How much can you get for a lost leg? How about an index finger, or even an ear? The answer depends on the state where you live. Each state is allowed by Congress to determine on its own how much workers' compensation benefits pay for workplace accidents that cause amputations. 

The good news, if there can be such a thing in a workplace amputation scenario, is twofold. First of all, unlike having to prove that an on-the-job exposure caused a particular illness, it's easy to demonstrate that an amputation occurred at work. The other bit of good news is that Pennsylvania is more generous than the national average in what its workers' compensation benefits pay out for specific amputations. Ohio also pays more than the national average, but not by much. 

In Pennsylvania, for example, the maximum compensation for the loss of a leg is $389,910. In Ohio, it's $172,400. The national average workers' compensation benefit for loss of a leg is $152,221. 

For an eye, the amounts sort out similarly: 

• Pennsylvania: $261,525.
• Ohio: $107,750.
• National average: $96,700. 

While no loss of limb could ever be considered "lucky," the discrepancies in what workers' compensation pays from state to state mean that workers who are injured in Pennsylvania tend to be, in a financial sense, luckier than those injured in many other states. There may not be much you can do about being injured in one particular state instead of another. However, you can help yourself immensely after such an injury by consulting with a workers' compensation attorney who has experience handling cases involving on-the-job amputations.