Georgia Workers' Compensation Lawyer Blog

If you're currently on workers' compensation benefits and are getting medical care through the workers' comp doctor, please know that the doctor has been chosen by the insurance company with the expectation that you are to be released back to full duty work as quickly as possible for as little cost as possible and with as low a disability rating as possible. The insurance adjuster and workers' compensation doctor are not interested in returning you to your pre-injury abilities and capabilities; they're interested in saving money.

I recently had a client with multiple disc herniations and excruciating pain get released to full duty, heavy labor work with no restrictions or impairment rating (permanent partial disability). This is ridiculous. But, it's not uncommon.  We've worked to get him another doctor who is a patient advocate.

Working with a workers' compensation attorney will help you learn the reputations of doctors and what your options are regarding medical care and necessary medical procedures that may be denied by the workers' comp insurance company. In short, it pays to have an advocate who's looking out for your interests instead of an insurance company's.

-Moebes Law, LLC
3535 Piedmont Road NE
Piedmont 14, Suite 410
Atlanta, GA  30305
(404)354-5432

Sadly, you are not the first person to ask me this question and provide me this back story. I'll tell you what I told the first person whose attorney only returned calls late at night, from a bar, and three weeks after he had left 70 voicemails: fax him a termination letter.

It's okay. Peace of mind is worth a sheet of paper and the time hitting 10 digits requires.

Know where to find an Atlanta attorney who doesn't drunk dial? Moebes Law, LLC.

Shocking, I know.

Certainly, living off of 2/3 your pre-injury wage can be difficult, especially if you used to make more than $750/week and are stuck at the maximum workers' compensation rate in Georgia of $500/week. There are a couple of options you can employ to try and get some assistance.

First, there are several companies that offer very high interest loans for you to borrow against your future permanent impairment rating, future settlement, or future verdict. I don't recommend using this option unless you are about to lose your home or have other dire financial needs that must be addressed quickly, despite the fact that you will likely owe close to twice the amount you borrow after interest and fees are added to the total.

The better option is to file a WC-25 and request a lump sum advance on your future permanent partial disability (PPD) rating.  In order to use this option, you need to have been on temporary total disability (TTD) benefits for 26 weeks (6 months). Normally, the workers' compensation insurance adjuster (or attorney) will agree to this if your request is reasonable when compared to your injury and likely PPD rating. 

If they do not agree, you can file the form WC-25 with the State Board of Workers' Compensation, wait 15 days for the other side's objection, and then see if the Administrative Law Judge grants you an advance.  Feel free to contact my Atlanta law office for questions on Georgia workers' compensation law related to lump sum advances.

If you've been on workers' compensation benefits in Georgia and/or are treating with a workers' compensation doctor after your workplace injury, once you reach maximum medical improvement ("MMI"), your doctor may give you a permanent partial disability ("PPD") rating. This is a percentage based on the American Medical Association ("AMA") guidelines.

The Georgia Workers' Compensation Act provides formulas that give you amounts of compensation due when your doctor gives you a PPD rating, and it's based on where you were injured and your workers' compensation rate. OCGA 34-9-263 provides the breakdown.

If you are paid a PPD rating, it does not mean your case is settled. You can return to work if the doctor so releases you, and you can keep getting medical care from the workers' compensation insurance company doctors if necessary.

While receiving a lump sum may feel like a settlement, an offer of settlement will include a document that is several pages long called a "stipulation" that will clearly indicate you have resolved your workers' comp claim.

If you have questions about an offer to settle your workers' compensation claim in Georgia or about your PPD rating, feel free to call the Atlanta injury attorneys at Moebes Law.

Don't panic just yet. In the past few weeks, I've seen several WC-2 filings indicating a client's workers' compensation disability benefits were about to be suspended, but the insurance adjuster did something incorrectly, meaning benefits were immediately recommenced (along with some penalties and fees).

For example, if the adjuster filed a WC-240 commanding you to return to light duty work in Florida (and you live in Atlanta), that's not a reasonable offer, and the insurance company cannot cut off your benefits.

