Hawaii Workers Compensation Benefits

If you get hurt or become ill because of your job in Hawaii, the workers’ compensation system is designed to support you with medical care and wage benefits while you recover. This coverage applies whether you work full-time, part-time, or temporarily, and the law starts with the assumption that your injury is work-related until your employer proves otherwise.

But to secure these benefits, you need to know how to report your injury on time and understand the types of compensation that may be available for lost wages, permanent disability, or even death benefits. For seniors and single fathers, these benefits can be especially vital in maintaining family stability and covering essential living costs during recovery.

What you may not realize is how these benefits are calculated and what deadlines apply — factors that can significantly affect your entitlement.

Key Takeaways

• Hawaii workers’ compensation covers full-time, part-time, and temporary workers with injuries caused or aggravated by workplace activities, including COVID-19.
• Employers with one or more employees must carry workers’ compensation insurance and post employee rights notices prominently.
• Medical benefits include all necessary care such as hospital stays, surgeries, therapy, and prescriptions without upfront costs until maximum medical improvement.
• Disability benefits compensate wage loss: Temporary Total Disability is two-thirds of average weekly wage (capped at $1,192 in 2025), with benefits for temporary partial, permanent partial, and permanent total disability available.
• Death benefits pay up to two-thirds of the worker’s average weekly wage to qualified dependents, and disfigurement benefits compensate permanent physical changes from work injuries.

Eligibility for Hawaii Workers’ Compensation Benefits

Although you might think only full-time employees qualify, Hawaii’s workers’ compensation benefits apply broadly to anyone suffering a work-related injury or illness, including full-time, part-time, and temporary workers.

Your eligibility hinges on having an injury or illness caused or aggravated by your workplace activities. Employers with one or more employees must carry workers’ compensation insurance to guarantee these benefits.

The law presumes your injury is work-related unless your employer can prove otherwise, easing your claim process. This system covers many injuries, from cuts and strains to illnesses like lung cancer or COVID-19 contracted at work.

Medical Benefits and Covered Treatments

You have the right to receive necessary medical care for your work-related injury or illness, including treatments like hospital stays, surgeries, physical therapy, and medications.

You can choose your treating physician, but typically you’ll be under the care of one attending doctor, who may refer you to specialists as needed with the insurance carrier’s approval.

All medical expenses related to your accepted injury are covered without upfront costs, and your employer must guarantee your access to authorized healthcare providers to support your recovery.

In addition, individuals such as felons reentering the workforce or those struggling to recover financially can often access housing support and financial aid programs to help maintain stability while receiving workers’ compensation benefits.

Covered Medical Treatments

Hawaii workers’ compensation provides comprehensive coverage for medical treatments necessary to recover from work-related injuries or illnesses.

When you’re injured at work, your medical expenses—such as doctor visits, hospital stays, and rehabilitation—are covered without any out-of-pocket cost. Your attending physician oversees and authorizes all medical treatment, ensuring you receive appropriate care throughout recovery.

This coverage extends to medical supplies, prescriptions, and assistive devices needed for your healing. Treatment continues until you reach maximum medical improvement or your condition stabilizes, giving you the support required to regain your health effectively and responsibly.

For additional stability, injured workers may also qualify for federal grants or assistance programs like SNAP, which can help cover essential living costs while benefits are being processed.

Injury-related Expenses

When a work-related injury or illness occurs, your medical expenses—including exams, surgeries, hospital stays, rehab, prescriptions, and necessary assistive devices—are covered completely under Hawaii’s workers’ compensation system, ensuring you won’t pay out of pocket for treatments authorized by your physician.

This workers compensation insurance pays for a wide range of medical treatment related to work injury, such as burns, fractures, repetitive use injuries, and accidents during work activities, including driving for work.

Employers must file injury reports promptly to guarantee your timely access to medical compensation benefits under the law.

Authorized Healthcare Providers

Authorized healthcare providers play a key role in your workers’ compensation claim by delivering the medical care related to your work injury or illness. These providers include licensed physicians, chiropractors, and other approved medical professionals authorized to treat your condition.

As an injured employee, you have the right to choose your attending physician from the employer’s list of authorized healthcare providers, but only one can be designated at a time. Your medical benefits cover necessary treatments, such as surgeries and rehabilitative services, all connected to your injury.

Key points include:

• Employers must provide a list of authorized providers
• You select your attending physician from that list
• Medical bills require submission to the insurance carrier for approval
• Treatment must relate specifically to your work injury or illness

Temporary Total Disability Benefits

Temporary Total Disability (TTD) benefits in Hawaii are calculated at two-thirds of your average weekly wage before your injury, capped at a maximum weekly rate that’s set annually ($1,192 per week for 2025).

