Many Georgia employees can receive workers’ compensation benefits if they suffer an on-the-job injury or are diagnosed with an occupational illness. Often shortened to “workers’ comp,” these no-fault benefits can cover your medical costs, offset a portion of your lost income, and provide disability benefits until you return to work. However, insurance companies deny a significant number of workers’ comp claims every year. An experienced attorney can help remove any obstacles you encounter during the workers’ compensation process.
But how does workers’ comp work in Georgia? Here, the attorneys at the Law Offices of Williams F. Underwood, III, P.C., explain the claims process.
Do You Qualify for Workers’ Compensation Benefits?
By law, most Georgia employers with three or more full-time, part-time, or seasonal employees must provide workers’ comp benefits to their workers. Coverage typically begins on your first day of work.
There are some exceptions. Georgia workers’ compensation laws do not cover employees who work for U.S. government agencies and most railroads. Farm laborers, independent contractors, and several other occupations are also not covered.
If you are a covered employee, you should qualify for workers’ comp benefits if you suffer an injury while performing your duties during regular work hours. You may still qualify even if you were not on the job site at the time of the injury. The key is whether you were injured while performing duties in the “course and scope” of your employment.
You must report your injury to your employer within 30 days to obtain benefits. You may lose your right to workers’ compensation if you do not. Once you notify your employer, they must inform the State Board of Workers’ Compensation. This step sets the workers’ comp process in motion.
The path to workers’ compensation can be frustrating, involving extensive paperwork, phone calls, documents, and receipts. Hearings or mediations in front of an administrative law judge may be necessary if your employer or its insurer denies your claim.
A workers’ compensation attorney can review your situation and determine whether you are eligible for benefits. Once your attorney determines your eligibility, they can file a Georgia workers’ compensation claim on your behalf. With a lawyer’s help, you may avoid clerical and administrative problems that often drag out the claims process.
What Does Workers’ Comp Pay in Georgia?
Workers’ compensation benefits provide medical and financial assistance to injured workers until they are well enough to return to the workplace. Benefits can include:
- Weekly payments to offset the loss of your regular paycheck, based on your pre-accident wage and subject to state-set caps
- Payments for authorized medical treatment, prescription drugs, and travel expenses
- Coverage for diagnostic imaging tests, surgery, physical therapy, and more
- Vocational retraining if you cannot return to your old job
Your medical and weekly benefits could last for life if you suffer a catastrophic injury. Otherwise, weekly benefits are capped at 400 weeks.
Weekly benefits begin once you have been unable to work for seven days. You should receive your first payment within the first 21 days of being unable to work. You can receive a reduced weekly benefit if you can still perform some work but at a lower wage than before the accident.
Your employer likely will not pay workers’ comp benefits directly to you. Instead, your employer’s insurance company manages the claims process and distributes the benefit payments (unless your employer is self-insured). The insurance company’s job is to help you return to work as quickly as possible while reducing the costs to your employer. Insurers save money by making low settlement offers or denying claims completely. That’s why you should hire a workers’ comp attorney. A workers’ comp lawyer looks out for your interests.
Steps to File a Georgia Workers’ Comp Claim
Here are the general steps for filing a workers’ compensation claim in Georgia:
- Report your injury to your employer as soon as possible and within 30 days.
- Get medical treatment from an approved physician. Your employer can provide a list of approved physicians, or you can search the SBWC physician database.
- Gather documents and receipts related to your injury, medical expenses, employment, and wages/earnings
- Fill out and submit Form WC-14 Notice of Claim to the Georgia State Board of Workers’ Compensation, your employer, and your employer’s workers’ compensation insurance carrier.
You are not required to hire an attorney to file for workers’ comp benefits. However, getting a lawyer involved immediately may help avoid obstacles that could delay your benefits payments. Once the forms are submitted, you will receive a benefits decision from your employer’s insurer.
What to Do After You Receive a Benefits Decision
If your claim is approved, be sure to maintain your eligibility by following your physician’s orders for medical treatments or rehabilitation activities. You will return to work when your doctor determines you are ready.
If you receive a claim denial or disagree with the amount or extent of benefits you’re scheduled to receive, you can appeal the decision by requesting a hearing. Appealing a workers’ compensation decision is a formal process before an administrative law judge. You should strongly consider working with an attorney before appealing.
How a Workers’ Comp Lawyer Can Help
You don’t have to navigate the Georgia workers’ compensation process alone. Let the attorneys at the Law Offices of William F. Underwood, III, P.C. file your claim and fight for the benefits you deserve. With more than a decade of experience successfully obtaining benefits for injured Georgians, our legal team knows the tactics insurers use to deny workers’ comp to deserving claimants and will develop an effective strategy to strengthen your claim.
You can depend on our workers’ compensation lawyers to:
- Explain the benefits you qualify to receive
- Gather evidence to prove your eligibility
- Complete and file all the necessary claim forms on time
- Help you obtain all medical and rehabilitation benefits granted
- Represent you throughout the entire workers’ comp process, including at hearings, mediations, appeals, and trials
Need help with your GA workers’ compensation claim? Call or contact us today for a free consultation.
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