The 104-Week Rule

How the count works

TTD and TPD draw from the same 104 weeks. Switching between them does not reset anything. A worker who spends 60 weeks on TTD and then moves to light duty has 44 weeks of TPD remaining, not a fresh allowance.

The enhanced 80% catastrophic rate under § 440.15(2)(b) also counts as part of the 104 weeks, not in addition to them.

Weeks during which benefits were withheld because you refused suitable employment still count against the limit under § 440.15(6). Refusing light duty does not pause the clock — it runs down your entitlement while paying you nothing.

What happens at week 104

Temporary benefits cease,e and your permanent impairment must be determined. If you have an impairment rating above zero, impairment income benefits begin. If you meet the standard for permanent total disability, PTD applies.

There is a statutory early warning. If you have not been certified at MMI within 98 weeks after temporary benefits begin to accrue, the carrier must notify your treating doctor. Six weeks is not much runway, so you need to address the approach to 104 weeks well before it arrives.

The gap the rule created

Consider a worker who is still totally unable to work at week 104 but has not reached MMI. Temporary benefits end because the cap is reached. PTD is unavailable because permanent total disability generally cannot be established before MMI.

The result is a worker who is completely disabled and receiving nothing, for an indefinite period.

Westphal v. City of St. Petersburg

That is precisely what happened to Bradley Westphal, a St. Petersburg firefighter severely injured in 2009. His temporary benefits ran out at 104 weeks while he remained totally disabled and short of MMI, and his PTD claim was denied because he could not prove he would still be totally disabled once he got there.

In 2016, the Florida Supreme Court held that the 104 week limitation was unconstitutional under Article I, section 21 of the Florida Constitution as applied in those circumstances — a denial of access to courts, because it left the workers’ compensation system no longer functioning as a reasonable alternative to tort litigation.

As a remedy, the Court revived the pre-1994 limit of 260 weeks — five years — for workers in that position.

The practical effect: if you remain totally disabled when 104 weeks expire, and no physician has placed you at MMI, your temporary benefits should not simply stop. Carriers do not always apply Westphal on their own initiative.

Where the 104 week rule goes wrong

• Benefits terminated at 104 weeks with no Westphal analysis for a worker who is still totally disabled and not at MMI.
• MMI called conveniently close to the cap. A rating and MMI date arriving just before week 104 deserves scrutiny — the 98 week notification provision creates pressure toward exactly that timing.
• Miscounted weeks. Suspensions, gaps, and switches between TTD and TPD make the running total easy to get wrong, in either direction.
• No transition planned. Workers frequently arrive at week 104 with no impairment rating in hand, no PTD claim filed, and no income.

What this means for your claim

Track your week count from the date temporary benefits began. It is the most important number in your claim after your average weekly wage, and nobody will track it for you.

If you are approaching 104 weeks and still cannot work, you need to address that before the deadline, not after the checks stop. Whether the case moves toward impairment benefits, permanent total disability, or a Westphal argument depends on medical evidence that takes time to develop.