These benefits start after you miss four days of work and continue until you reach maximum medical improvement, meaning your condition has stabilized.

To qualify and receive TTD benefits, you must file a claim, and if you return to work in a limited capacity, your benefits may shift to Temporary Partial Disability based on your reduced earnings.

Benefit Calculation Method

Although you can’t receive Temporary Total Disability (TTD) benefits for the first three days of missed work, once the waiting period passes, your benefit amount is calculated as two-thirds of your average weekly wage before the injury.

Benefits in Hawaii use this formula to guarantee fairness based on your earnings. You must file a claim to receive TTD benefits, as they aren’t automatic.

For 2025, the maximum weekly TTD rate is capped at $1,192. These benefits continue until you reach maximum medical improvement (MMI).

• Calculated as two-thirds of your average weekly wage
• Starts after the fourth missed workday
• Maximum weekly benefit capped at $1,192 for 2025
• Requires filing a claim to receive benefits

Eligibility and Duration

If you miss work due to a work-related injury, you qualify for Temporary Total Disability (TTD) benefits only after missing four or more days, provided you file a claim and meet specific eligibility requirements.

Workers’ compensation benefits replace two-thirds of your average weekly wage, capped at $1,192 per week in 2025. TTD benefits continue until you reach maximum medical improvement (MMI), signaling your condition has stabilized.

If you return to work with some restrictions, you may shift to Temporary Partial Disability (TPD) benefits instead.

Note that benefits aren’t automatic; you must apply to receive them as an injured employee.

Maximum Weekly Rate

In 2025, the maximum weekly rate for Temporary Total Disability (TTD) benefits in Hawaii is capped at $1,192.

This rate limits the amount you can receive, regardless of your average weekly wage. Your TTD benefit equals two-thirds of your average weekly wage before injury, but it won’t exceed this maximum.

Benefits begin after missing four workdays and continue until you reach maximum medical improvement or return to work. These payments are meant to partly replace your lost income while you recover.

Key points about the maximum weekly rate:

• It’s set at $1,192 for 2025.
• TTD benefits replace two-thirds of your average weekly wage.
• Benefits start after you miss four days of work.
• Payments continue until full recovery or return to work.

Temporary Partial Disability Benefits

Temporary Partial Disability (TPD) benefits help you recover financially when an injury limits your ability to work full-time, but you can still perform some duties.

These benefits provide you with partial wage replacement, calculated as two-thirds of the difference between your pre-injury average weekly wage and your current modified earnings.

TPD continues until you return to full duty or reach maximum medical improvement (MMI) as determined by your physician.

You need to report your earnings while receiving TPD benefits to verify accurate payments.

The maximum weekly rate matches the Temporary Total Disability (TTD) cap, which is $1,192 for 2025.

Permanent Partial Disability Benefits and Scheduled Loss Awards

When you reach maximum medical improvement after a work injury in Hawaii, your permanent partial disability (PPD) benefits are calculated by multiplying the maximum temporary total disability (TTD) rate by the number of weeks assigned based on your impairment.

Specific scheduled loss awards correspond to particular body parts with predefined weeks of compensation, creating a clear structure for payouts.

Even if you return to work in a limited capacity, you can still qualify for PPD benefits, which are calculated differently when based on whole person impairment percentages.

Benefit Calculation Method

Permanent Partial Disability (PPD) benefits in Hawaii are calculated by multiplying the maximum weekly Temporary Total Disability (TTD) rate by a specified number of weeks that corresponds to the extent or location of the permanent impairment.

For 2025, the maximum TTD rate is $1,192 per week, which forms the basis for this calculation. Scheduled loss awards compensate specific body parts with defined weeks. Whole person impairments use a percentage scale instead of fixed weeks.

Your current earnings don’t affect PPD benefits—they focus solely on your permanent impairment’s impact.

• Maximum TTD rate for 2025: $1,192/week
• Scheduled loss awards cover specific body parts with defined weeks
• Whole person impairment uses percentage of whole person, not fixed weeks
• Benefits focus on impairment extent, not current earnings or work status

Scheduled Loss Award Types

Several types of Scheduled Loss Awards exist under Hawaii’s workers’ compensation system, each designed to compensate specific impairments to particular body parts with predetermined weeks of benefits.

These awards cover permanent partial disabilities where compensation equals the maximum Temporary Total Disability rate multiplied by a set number of weeks reflecting the impairment’s severity.

Eligibility requires you to reach Maximum Medical Improvement (MMI), meaning your condition is stable. A medical professional assesses your impairment percentage, determining the exact compensation.

