one thousand forty dollars ($1,040); and
(B) not less than seventy-five dollars ($75);
(3) with respect to disablements occurring on and after July 1, 2015, and before July 1, 2016:
(A) not more than one thousand one hundred five dollars ($1,105); and
(B) not less than seventy-five dollars ($75);
(4) with respect to disablements occurring on and after July 1, 2016, and before July 1, 2023:
(A) not more than one thousand one hundred seventy dollars ($1,170); and
(B) not less than seventy-five dollars ($75);
(5) with respect to disablements occurring on and after July 1, 2023, and before July 1, 2024:
(A) not more than one thousand two hundred five dollars ($1,205); and
(B) not less than seventy-five dollars ($75);
(6) with respect to disablements occurring on and after July 1, 2024, and before July 1, 2025:
(A) not more than one thousand two hundred forty-one dollars ($1,241); and
(B) not less than seventy-five dollars ($75);
(7) with respect to disablements occurring on and after July 1, 2025, and before July 1, 2026:
(A) not more than one thousand two hundred seventy-eight dollars ($1,278); and
(B) not less than seventy-five dollars ($75); and
(8) with respect to disablements occurring on and after July 1, 2026:
(A) not more than one thousand three hundred sixteen dollars ($1,316); and
(B) not less than seventy-five dollars ($75).
(b) The maximum compensation that shall be paid for occupational disease and the results of an occupational disease under this chapter or under any combination of the provisions of this chapter may not exceed the following amounts in any case:
(1) With respect to disability or death occurring on and after July 1, 2009, and before July 1, 2014, three hundred twenty-five thousand dollars ($325,000).
(2) With respect to disability or death occurring on and after July 1, 2014, and before July 1, 2015, three hundred forty-seven thousand dollars ($347,000).
(3) With respect to disability or death occurring on and after July 1, 2015, and before July 1, 2016, three hundred sixty-eight thousand dollars ($368,000).
(4) With respect to disability or death occurring on and after July 1, 2016, and before July 1, 2023, three hundred ninety thousand dollars ($390,000).
(5) With respect to disability or death occurring on and after July 1, 2023, and before July 1, 2024, four hundred two thousand dollars ($402,000).
(6) With respect to disability or death occurring on and after July 1, 2024, and before July 1, 2025, four hundred fourteen thousand dollars ($414,000).
(7) With respect to disability or death occurring on and after July 1, 2025, and before July 1, 2026, four hundred twenty-six thousand dollars ($426,000).
(8) With respect to disability or death occurring on and after July 1, 2026, four hundred thirty-nine thousand dollars ($439,000).
(c) For all disabilities occurring on and after July 1, 1985, “average weekly wages” means the earnings of the injured employee during the period of fifty-two (52) weeks immediately preceding the disability divided by fifty-two (52). If the employee lost seven (7) or more calendar days during the period, although not in the same week, then the earnings for the remainder of the fifty-two (52) weeks shall be divided by the number of weeks and parts of weeks remaining after the time lost has been deducted. If employment before the date of disability extended over a period of less than fifty-two (52) weeks, the method of dividing the earnings during that period by the number of weeks and parts of weeks during which the employee earned wages shall be followed if results just and fair to both parties will be obtained. If by reason of the shortness of the time during which the employee has been in the employment of the employer or of the casual nature or terms of the employment it is impracticable to compute the average weekly wages for the employee, the employee’s average weekly wages shall be considered to be the average weekly amount that, during the fifty-two (52) weeks before the date of disability, was being earned by a person in the same grade employed at the same work by the same employer or, if there is no person so employed, by a person in the same grade employed in that same class of employment in the same district. Whenever allowances of any character are made to an employee instead of wages or a specified part of the wage contract, they shall be considered a part of the employee’s earnings.
(d) The provisions of this article may not be construed to result in an award of benefits in which the number of weeks paid or to be paid for temporary total disability, temporary partial disability, or permanent total disability benefits combined exceeds five hundred (500) weeks. This section shall not be construed to prevent a person from applying for an award under IC 22-3-3-13. However, in case of permanent total disability resulting from a disablement occurring on or after January 1, 1998, the minimum total benefit shall not be less than seventy-five thousand dollars ($75,000).
Formerly: Acts 1937, c.69, s.11; Acts 1943, c.115, s.2; Acts 1945, c.290, s.2; Acts 1949, c.242, s.2; Acts 1951, c.250, s.2; Acts 1953, c.174, s.1; Acts 1955, c.276, s.1; Acts 1957, c.353, s.2; Acts 1959, c.266, s.1; Acts 1963, c.388, s.19; Acts 1965, c.206, s.1; Acts 1967, c.313, s.3; Acts 1969, c.101, s.3; Acts 1971, P.L.354, SEC.3; Acts 1974, P.L.109, SEC.6. As amended by Acts 1976, P.L.112, SEC.6; Acts 1977, P.L.261, SEC.6; Acts 1979, P.L.227, SEC.6; P.L.225-1983, SEC.4; P.L.223-1985, SEC.3; P.L.224-1985, SEC.2; P.L.95-1988, SEC.16; P.L.170-1991, SEC.21; P.L.258-1997(ss), SEC.16; P.L.31-2000, SEC.10; P.L.134-2006, SEC.10; P.L.275-2013, SEC.17; P.L.160-2022, SEC.9.