“How long does workers’ comp last?” has five different answers depending on which benefit you mean. Medical care, wage replacement, permanent impairment, vocational rehab, and the right to reopen your case all have their own clocks. Here’s how each one runs.
Medical benefits: usually lifetime, with exceptions
For most states, medical treatment related to the work injury is covered for life as long as the treatment is reasonable, necessary, and related. There’s no calendar deadline. You can need a knee revision 25 years after the original surgery and it’s still covered.
Exceptions and traps:
- Some states cap medical. Montana, for example, generally cuts off non-emergency medical 5 years after the injury or 60 months after MMI for most claims. A handful of other states have similar caps.
- Settlements close medical. If you take a lump-sum settlement that includes a Compromise & Release of medical, you give up the lifetime medical right in exchange for the cash. A Stipulated Award (in California) typically leaves medical open.
- Pre-authorization still applies. “Lifetime” doesn’t mean automatic. Every procedure still has to go through utilization review.
- MPN rules don’t expire. If your state uses Medical Provider Networks, you stay in network for the life of the claim. See our MPN explainer.
Temporary Total Disability (TTD): the weekly check
TTD pays roughly two-thirds of your average weekly wage (tax-free, up to a state cap) while your doctor says you can’t work. Duration is capped in most states:
- California: 104 weeks of TTD within 5 years of the date of injury for most claims; 240 weeks within 5 years for certain catastrophic injuries (severe burns, HIV, amputation, chronic lung disease, high-velocity eye injury).
- Florida: 104 weeks of temporary disability combined (TTD + TPD).
- Texas: Temporary Income Benefits run until you reach MMI or 104 weeks from the eighth day of disability, whichever comes first.
- New York: No hard cap on temporary benefits, but they end at MMI and then convert to permanent benefits with their own caps.
- Pennsylvania: Total disability is open-ended until the carrier requests an Impairment Rating Evaluation (after 104 weeks); a rating under 35% converts the status to partial, capped at 500 additional weeks.
For the calculation itself, see our payment-amount guide.
Temporary Partial Disability (TPD)
If you’re back at work on light duty earning less than before, TPD usually pays roughly two-thirds of the difference between your old wage and your new lower wage. Duration is often counted against the same cap as TTD — if your state gives 104 weeks total, mixing TTD and TPD still maxes out at 104.
Permanent Partial Disability (PPD)
Once you hit Maximum Medical Improvement, the doctor assigns a permanent impairment rating, typically a percentage. PPD translates that rating into a number of weeks of benefits at a state-specific rate.
The math is state-specific and not always intuitive:
- California uses a complex schedule that weights the rating by age, occupation, and Future Earning Capacity. A 20% PD rating produces something like 92 weeks of payments; a 60% rating produces ~340 weeks. Ratings 70%+ get a life pension on top.
- Florida assigns 2 weeks per impairment % for ratings 1–10%, 3 weeks per % for 11–15%, 4 weeks per % for 16–20%, and 6 weeks per % above 21%.
- Texas Impairment Income Benefits pay 3 weeks per impairment percentage point.
- Scheduled body parts. Many states assign fixed week-counts to specific body parts — losing an arm might be 312 weeks in one state, 450 in another, regardless of percentage.
PPD can be paid weekly, in a lump sum, or rolled into a settlement. See our settlement guide for the trade-offs.
Permanent Total Disability (PTD)
PTD is the rare finding that you can’t return to any gainful employment. Duration is usually lifetime once granted, though some states cap it at retirement age or convert it to a different benefit at 65.
Examples of state rules: California pays PTD for life and adjusts for cost of living; Florida pays PTD until age 75 for most claims; Texas Lifetime Income Benefits run for the worker’s life and are reserved for catastrophic injuries (loss of both hands, both feet, both eyes, certain spinal injuries, severe brain damage).
Statutory presumptions matter. In many states losing the use of two limbs, both eyes, or one limb and one eye is automatic PTD without needing further proof.
Vocational rehabilitation
Voc rehab funds retraining when you can’t return to your old job. It varies dramatically by state:
- California abolished true voc rehab for injuries after 2004 and replaced it with a Supplemental Job Displacement Benefit — a voucher (currently $6,000) for retraining or education through a state-approved school.
- Florida funds up to 26 weeks of training (extendable to 52) through the Reemployment Services program.
- Texas runs the Return-to-Work program through the Texas Workforce Commission with no hard cap on training length for eligible workers.
- Oregon and Washington have among the most generous voc-rehab programs, funding multi-year retraining including tuition and stipends.
Statute of limitations on reopening
Even after benefits stop, most states let you reopen the case if your condition gets materially worse. The window is narrow:
- California: 5 years from the date of injury to file a Petition to Reopen for new and further disability.
- Florida: 1 year from the last payment of compensation or last authorized medical to petition for additional benefits.
- Texas: No traditional reopening, but Supplemental Income Benefits can extend quarterly past MMI for impairment ratings of 15% or higher.
- New York: 18 years from the date of injury or 8 years from the last payment to reopen, with a Reopened Case Fund for very old claims.
If you settled by Compromise & Release, reopening is usually off the table — that’s the trade. Stipulated awards in some states preserve the reopen right.
What happens when TTD caps out
Hitting the 104-week TTD wall doesn’t mean you’re cut off entirely. The transition depends on where you are medically:
- At MMI: TTD ends and PPD begins, paying at a lower rate (often around two-thirds of TTD or less) for the weeks the impairment rating produces.
- Still treating, not at MMI: In states with hard 104-week caps, payments stop even though treatment continues. You can sometimes apply for state SDI/short-term disability or federal SSDI to fill the gap.
- Severely disabled: If you qualify for PTD, benefits convert to PTD without a payment gap in most states.
The 104-week cap surprises injured workers more than any other rule in the system. If you’re approaching it, talk to a workers’ comp attorney before the last check arrives. Many denials and lowball settlement offers come right at the cap.
The short version
Medical: usually lifetime, unless settled away or capped by statute. Wage replacement: capped — typically 104 weeks of temporary disability, then PPD for a state-specific number of weeks based on impairment, with PTD reserved for the worst injuries. Voc rehab: highly state-specific. Reopening: a narrow window, often 1–5 years from last payment.
For the bigger picture, the workers’ comp FAQ hub covers the entire claim lifecycle, and the first 72 hours guide covers what happens at the start. If a carrier is using an IME to push you to MMI before you’re ready, that’s often the trigger for the cap drama in this article.