For instance, losing an arm garners more weeks of benefits than a finger loss, ensuring fair compensation aligned with injury impact.

Permanent Total Disability Benefits

Workers who suffer severe work-related injuries that leave them unable to perform any kind of work may qualify for Permanent Total Disability (PTD) benefits, which provide weekly compensation calculated at the same rate as Temporary Total Disability (TTD) benefits.

You receive PTD benefits when your injury causes permanent disability preventing all work, with no time limit on payments. The amount is based on your average weekly wage before the injury, adjusted annually.

Key points about Permanent Total Disability benefits:

• PTD benefits continue indefinitely unless your condition improves
• You’re presumed totally disabled if you lose both hands, feet, or sight in both eyes
• Benefits equal approximately two-thirds of your average weekly wage
• PTD is part of workers compensation protecting those with total disability

Disfigurement Compensation Under Workers’ Compensation

Disfigurement compensation provides financial recognition when your work injury causes permanent physical changes like scars, deformities, or discoloration that affect your appearance.

This compensation under workers’ compensation claims isn’t linked to your current earnings but is based on the severity and location of the permanent physical changes. It acknowledges the emotional and psychological impacts these changes have on you.

To qualify, you must file your claim within two years of noticing the disfigurement. Hawaii’s Department of Labor and Industrial Relations determines the award amount following specific guidelines and schedules tailored to disfigurement compensation.

Death Benefits for Surviving Dependents

You’re eligible for death benefits if you’re financially dependent on a worker who died from a work-related injury, including spouses and unmarried children under 18 or full-time students under 22.

The benefits pay up to two-thirds of the worker’s average weekly wage, but won’t exceed the maximum rate of $1,192 per week for 2025.

These benefits stop if the surviving spouse dies or remarries, though remarried spouses can apply for a lump sum, and claims must be filed within two years of the worker’s death.

Eligibility for Dependents

• A surviving spouse or reciprocal beneficiary living with or dependent on the worker
• An unmarried child under 18 or a full-time student under 22
• Unmarried children incapable of self-support
• Parents or grandparents actually dependent on the deceased

Benefits stop if the spouse dies or remarries, though a lump sum may be available upon remarriage.

Claims must be filed within the statute of limitations to secure benefits.

Benefit Amount Limits

Hawaii law limits death benefits for surviving dependents to a maximum of two-thirds (66 2/3%) of the deceased worker’s average weekly wages. This guarantees financial support for eligible family members, like spouses and unmarried children under 18 or full-time students under 22. The maximum death benefit amount adjusts annually based on the state’s maximum weekly benefit rates. Benefits end if the spouse dies or remarries, though remarried spouses may apply for a lump sum. Dependents must file claims within the statute of limitations to remain eligible.

Duration and Conditions

Although death benefits provide essential financial support to eligible dependents, their duration depends on specific conditions tied to the surviving family members’ circumstances.

You must know that death benefits for surviving dependents continue until the spouse dies, remarries, or enters a new reciprocal beneficiary relationship, with an option for a lump sum upon remarriage.

Children receive benefits while unmarried and under 18, or up to age 22 if full-time students.

Parents or grandparents can receive benefits only while they demonstrate actual financial dependence on the deceased worker.

• Payments cease on spouse’s death or remarriage; lump sums possible
• Children’s eligibility spans up to 18 or 22 if full-time students
• Dependents must prove financial dependence for death benefits eligibility
• Claims for death benefits must be timely filed to secure benefits

Vocational Rehabilitation and Return-to-Work Support

When you’re unable to return to your previous job due to a work-related injury, vocational rehabilitation steps in to help you regain your earning capacity through personalized job training, counseling, and placement services.

As an injured worker, you undergo a thorough assessment of your skills, interests, and physical limitations to create a tailored rehabilitation plan. This plan aims to facilitate your return to work by identifying suitable employment opportunities.

Employers are encouraged to offer transitional modified duties to support your recovery. Completing vocational rehabilitation can also open doors to ongoing support, ensuring stable, long-term employment.

Filing Workers’ Compensation Claims in Hawaii

If you suffer a work-related injury, you must promptly notify your employer in writing to guarantee your workers’ compensation claim proceeds smoothly.

Under Hawaii law, your employer has seven days to file a report with the Disability Compensation Division once notified.

You must file your workers comp claim within two years of discovering the injury or five years from the accident date to maintain coverage.

Your employer must provide you the Highlights of the Hawaii Workers’ Compensation Law brochure within three days after injury reporting.

Remember, the law presumes work-related injuries unless disproved by the employer.

