Category: Workers’ Compensation

If you’re hurt on the job in Georgia, workers’ compensation is meant to cover your medical care and replace part of your lost income – no matter who was at fault. But it doesn’t cover everything, and insurers don’t always pay what they should. Here’s a plain-English look at the benefits Georgia...

If you’ve been hurt on the job in Georgia, at some point the insurance company may offer to settle your workers’ compensation claim for a lump sum. A settlement can bring closure and certainty – but once you sign, your claim is usually closed for good. Here’s how Georgia workers’ comp settlements...

A workplace injury can threaten both your health and your paycheck – and what you do in the first days matters. Georgia workers’ compensation can cover your medical care and part of your lost wages regardless of who was at fault, but missing a step or a deadline can jeopardize your claim....

It is one of the most common worries after a workplace injury: if I file a workers' compensation claim, can my employer fire me? The honest answer in Georgia is nuanced. Georgia is an at-will employment state, but losing your job does not erase your right to workers' compensation benefits for your...

There is always a risk of injury at work. Of course, some positions are more prone to a workplace accident than others, such as a job where one operates heavy machinery. Georgia workers who are injured on the job may be entitled to certain benefits under the workers' compensation laws in Georgia.  

As a general rule, the Georgia Workers' Compensation Act bars recovery of workers' compensation benefits where the employee's injury was caused by the employee's own willful misconduct. O.C.G.A. § 34-9-17. The employer has the burden of proving that the employee engaged in such willful misconduct by a preponderance of the evidence. Neither...

What happens if your employer terminates your employment while you are entitled to receive workers' compensation income benefits? If an injured worker is either 1) unable to work due to the work-related injury per the authorized treating physician's orders; or 2) only able to work in a light duty...

The burden is on the injured worker to prove that the injured worker provided timely, proper, and sufficient notice, either personally or through a representative, to the employer in bringing a workers' compensation claim in Georgia. Schwartz v. Greenbaum, 138 Ga. App. 695 (1976); Mallory v. American Cas. Co., 116 Ga. App. 477 (1967).

Your Average Weekly Wage (“AWW”) is the basis upon which your week-to-week workers' compensation (indemnity) benefits will be calculated should you be unable to work or earn less than your AWW as a result of a work-related injury. The AWW is comprised of any monetary payment or noncash benefits received by the...

Under Georgia law, an injured worker's injury must occur by accident and arise out of and in the course of that worker's employment to constitute a compensable injury, but what does this mean? “ACCIDENT“ Under the Act, the word “accident” is not intended to mean...