Under Indiana Workers’ Compensation Law, temporary total disability is paid for the period of time an employee is unable to perform regular work due to injury. Temporary total disability is paid at the rate of two-thirds of the employee’s average weekly wage prior to injury, subject to a maximum period of 500 weeks. See Indiana Code § 22-3-3-8 and Indiana Code § 22-3-3-22.

When an accepted injury renders an employee unable to work, compensation for lost wages is paid beginning on the eighth day. However, if the employee is still disabled, on the twenty-second day after the injury, the employee will receive compensation for the first seven days. See Indiana Code § 22-3-3-7(a).

The first weekly installment of compensation is due fourteen days after the onset of the disability. No later than fifteen days from the due date of the first installment, the employer/insurer must present the employee with a Compensation Agreement, together with the compensation owed, or request an extension of time. See Indiana Code § 22-3-3-7(b).

However, if the employer/insurer denies liability, a written notice of denial must be mailed within thirty days of the employer’s knowledge of the alleged injury. Indiana Code § 22-3-3-7(b)

Typically, when an employee was terminated for reasons unrelated to the work-related injury, the employer would use the termination of employment to justify nonpayment of the employee’s ongoing temporary total disability benefits.

However, the Indiana Court of Appeals in 2017 in case 72 NE 3d 986 addressed a situation where an employee whose employment was terminated for misconduct was still entitled to payment of temporary total disability benefits.

In case 72 NE 3d 986, the employee was employed as a production associate in June 2014 when he slipped and injured his lower back. The employee notified his supervisor of the injury, but did not seek treatment until the pain worsened more than two weeks after the injury. The employer referred the employee to his doctor, who returned the injured worker to his full function, a determination with which the injured worker disagreed.

However, the injured worker attempted to return to work, but was unable to get out of bed the day after his first full shift. When he returned to work, he got into a verbal altercation with his supervisor regarding his back pain and the lack of work restrictions and threw an ice pack that nearly hit another employee. The employer suspended and then terminated the injured worker’s employment and refused to pay the injured worker temporary total disability benefits while he was receiving medical treatment.

The Indiana Board of Workers’ Compensation determined that the injured worker was unable to perform the same type of work that he was performing when he was injured and that he was owed temporary total disability benefits.

On appeal to the Indiana Court of Appeals, the employer argued that the injured worker was not entitled to temporary total disability benefits because he was discharged for misconduct. The company pointed to the Indiana Workers’ Compensation Law, which says termination of temporary total disability benefits is allowed when the injured worker is unable or unavailable to work for reasons unrelated to the work injury.

The Indiana Court of Appeals noted that the relevant inquiry is whether the injured worker’s inability to work, including for other employers, was related to his injury. The Indiana Court of Appeals also noted that the Indiana Board of Workers’ Compensation determined that the injured worker’s inability to work was related to his injury. The Indiana Court of Appeals noted that the Indiana Workers’ Compensation Board’s decision was based on a determination of the credibility of the injured worker and a weight of evidence.

As a result, the Indiana Court of Appeals concluded that the misconduct-injured worker’s firing did not prevent him or her from receiving temporary total disability benefits as a result of the work-related injury.