• For injuries that occur while an employee is at work, workers' compensation provides benefits for lost wages and medical treatment incurred as a result of that injury. Employers are required to carry workers' compensation insurance in every state. Alaska workers' compensation laws offer several benefits for the injured employee as she recovers from an on-the-job injury.
  
  

Filing The Claim

• Alaska allows 30 days for the injured employee to report the incident that caused her injury to the Alaska's Workers' Compensation Board. If the employee has suffered death as a result of an on-the-job injury, family members have 30 days to report the death. Failure to give notice will result in a denial unless the AWCB excuses the late filing. If the employer denies the claim, the employee or family members must file a written workers' compensation form with AWCB within two years of the work-related injury or death. If the employer also disputes the written claim, the employee or family members may request a hearing with the AWCB for a final decision.
  
  

Payments

• The weekly compensation benefit is determined by the injured worker's gross weekly wage, minus taxes, normally earned prior to the injury. The payment will be 80 percent of the normal weekly wage and is paid twice a month. For injuries prior to July 1, 2000, the state maximum allowable benefit is $700 per week. Injuries suffered after that date have a maximum benefit allowance of no more than 120 percent of Alaska's average weekly wage. This average wage is calculated by finding the average weekly wage for all Alaskan employees. The minimum for all injuries is no less than 22 percent of the maximum compensation rate.
  
  

Temporary Total Disability

• This benefit is paid twice a month at the compensation rate until the injury is fully treated or the employee can return to work, whichever occurs first. Treatment is considered complete when no further medical intervention can improve the injury.
  
  

Temporary Partial Disability

• If the injured employee can only return to work for part of his former workday, he may qualify for temporary partial disability. This benefit payment is calculated as 80 percent of the difference between the weekly wage prior to injury and the weekly wage after the injury. The benefits will end after medical treatment for injury is complete or five years have passed since the date of the first benefit payment.
  
  

Permanent Total Disability

• If the injury is such that the employee cannot return to work, he may qualify for permanent total disability. Some injuries, such as the loss of both arms, are automatically classed as a permanent total disability. All other injuries must be proved by the employee to qualify for that status. The benefit payment is calculated exactly like the payment for temporary partial disability, but if the wages earned after the injury aren't fairly reflected, the AWCB can adjust the amount.
  
  

Permanent Partial Impairment Benefits

• When the employee suffers an impairment to a body part or the loss of a body part, this benefit will pay in addition to the other disability benefits. A doctor will examine the employee and assign a rating to the loss that determines the benefit payment. The payment is in the form of a lump sum.
  
  

Death Benefits

• Death benefits in the state of Alaska allow $5,000 for burial expenses and $5,000 as compensation to the spouse and/or children of the employee. The employee's dependents will also receive a weekly benefit that would be similar to the amount the employee would have received for the permanent total disability benefit.
  
  

Medical Expenses

• Workers' compensation insurance pays for the medical expenses of the injured employee for two years. After that period, the AWCB takes over the medical expense payments. The employee may choose her own doctor but must inform the insurance company if she decides to change doctors.