What if your doctor opined that you might be able to do regular duty in 2-3 months, and 2-3 months have passed, but you haven't seen your doctor in 60 days? They can't cut off your benefits.

What if you get a WC-2 indicating your benefits were cut off yesterday (meaning you did not get 10 days notice)? They can't cut off your benefits.

All 3 of these examples I've seen this month. Unfortunately, many workers' compensation adjusters handle hundreds of files in several different states, and they don't always comply correctly with the Georgia Workers' Compensation Act. Mistakes are made. That's why you need an experienced Atlanta workers' compensation attorney to be your advocate and guide you through your workers' comp claim as you recover from you injuries.

When you file a workers' compensation claim in Georgia, more than likely, the defense attorney is going to schedule your deposition. It's your opportunity to answer questions about your injury and its aftermath while showing what a great witness you'll make at any upcoming hearing.

While you may not want to spend a couple of hours at my office being deposed by the insurance company's attorney, it's usually a prerequisite to getting your case resolved by litigation or settling, so don't decide to skip it. It's not a "meeting" or "conference." It's a deposition--a question and answer session that's recorded and is given under oath.

Please don't miss your deposition.

If you've been injured on the job in Georgia and need constant care from someone, why not let that person be your spouse? You know you expect him/her to wear that little nurse outfit on Halloween...what about the other 364 days of the year?

While the notion that a spouse can provide attendant care had already been established, it was reaffirmed recently in the Medical Office Management, et al v. Hardee case.  The attendant care needs to be medically necessary to effect a cure, provide relief, or restore the injured worker to suitable employment.  The workers' compensation fee schedule allows payment for such care at $10.01/hour for up to 12 hours/day (hours can be extended at the State Board of Workers' Compensation's discretion). 

Why invite a stranger into your home when you can let the person who already lives there take care of you?  If the workers' compensation adjuster is denying such an arrangement, feel free to contact the Atlanta workers' compensation lawyers at Moebes Law, LLC for guidance.

As we've already learned, Georgia workers' compensation hearings are frequently postponed.  What if you've received a Notice of Hearing in the mail, and the hearing is a day or two away, but you haven't heard from your workers' comp attorney?  Do you show up at the State Board of Workers' Compensation anyway? 

No. 

When I was a workers' compensation defense attorney, I used to see the sad saps showing up alone for a hearing their attorneys had agreed to postpone.  I wondered what kind of lawyer would fail to tell his client not to come to court and require said client to drive in Atlanta traffic for an event that would never occur.  "Only a tyrant!" I would think.

But now that I'm a workers' compensation claimants' attorney, I realize folks sometimes get scared by the piece of paper saying they have a court date, even if their attorney has told them the court date has been continued.  This is especially true when there is a language barrier. 

So for future reference, know this:  if you're going to court, your attorney will meet with you to prepare (assuming he or she is worth a damn).  Don't show up for a workers' compensation hearing without talking to your attorney.  Call.  E-mail.  No answer?  Consider finding another attorney.  But don't drive to a hearing that's been postponed.

I'm here to help. 

As much fun as nude dancing while getting a temporary total disability check from your Georgia workers' compensation claim may sound, you may be prosecuted for insurance fraud if you're receiving disability payments and working at the same time. Even if you consider exotic dancing or stripping to be far from "working," the insurance commissioner is unlikely to agree with you.

And, since workers' compensation insurance defense attorneys and insurance adjusters are notorious patrons of gentlemen's clubs, you are likely to get caught. Nobody wants to see the attorney from the deposition last week shoving dollar bills where the sun doesn't shine tonight. Right? Of course not.

Naked dancing for money while on workers' comp = bad news. Just ask this lady.

Refraining from nude dancing after a workers' compensation accident?  Feel free to call my Atlanta workers' compensation lawyers' office in Buckhead. 

Several of my clients are nurses, nurse practitioners, or physicians' assistants. They tend injure their backs while lifting patients: disc bulges, disc protrusions, herniated discs, sciatica, etc. Because they have backgrounds in medicine, they often want to have more control and "say" in how their care is delivered.

