GQ Corner

Q: My client is contributing to a retirement plan for the injured worker. Do I include these contributions in the calculation of the injured worker’s average weekly wage?

A: The appeals panel has held that if the employer is contributing to a retirement plan that has vested, then yes, those amounts are included in the AWW. If the retirement fund has not yet vested, then they are not included.

Q: The injured worker was certified to have reached MMI as of 1/1/2016 with a 10% impairment rating. On 3/1/2016, I learned that the injured worker died. Do I continue to pay IIBs, and if so, to whom do I continue to make the payments?

A: No, you do not continue to make the IIBs payments. Section 408.121 states that Impairment Income Benefits end when an injured employee dies prior to the expiration of those IIBs payments.