Alabama Bill Would Increase Workers' Comp Benefits For Amputees
Alabama lawmakers have introduced a bill that would nearly triple the maximum compensation for workers who suffer amputations on the job.
The bill, filed April 2, comes less than a month after a ProPublica and NPR investigation showed that Alabama had the lowest such benefits in the country and provided injured workers with an amount that left them far below the poverty line.
The story highlighted the stark disparity in workers' compensation among states. It profiled a man who lost his arm at an Alabama chicken feed mill and received $45,000—far less than another man who lost his arm at an auto supplier just across the Georgia state line, who received benefits that could exceed $700,000 over his lifetime.
The Alabama bill would eliminate a cap of $220 a week that had been in place since 1985. It would raise the maximum benefit to 80 percent of the state average weekly wage, or about $635. Under the new formula, the most a worker could receive for losing an arm would rise from $48,840 to about $140,000—a big increase, but still below the national average of $169,878.
http://www.npr.org/2015/04/07/398065170/alabama-bill-would-increase-workers-comp-benefits-for-amputees