I’m Mike Routch, a Workers Comp attorney here at Quatrini Law Group. The Heart and Lung Act and Acts 534, 632 provide qualifying injured workers with full gross pay, payment of medical bills, and fringe benefits. The Workers Comp Act does not provide all of these. Workers Comp benefits are based on an injured worker’s average weekly wage over the prior year before the injury. Then an injured worker receives a wage loss benefit – usually 23 of the average weekly wage. Heart and Lung Act benefits but not Act 534/632 benefits will increase based upon future pay raises. Workers compensation benefits are not adjusted based on future raises or cost of living increases. An injured worker receiving Heart and Lung Act benefits and act 534/632 benefits receive their fringe benefits, but not injured workers receiving only Workers Compensation. So, an injured worker will not continue to accrue vacation and pension benefits while receiving only workers compensation. Under all of the injured worker statutes, injury related medical bills are paid. An injured worker can qualify for Heart and Lung Act 534/632 and/or Workers Compensation benefits at the same time, but wage loss benefits are subject to a maximum payable amount. This gives an injured worker a safety net if they lose eligibility for one type of benefit but still qualify for another. Navigating these various benefits can be confusing and possibly treacherous. Don’t go it alone.