• Notify employer immediately in writing
• Employer files WC-1 form within 7 days
• File claim within legal deadlines to protect coverage
• Receive workers compensation insurance coverage info brochure promptly

Statute of Limitations for Workers’ Compensation Claims

You must file your workers’ compensation claim in Hawaii within two years after the injury’s disabling effects become apparent, meaning when you realize the injury actually prevents you from working.

This statute of limitations is critical because it defines the deadline for filing a claim to receive workers’ compensation benefits.

Additionally, you must file within five years from the date the accident causing the injury occurred.

As an injured worker, reporting and filing your claim promptly is essential, because failing to do so within these time limits may cause you to lose your entitlement to compensation.

Prioritize timely filing to protect your rights.

Voluntary Settlements and Lump-Sum Agreements

Because voluntary settlements involving lump-sum payments fully resolve Hawaii workers’ compensation claims, both you and your employer must agree to the terms before submitting them for approval by the Disability Compensation Division (DCD).

This approval guarantees the settlement meets workers’ compensation laws and fairly compensates the injured worker. Voluntary settlements offer you quicker access to compensation and immediate financial relief.

Legal guidance is strongly recommended to navigate the complex laws.

• Lump-sum payment closes your claim permanently
• DCD approval protects your rights
• Settlements avoid delays in ongoing benefits
• Legal advice helps secure fair compensation

Penalties for Non-Compliance With Workers’ Compensation Laws

Non-compliance with Hawaii workers’ compensation laws triggers significant penalties designed to enforce employer obligations and protect injured workers.

If you fail to maintain workers’ compensation insurance, you face penalties of at least $500 or $100 per employee for each day without coverage. This fine accumulates daily, creating substantial financial exposure.

Beyond monetary fines, non-compliance risks legal action from employees seeking unpaid benefits, which can severely impact your business’s finances and reputation.

Additionally, you must provide injured employees written notice of their rights; failing to do so can lead to further penalties.

Staying compliant is essential to avoid these consequences.

How Hawaii Workers’ Compensation Benefits Are Calculated

When calculating Hawaii workers’ compensation benefits, the key factor is the injured worker’s average weekly wage (AWW), which is computed to most fairly represent their usual earnings from all covered employment prior to injury.

Your benefits paid vary based on disability type:

• Temporary Total Disability (TTD) benefits equal two-thirds of your AWW, starting after four days missed, capped at $1,192/week in 2025.
• Temporary Partial Disability (TPD) covers two-thirds of the wage difference if you work limited hours, with the same max rate.
• Permanent Partial Disability (PPD) uses the max TTD rate times weeks assigned by impairment degree.
• Permanent Total Disability (PTD) pays the TTD rate weekly indefinitely, adjusted annually.

Timely filing is essential due to a two-year statute of limitations.

Frequently Asked Questions

What Is the Longest You Can Be on Workers’ Comp in Hawaii?

The maximum duration on workers’ comp in Hawaii depends on your injury type: Temporary benefits last until maximum medical improvement (MMI) or return to work; permanent total disability benefits continue indefinitely. Claim extensions, eligibility criteria, and strict filing deadlines apply. You must file claims within two years of injury discovery, with a five-year maximum from the accident date to remain eligible. Appeals can extend proceedings but don’t change these limits.

What Are the Three Main Requirements to Obtain Workers’ Compensation?

The three main requirements to obtain workers’ compensation in Hawaii are: (1) meeting eligibility criteria by having a work-related injury documented and reported promptly through the claims process; (2) timely injury documentation and notice to your employer; and (3) your employer fulfilling responsibilities like filing injury reports and informing you of benefits.

What’s the Most You Can Get From a Workers’ Comp Settlement?

The most you can get from a workers’ comp settlement depends on settlement calculation methods, like lump-sum or structured payments, average payout amounts tied to injury severity, and factors affecting settlements such as types of injuries covered and disability ratings. In Hawaii, for example, maximum weekly benefits cap payouts.

Which Benefits Are Not Covered Under Workers’ Compensation?

Workers’ compensation does not cover personal injury claims unrelated to work, emotional distress or job-related stress without physical injury, or aggravation of pre-existing conditions unless directly caused by work. These benefits exclude non-physical claims.

Conclusion

You should know that nearly two-thirds (66 2/3%) of your average weekly wage is covered during temporary total disability, capped by a maximum weekly benefit ($1,192 in 2025), ensuring you have financial support during recovery. This reflects Hawaii’s commitment to protecting every worker, whether full-time or part-time, while emphasizing timely reporting to access these critical benefits. Understanding these details helps you navigate your rights and secure the compensation you deserve after a work injury.