Workers' Compensation
What is Workers Compensation?
When a worker is injured when on the job, and Georgia Workers Compensation entitles you to:
- Medical treatment, and will include hospital stays, and the insurance of the employer is going to cover it.
- Temporary total disability benefits if you are forced to be out of your job for a given amount of time.
- Prescriptions
- Physical therapy
- Necessary travel expenses
An employee can also be entitled to getting vocational rehabilitation. The laws on workers’ compensation will vary from one state to the next, which is why it is a good idea to talk to an attorney who has specialized in this field in Georgia.
Benefits Available Under Workers’ Compensation
The Georgia State Board of Workers’ Compensation provides an Employee Handbook detailing the benefits a worker injured is entitled to. Some of the benefits a worker injured in the workplace can get include:
Medical benefits. When a worker is injured while working, they are entitled to reasonable medical benefits, and this will include hospital visits, doctors’ visits, rehabilitation, surgeries, medications and more. You don’t have the freedom to choose your own physician, but what you will do is select from a list provided by the workers’ compensation insurance provider.
Income benefits. If you are forced to miss work because of the injury, you can recover income benefits. This is available for workers who have missed seven or more days because of the accident. If the days extend to more than 21 days, you are going to get pay for the first seven days of work. If it is catastrophic, you can get benefits for the time you haven’t been able to get back to your job; if it is non-catastrophic, the benefits can be paid for 400 weeks.
Death benefits. There are times when the injury causes death. If this is your case, then the dependents can get death benefits, and this will include funeral and burial expenses, and lost wages.
If you are eligible for income benefits, it is going to equal two-thirds of weekly wage, until the allowed maximum amount.
Summit Tucker specializes in worker’s compensation and makes sure you get the best medical treatment possible and makes sure you get the compensation you deserve.
Filing a Claim for Workers’ Compensation Claims
30 days
If you want to make sure that your rights to benefits are properly protected, then you need to start taking action as soon as possible after the workplace accident. The last thing you want to do is forfeit your rights to get compensated just because you delayed.
When you are injured, it is your responsibility to report the incident immediately. You are required to report the accident to your employer within thirty days after the injury.
Once you have reported the accident to your employer, they are required by law to file a First Report of Injury or the Occupational Disease Form. If they fail to do this, they can face civil penalties. If they refuse to report the injury, you should look for legal counsel in the shortest time possible – or the time can easily run out without you even knowing.
Another option if filling the claim with the State Board of Workers’ Compensation; and the time limit for doing this is one year from the day of the accident.
Why Should I Hire an Attorney for Workers’ Compensation?
The main goal of workers’ compensation is benefiting everyone involved – this is from the employer to the insurance carrier – but there are times when the carrier will do their best to deny the claim. When you notice that they are reluctant to give you the compensation you deserve, talk to us because we can help you get started with the process of getting your compensation.
Insurance companies know that some employees are involved in workers’ compensation fraud. This happens when the employees exaggerate or make fake claims so they can get a payout from the insurance company. Insurance companies might be reluctant to pay out because it is not in their interest to do so.
The employers can also deny the claim because they fear it is going to increase the premiums they pay, or they can decide to cover up the incident and say that the accident did not happen.
When you work with an attorney, you will increase your chances of getting the benefits you deserve compared to what you would get if you were to do it on your own. The lawyer is going to help you with the case in several ways. They can help in gathering evidence to make your case stronger, and this will include safety reports, medical records, and even witness accounts when possible.
If with all this information the claim is denied, the next step is an attorney filing an appeal with the Georgia workers’ compensation board to demand that the benefits be paid.
The attorney is also going to look at the facts of the case and determine whether you can seek additional damages as a result of the injuries sustained during the workplace accident. In Georgia, it can cover medical treatment, lost wages, partial or permanent disability funds.
If there is another person who is not your employee responsible for the accident, then the lawyer is going to consider a lawsuit against the third-party. A third party can be the manufacturer of defective equipment that might have contributed to the accident.