If your workers' compensation claim is accepted by the insurance company, and you are receiving disability benefits, you do have to attend your medical appointments to avoid a motion to suspend your benefits. However, if your doctor is suggesting you have surgery, and you don't want it, you can certainly get another opinion or opt to wait and instead treat conservatively for longer (using physical therapy, medication, injections, etc.).

Feel free to call my Atlanta law office to speak with a workers' compensation lawyer about your options and recommendations for getting quality medical care while on workers' comp in Georgia.

If you file a workers' compensation hearing request in Georgia, you will almost certainly have your deposition taken by the insurance defense attorney. You may be a bit nervous about sitting in a conference room with a couple of lawyers and a court reporter, but in general, it's not an event to dread.

Your deposition allows you a chance to tell your side of the story.  It gives the attorney representing your employer and its insurer a chance to see what kind of witness you'll make--how good your memory is, whether you appear injured, how articulate you are, and how truthful your demeanor is. Most of the time, the workers' compensation claim will start moving toward litigation or settlement after the deposition and any medical records requests that follow are completed.

When the questioning attorney asks you questions, you are under oath. Always tell the truth. Listen carefully to questions asked. If you don't know the answer to a question, say so; don't speculate. And if you think an answer to a question is harmful (such as questions about old injuries, car wrecks, and workers' comp claims in your past), be truthful anyway. Let your attorney worry about how to handle the facts. Chances are, the information you're worried about revealing won't be an issue anyway (especially in Georgia, where an aggravation of a past injury is a new injury under workers' compensation law).

The worst response you can give in a deposition is an untruthful one. If you look like a liar in front of the Administrative Law Judge, you will have a hard time winning your case or getting anything reasonable as a settlement offer. Again, listen to the questions carefully, tell the truth, and trust your workers' compensation attorney at Moebes Law to present your case for you.

Having trouble paying your taxes because you've been injured at work in Georgia? Then you need a workers' compensation attorney.

Frustrated because the Titanic sank on this day, like your income potential from getting hurt? You obviously need a good workers' comp lawyer.

Trying to figure out whether anyone will bring you chocolate on Earth Day? A perfect opportunity to come see a workers' comp attorney.

Lucky for you, my Atlanta office is well-populated with Georgia law experts and a workers' compensation attorney. See? There's hope. Even on April 15.

Most of the time, if you and the employer and/or insurer have been scheduled to mediate your Georgia workers' compensation claim, it is arranged by agreement of both sides and by filing a Board Form WC-100 with both sides' signatures. However, I have been involved in a contentious workers' compensation hearing in Atlanta, and the Judge ordered us to go down to the ADR (alternative dispute resolution) unit to mediate the case. In a case such as that one, we were required to attempt to resolve our issues with a mediator, but we weren't required to settle (and we didn't).

In short, you cannot be forced to accept a settlement offer from the insurance company. You may be force to attend a mediation and attempt to settle your case, but if the best offer given is not good enough for you, you may walk away. If you would like help with evaluating and pricing your workers compensation claim in Georgia, feel free to call my Atlanta law office for a consult.

The State Board of Workers' Compensation in Atlanta has a website that will assist you in looking up your employer to see if the company carries a Georgia workers' compensation insurance policy, as it is likely required by law to do, assuming there are three or more employees.  Use this resource to see who the workers' compensation insurer is for your date of injury.

Some employers are exempt from having to carry workers' compensation insurance in Georgia, even if they have three or more workers.  For questions about whether workers' comp is needed for your Georgia workplace, feel free to contact the workers' compensation lawyers in Atlanta at Moebes Law. 

Your weekly check will normally be 2/3 of your average weekly wage. However, there are caps on this. So, if you make more than $750 per week (or $39,000 per year), you will not be able to get 2/3 of your usual weekly wage in workers' compensation benefits in Georgia. You'll get $500/week. If that frustrates you, contact your local state legislator about raising the maximum rates.

Certainly, being on workers' comp disability can be frustrating if $500/week is less than 2/3 of your weekly income. The benefits are not taxed, however. If you have additional questions about Georgia workers' compensation law, feel free to call Moebes Law, Atlanta workers' compensation lawyers.