Hurt at work in Florida? Deadlines, weekly benefit and how to file
Tell your employer within 30 days. File your claim within 2 years.
Temporary total disability (TTD) benefits can pay two-thirds of your gross (before-tax) wages, up to $1,358 a week in 2026.
Your employer's insurer, not the state, usually decides first. If they deny or delay, the free help listed here can explain your options.
In Florida, temporary total disability pays part of your lost wages while the authorized doctor says you cannot work because of a work injury. Your employer's insurance carrier handles the claim, and disputes are decided by a judge of compensation claims (JCC).
Checked against official sources: October 31, 2026.
Deadlines are strict. If you are near one, call the state agency or free help today.
Free tools for Florida
Free tools that run in your browser. Nothing you enter is saved or sent until you download, copy or print a document.
Deadline helper
Benefit estimate calculator
This estimate uses the rule in Florida's data: a share of your average weekly wage, up to the state maximum.
Written notice to your employer
A letter that tells your employer, in writing, that you were hurt or made sick by your work.
Claim checklist: what to gather and do
A printable list of papers to keep and steps to take.
Deadlines in Florida
- Tell your employer
- 30 days
- File your claim
- 2 years
- Waiting period
Wage benefits are not paid for the first 7 days of disability. Medical care is covered from the first day.
Weekly benefit in Florida
- What it pays
- Two-thirds of your gross (before-tax) wages
- Maximum
- $1,358 a week in 2026
- Minimum
- $20 a week in 2026
- Minimum rule
The benefit is at least $20 a week. If your weekly wage was less than $20, you receive your full weekly wage.
- Applies to
- Injuries in calendar year 2026
Law: Fla. Stat. §§ 440.12(2), 440.14(1), 440.15(2)
Source: myfloridacfo.com
Who is your doctor in Florida?
- Who chooses
- Your employer or its insurer chooses
- Network
- Some employers use a workers' compensation managed care arrangement; you must use its grievance process before filing a Petition for Benefits about medical care.
Your employer or its insurance carrier chooses and authorizes your doctor. Do not go to your own private doctor on your own for the work injury; the carrier must authorize the doctor who treats you. In an emergency, get emergency care and tell the staff you were hurt on the job.
You may ask the carrier in writing for one change of doctor during your treatment for each accident. The carrier must authorize a new doctor, not connected with the first one, within 5 days after it gets your request. If it does not, you may choose the doctor yourself. You also have the right to choose your pharmacy.
Law: Fla. Stat. §§ 440.13(2)(f), 440.13(3)(a), 440.13(3)(j), 440.192(3)
Source: myfloridacfo.com
Who is covered in Florida
- Size of employer
Employers outside construction with 4 or more employees (full-time or part-time) must carry workers' compensation coverage. An exempt corporate officer does not count as an employee.
- Special rules
- Construction: Construction employers with 1 or more employees (including the owner) must carry coverage. An exempt corporate officer or LLC member does not count.
- Agriculture: Farm employers must carry coverage if they have 6 or more regular employees, or 12 or more other workers at one time for seasonal farm work (unless that seasonal work is finished in less than 30 days and lasts no more than 45 days in the calendar year).
- State and local government: State and local government employers must carry coverage.
- Not covered
- Domestic workers in private homes
- Farm labor for a farmer with 5 or fewer regular workers and fewer than 12 seasonal workers (seasonal work finished in less than 30 days, no more than 45 days a year)
- Independent contractors outside the construction industry (construction independent contractors are counted as employees)
- Real estate licensees paid only by commission under a written agreement
- Casual work that is not part of the employer's business
- Volunteers (except volunteers for state or local government)
- Corporate officers who elect to be exempt
- Professional athletes
- Federal employees, longshore and harbor workers, railroad workers and defense contractor employees abroad are covered by federal programs, sometimes in addition to state law
- Contractors
Outside construction, a person is an independent contractor only if the work arrangement meets the law's tests, such as having a separate business, a business bank account, and the freedom to work for others; the person claiming to be an independent contractor has to prove it. In construction, independent contractors are counted as employees.
- If your employer has no insurance
If your employer was required to have coverage but did not, you can choose to claim workers' compensation benefits or to sue the employer in court, where the employer cannot use certain defenses. You can report an employer without coverage to the Division of Workers' Compensation, and the Employee Assistance and Ombudsman Office can help you find out if your employer had coverage.
