Workers' Compensation
Worker's Compensation claims are the exclusive remedy against the employer for injures that are on the job. This means that you cannot pursue a personal injury claim your employer or co-workers for a on the job injury. However, the injured employee continues to have personal injury claims against third parties. These third party personal injury claims are against individuals or companies other than your employer or co-workers who caused your injury by their negligent or intentional actions. These third party personal injury claims can be pursued at the same time as you pursue your worker's compensation claim. The Griffin Law Firm, P.C. attorneys can represent you in your worker's compensation claim against your employer and your third party personal injury claim if the facts of your case support both.
Workers' Compensation Benefits
There are four types of income benefits that are provided in worker's compensation claims.
Temporary Total Disability Benefits (TTD) — Temporary Total Disability income benefits are paid to compensate the injured worker for his or her lost wages or lost income. These income benefits are allowed when the on the job injuries to the employee disabled the worker from any type of work. A "no work status" or "no work" work restriction is usually required from a doctor. The work restriction carries more weight if it is from the authorized treating physician (the doctor that has been approved to provide your worker's compensation medical treatment). If an injured worker is on light duty work restrictions and the employer does not have any light duty work, then temporary total disability benefits can also be paid. The comp rate for Temporary Total Disability Benefits is two-thirds of the employee's average weekly wage. The maximum TTD comp rate is currently $500 per week. Unless an injured worker has a catastrophic injury, the TTD benefits are limited to 400 weeks from the date of accident. People with catastrophic injuries receive workers' compensation benefits for an unlimited time period and often will have a social security disability claim in addition to the worker's compensation claim. Our attorney's can represent you in the worker's compensation claim and your social security disability claim when your injuries qualify you for both. Our worker's compensation attorneys have been very successful at getting our client's paid all of the temporary total disability benefits they are due. Without these income benefits being paid, injured workers can find themselves in a financial crisis where they cannot pay there bills and provide for themselves and their families.
Temporary Partial Disability Benefits (TPD) — Temporary Partial Disability income benefits are for injured workers who are able to return to light duty or modified work but are earning less income due to their injuries. They are usually paid on a weekly basis and are calculated each week comparing the current weekly wages to the average weekly wages earned for the 13 weeks prior to the date of the accident. The comp rate for temporary partial disability is two thirds of the lost weekly income. The maximum weekly TPD comp rate in Georgia is currently $334. TPD income benefits can be received for up to a maximum of 350 weeks from the date of the accident. The worker's compensation attorneys at The Griffin Law Firm fight hard to make sure that our clients are paid all of the TPD income benefits that they are due.
Permanent Partial Disability (PPD) — Permanent Partial Disability benefits compensate the injured worker for the permanent loss of use of part of his or her body. This permanent loss of use is documented with a permanent partial disability rating which can be assigned by the treating doctors. The doctor will use the American Medical Association 5th Edition as the guide for evaluating this permanent impairment rating. The worker's compensation attorneys at The Griffin Law Firm, P.C. can make sure you are assigned a PPD rating when one is appropriate. Then our worker's compensation lawyers will fight to make sure you are timely and correctly paid for your PPD benefits.
Death Benefits — Death benefits can be recovered by the spouse or minor children who are dependent on the killed employee. These death benefits require that the employee was killed on the job while doing his or her job duties. The maximum temporary total disability rating is $500 per week. Funeral expenses are currently paid up to $7,500. The surviving spouse's right to receive death benefits for the on the job death of their spouse may be stop if he or she re-marries or openly lives with a person of the opposite sex. The dependant minor's right to death benefits for the death their parent stops when they turn 18 years old. The worker's compensation lawyers at The Griffin Law Firm, P.C. can negotiate a lump sum settlement to fully compensate you for your death benefits so that you can get your life back on track more quickly.
Medical Benefits — Employees who are injured on the job are entitled to have their medical expenses paid as long as the treatment is either a medical emergency or is with authorized doctors. Doctors who are authorized to treat can be found on the employer's Posted Panel Of Physicians. The worker's compensation lawyers at The Griffin Law Firm, P.C. will guide you through the worker's compensation claim process from beginning to end. This will make sure that your medical bills are paid and that you get all of the medical treatment that you are entitled. Our attorneys will also evaluate the Posted Panel Of Physicians to make sure it is valid and will even get you a one free change of physician to another doctor on the Posted Panel Of Physicians if needed. In some cases you may also be entitled to a one time independent medical examination with a doctor of your choice. The worker's compensation lawyers at The Griffin Law Firm will fight hard to make sure you get all of the medical treatment you are entitled. Our attorneys also can negotiate a settlement that fairly compensates you for all of your future medical treatment, income benefits, and permanent partial disability benefits.
Catastrophic Injury: Worker's compensation injures are usually non-catastrophic. Georgia law only allows for an injured worker to receive temporary total disability income benefits for 400 weeks from the date of the accident. However, if the injury is designated a catastrophic injury, then the injured worker is entitled to income benefits for life as long as that injured worker continues to be totally disabled from work due to his or her injuries. The Georgia Workers' Compensation Act defines catastrophic injuries as those involving blindness, severe burns, severe head injuries, severe paralysis, amputations, and severe injuries which prevent you from being able to work on a permanent basis. The maximum weekly temporary total disability benefit is currently $500 per week. The employee is also entitled to vocational rehabilitation to attempt to get retrained to enter the work force.
