Workers’ Compensation Glossary

How to use this glossary

These definitions explain common usage, not a single national statute. Always read the term alongside the selected state, benefit type, controlling date, and official notice. Abbreviations that look identical can carry different formulas or eligibility requirements.

A

Accepted claim

A claim, condition, or period the insurer or responsible program agrees is compensable. Acceptance can be partial and may not resolve every requested benefit.

Average weekly wage (AWW)

A state-defined measure of pre-injury earnings used in many cash-benefit formulas. It is not necessarily one paycheck or annual salary divided by 52.

Authorized medical provider

A provider whose treatment is permitted under the applicable selection, referral, panel, network, or approval rules.

C

Claim administrator

The insurer, state fund, self-insured employer, third-party administrator, or public agency handling claim decisions and payments.

Compensability

Whether an injury, illness, condition, or claimed consequence meets the legal requirements for workers’ compensation coverage.

Concurrent employment

More than one job held during the relevant wage period. State law determines whether and how earnings from another job enter the wage calculation.

Controversion or denial

A formal refusal to accept all or part of a claim or requested benefit. The notice should identify grounds and response rights.

D

Date of injury

The legally assigned injury date. For occupational disease or repetitive trauma, it may not be the first day symptoms appeared.

Dependency benefit or allowance

An additional amount or percentage connected to qualifying dependents in jurisdictions that provide one.

Disability

In workers’ compensation, often a loss of wage-earning capacity or a medically supported inability to perform work—not merely a diagnosis.

E

Earning capacity

The amount a worker is considered capable of earning after injury. It may differ from actual wages and can be disputed.

Effective date

The date a rate, statute, rule, or schedule begins to apply. The controlling event may be injury date or benefit period.

Exclusive remedy

A rule generally directing covered work-injury claims into workers’ compensation instead of an ordinary damages action, subject to jurisdiction-specific exceptions.

I

Impairment

A medical loss or abnormality rated under the method adopted by the jurisdiction. Impairment is not always the same as disability or wage loss.

Independent medical examination (IME)

An examination requested for an opinion about diagnosis, causation, treatment, restrictions, maximum medical improvement, or impairment. Rights and obligations vary by state.

Injury notice

The communication to an employer required after a work injury or occupational illness. Timing, recipient, and written form vary.

M

Maximum medical improvement (MMI)

A medical status indicating that further material recovery is not reasonably expected, as defined or applied by the jurisdiction. It can affect benefit classification.

Maximum weekly benefit

The statutory ceiling for a specified weekly benefit and period. The latest published maximum may not control an earlier injury.

Medical-only claim

A claim paying covered medical expenses without indemnity or wage-replacement benefits, often because statutory disability thresholds are not met.

Minimum weekly benefit

A statutory floor that may be conditional, capped by actual wages, limited to certain benefit types, or absent altogether.

Modified duty

Work changed to fit medical restrictions. The duties, hours, location, and pay can affect benefit entitlement.

P

Permanent partial disability (PPD)

A benefit for qualifying permanent impairment, functional loss, scheduled loss, wage loss, or another state-defined measure that is less than permanent total disability.

Permanent total disability (PTD)

A benefit category for workers meeting the jurisdiction’s permanent-total standard. It does not necessarily mean complete physical helplessness.

Post-injury earnings

Wages earned after the injury that may reduce or otherwise affect a partial-disability benefit.

Provider panel

A list or group of medical providers offered under a state rule. Compliance can affect who controls initial treatment.

S

Scheduled loss

A benefit tied to a statutory schedule for loss or loss of use of specified body parts, senses, or functions.

Self-insured employer

An employer authorized to assume covered workers’ compensation liabilities directly, often using a third-party administrator.

Settlement

An agreement resolving specified claim rights or disputes, usually subject to statutory requirements and sometimes agency or judicial approval.

Spendable or after-tax wage

A wage measure adjusted using the jurisdiction’s prescribed tax and payroll assumptions. It is not simply take-home pay from one check.

State average weekly wage (SAWW)

A statewide earnings measure used to update benefit limits or formulas. It is different from the individual worker’s AWW.

T

Temporary partial disability (TPD)

A wage-loss benefit commonly associated with restricted work, reduced earnings, or reduced earning capacity while the condition remains temporary.

Temporary total disability (TTD)

A temporary wage-replacement benefit for a qualifying period in which the worker cannot perform work under the jurisdiction’s standard.

Third-party administrator (TPA)

A company administering claims for an insurer, self-insured employer, or other responsible entity.

W

Waiting period

Initial disability days that are not immediately payable. Some states repay them if disability continues beyond a specified period.

Wage loss

The difference between the relevant pre-injury wage measure and post-injury earnings or earning capacity, calculated under state law.

Work restrictions

Medical limitations on duties, lifting, movement, hours, schedule, or environment. Current written restrictions help evaluate work offers and disability.

Workers’ compensation commission or board

A state body that may administer, regulate, mediate, or adjudicate claims. Names and powers differ by jurisdiction.

Next step

Use the claim-process roadmap to place these terms in sequence, or open the calculation methodology guide before estimating a weekly payment. Then select the applicable state guide.