Law: Fla. Stat. §§ 440.02(15), (17), 440.10, 440.11(1)(a)
Source: myfloridacfo.com
If your claim is denied or delayed in Florida
- First step
Contact the free Employee Assistance and Ombudsman Office (EAO) at 1-800-342-1741. The law says you should ask the EAO for help when benefits are not provided.
Fired or punished for filing in Florida
Your employer may not fire you, threaten to fire you, intimidate you, or coerce you because you made a valid workers' compensation claim or tried to claim compensation.
- The law
- Florida Statutes section 440.205 (Coercion of employees)
- What you may get
The statute does not list specific remedies. Claims under it are brought as a lawsuit for damages.
- Where to file
A civil lawsuit in state court (not before a judge of compensation claims).
Law: Fla. Stat. § 440.205
Source: myfloridacfo.com
Lawyers' fees and other benefits in Florida
Any fee for a worker's attorney must be approved by a judge of compensation claims. The fee is set by a formula based on the benefits the attorney secures: 20% of the first $5,000, 15% of the next $5,000, 10% of the rest for the first 10 years, and 5% after that. In some cases (for example, when the carrier denied benefits and you win), the carrier or employer must pay the fee.
Florida also pays temporary partial disability benefits when you return to restricted work but cannot earn 80% of your old wage, impairment income benefits based on a permanent impairment rating, permanent total disability benefits, free reemployment services (vocational help and retraining), and death benefits up to $150,000 including funeral expenses up to $7,500.
Free help in Florida
State agency
Florida Department of Financial Services, Division of Workers' Compensation (DWC)
- Phone
- 1-800-342-1741
- Address
- 200 East Gaines Street, Tallahassee, FL 32399
Free help
Good to know in Florida
- Florida law does not require your employer to hold your job open while you are out because of the injury.
- You can receive Social Security and workers' compensation at the same time, but combined they may not exceed 80% of your average weekly wage.
- Wage benefits can be paid by check or, if you agree, by direct deposit, prepaid card, or to a licensed money transmitter account.
Changes in 2024–2026
The weekly maximum for temporary total disability is set each year: $1,260 for 2024 injuries, $1,295 for 2025 and $1,358 for 2026 (DWC calculator table).
Questions about workers' comp in Florida
How long do I have to tell my employer about a work injury in Florida?
Tell your employer about the injury as soon as possible, and no later than 30 days after it happens or first shows itself.
How long do I have to file a workers' comp claim in Florida?
There is no claim form for you to file with the state when your claim is going smoothly. If benefits are denied or not paid, you must file a Petition for Benefits within 2 years after the date you knew or should have known your injury was work-related.
How much does workers' comp pay in Florida?
Temporary total disability (TTD) benefits can pay two-thirds of your gross (before-tax) wages, up to $1,358 a week in 2026.
Can I choose my own doctor for a work injury in Florida?
Your employer or its insurance carrier chooses and authorizes your doctor. Do not go to your own private doctor on your own for the work injury; the carrier must authorize the doctor who treats you.
Can my employer fire me for filing a workers' comp claim in Florida?
Your employer may not fire you, threaten to fire you, intimidate you, or coerce you because you made a valid workers' compensation claim or tried to claim compensation.
What if my workers' comp claim is denied in Florida?
Contact the free Employee Assistance and Ombudsman Office (EAO) at 1-800-342-1741. The law says you should ask the EAO for help when benefits are not provided.
Not about a work injury?
Not about a work injury? Unpaid wages → Wage Claim Map · Hurt in a car crash → Accident Claim Map · A medical bill → Medical Bill Map · Unemployment benefits → Unemployment Claim Map · Other problems → robinclaim.com
Nearby states
Sources
- DWC: Employees (help for injured workers)
- DWC: How to report an injury
- DWC: Benefits available to injured workers
- DWC: Injured worker FAQs
- DWC: Employer coverage requirements
- DWC: Temporary total disability benefit calculator (maximum compensation rates table)
- DWC: Injured worker informational brochure (English)
- DWC: Injured worker informational brochure (Spanish)
- DWC proof of coverage search
- OJCC: Representing yourself
- OJCC: Forms
- Florida Statutes chapter 440 (Online Sunshine, Florida Legislature)