Temporary total disability starts when an employee has been taken out of work for at least seven days.  Once an employee is out of work for 21 days, he will also be reimbursed for the first seven days as well.  There are many pitfalls with temporary total disability.  In general, for most injuries, 9 1/2 years will be sufficient time.  The unfortunate event occurs when an individual may never return to work and 9 1/2 years will definitely not be a sufficient amount of time to get lost wages.