Georgia Workers Compensation Information

Under Georgia law, if you sustain a bodily injury that arises out of and is in the course of your employment, you are entitled to certain statutory wage and medical benefits. An injury arises out of your employment when it results from a risk which is reasonably related to the employment. Of course, as with any case, there are exceptions and you need to consult carefully with an attorney to determine whether your injury is covered by workers’ compensation laws.

If your job injury is covered under workers’ compensation laws, there are two general categories of benefits available to you. These are wage/income benefits and reimbursement for medical expenses arising out of your job injury. Please note, however, that an injured worker does not become eligible for wage/income benefits immediately upon being injured. The injury in question must cause you to miss at least seven days of work before you are eligible for income benefits. However, if the injury is serious enough to keep you out of work for at least 21 consecutive days, then income benefits for the first seven days will then be allowed retroactively. Income benefits due to an injured worker are based on the amount of the worker’s average weekly wage up to a statutory cap. Generally, a worker who is disabled from a job injury is entitled to receive two-thirds of his or her average weekly wage up to a cap. Currently, the cap is $500.00 a week. No matter how much your average weekly wage is, benefits for total disability cannot exceed the current cap of $500.00 a week. As long as an injured worker is unable to do any work because of an injury, he or she is entitled to total disability income benefits.

If an injured worker is able to perform some type of light duty work but is not able to earn as much as he or she did prior to the injury, then benefits are payable for what is known as temporary partial disability. These benefits are calculated based on two-thirds of the difference between the average weekly wage before the injury and the reduced earnings after the injury. Again, however, there is cap on this amount. The cap is currently $334.00 a week. Thus, if you are injured but able to perform light duty work for a limited number of hours a week, you will be paid the wages for that work plus benefits based on the above calculation. However, the benefits currently cannot exceed $334.00 a week.

If an injury on the job results in death to the worker, the benefits are payable to the employee’s dependents. Generally, the income benefits equal two-thirds of the worker’s average weekly wage not to exceed $500.00 during the time of the dependency. However, where a spouse is the sole dependent at the end of one year after the date of the death, the total amount payable is limited to $125,000.00.

Workers who sustain on-the-job injuries covered by the Workers’ Compensation Act are entitled to reimbursement from the employer for any medical expenses which result from the injury and which are reasonable and necessary to cure the condition, give relief for the condition or to restore the worker to suitable employment. Under Georgia workers' compensation laws, there is no limit on the amount of medical expenses payable in a worker's compensation claim. As long as there are medical expenses, the employer must pay them. The employer is required to post a list of physicians available to treat the injured worker. The injured worker must select a physician from the panel to treat his or her job injury. If the injured employee seeks treatment from a non-authorized physician, then there is generally no requirement that the employer or its insurer pay for the treatment.

Georgia law requires that an injured worker notify his or her employer of an injury on the job either immediately or as soon thereafter as is practicable. Failure to notify an employer of a job injury within 30 days could result in a denial of benefits under workers’ compensation laws. Further, if an employer denies that an injury reported by a worker is job related and refuses to pay any wage or medical benefits, the worker generally has one year from the date of the injury to file a claim with the Workers’ Compensation Board. Thus, if an employer denies that an injury is work related and the employee fails to file a claim with the Workers’ Compensation Board within one year of the injury, the worker’s claim is generally barred forever.

If you have been injured on the job, call KeenerLaw.com for a free consultation.