How To Make A Worker's Compensation Claim: Worker's are injured on the job in Georgia every day. If you are injured on the job then you should follow the following steps to make sure your claim if properly set up:
(1) Tell Your Employer About Your Injury: You should tell your employer about your on the job injury immediately if possible. Georgia law requires that you tell you employer about your injury within 30 days, but it is best to tell your supervisor about the on the job injury as soon as you possibly can.(2) GET MEDICAL TREATMENT FROM AUTHORIZED DOCTORS: If you are injured on the job and need medical treatment, then it is generally best to get the treatment you need as soon as possible. If your on the job injures require emergency medical care, then this can be done by any hospital. If you use a hospital or personal doctor for your non-emergency treatment, then worker's compensation generally will not have to pay for it. It is important that you ask your employer for the Posted Panel Of Physicians for your on going care. The Posted Panel Of Physicians is the list of doctors that you can pick your worker's compensation doctor from. The worker's compensation attorneys at The Griffin Law Firm will evaluate the Posted Panel Of Physicians to make sure it is a valid panel (a panel that meets all of the requirements Georgia law requires). If the Posted Panel Of Physicians is invalid, then our attorneys can sometimes get you a doctor of your choice.
(3) HIRE AN ATTORNEY: The next step is to hire an attorney you can trust to guide you through the process and protect your rights. The worker's compensation insurance companies have their adjusters and defense attorneys to advise them and to protect their interests. The adjusters goal is to save their employer's (the worker's compensation insurance company) money. Unfortunately, the money they want to save is often at the expense of injured workers. If you go it alone without an attorney, then it will be difficult to get all of the income benefits and medical treatment you are entitled to. You also will not know what Board filings you need to file which could eventually case your case to be barred by the Statute Of Limitations. Without an attorney you also do not know the value of your case so settlement negotiations and cannot litigate to enforce your rights. The worker's compensation attorneys at The Griffin Law Firm specialize in handling worker's compensation claims. We have handled thousands of claims and have recovered millions of settlement dollars for our clients.
Reasons to Hire The Griffin Law Firm Attorneys:
(1) MEDICAL ISSUES: Our worker's compensation lawyers will fight to get the medical treatment and testing that you are being recommended authorized. Adjusters often will delay or refuse to authorize medical treatment that you are entitled to receive. Our worker's compensation attorneys will also guide you through the process making sure that you are allowed to make one free change to another Posted Panel Of Physicians doctor. We will also make sure that you have your one time (IME) Independent Medical Examination if you are eligible.(2) REJECTED CLAIMS: If your worker's compensation claim has been denied, then you should call us for a free consultation. Our worker's compensation lawyers will analyze your case to see if you have a valid claim. Our attorneys have had great success winning many hearings on worker's compensation claims that were previously denied by the adjuster or their attorneys.
(3) INCOME BENEFITS PROBLEMS: Many times the adjuster will refuse to pay income benefits even when you are legally entitled to them. Our attorneys have had tremendous success in getting our clients the income benefits they are entitled to receive. If you hire us, then we can also make sure that you are paid the correct weekly amount and paid on time. Without an attorney you would not know how to request a hearing and how to try a case to successfully recover the on going weekly income benefits that you have a right to receive.
(4) RETURN TO WORK PROBLEMS: Problems often arise when injured workers are returned to work by the worker's compensation doctors. Often the job that your employer provides you is beyond the work restrictions the doctor has given you. Our attorneys can guide you through this process and can fight for your income benefits if you cannot perform your job duties because of your injuries.
(5) SETTLEMENTS: Good worker's compensation settlements usually do not happen by accident. Rather they are usually the result of having a trained and experienced attorney negotiate a lump sum settlement of your worker's compensation claim. Since you do not know your rights or the value of your claim, it is hard for an injured worker to negotiate their own settlement. Since you do not know how to litigate your claim to enforce your rights, insurance companies may not have any motivation to provide
(6) LITIGATING YOUR CASE: If you do not have an attorney, then adjusters may delay or refuse to authorize medical treatment or testing that you are entitled to receive. Adjusters also may delay or refuse to pay you your weekly income benefits (lost wages) that you should receive. Our worker's compensation attorneys will keep the adjuster's feet to the fire to make sure your rights are protected. Attempting to try your own worker's compensation case is not only stressful, but very unlikely to be successful unless you have legal experience and training in worker's compensation. Our attorneys have a track record of successfully handling thousands of worker's compensation claims. Put our experience to work for you. You only get one bite of the apple meaning you only get to try your worker's compensation case once when asking a judge to rule that you have a compensable worker's compensation injury.
For a free consultation or to find out the value of your case, please call our office toll free at 866-847-6545. You can also submit your case for a free settlement evaluation by using the Free Settlement Evaluation Form that is found on our website. Nothing replaces having a experienced worker's compensation attorney evaluate your case thoroughly to determine the proper course of action for your case.