Georgia Workers' Compensation Lawyer Blog

No. I've seen several Georgia workers' compensation insurance adjusters cut off a workers' comp claimant's disability benefits after a treating doctor has released him to light duty lately. This is a mistake (or it could be on purpose). Either way, it's not allowed, unless several steps outlined in O.C.G.A. 34-9-240 are followed.

Basically, your authorized treating physician needs to "sign off" on the light duty job your employer is trying to offer you. Then, notice needs to be sent to you and your attorney via the WC-240 form. A WC-2 also needs to be filed, showing you that your benefits will be discontinued when you return to work.  Finally, you have to get at least 10 days notice.

If you try to do the job and can't, your disability benefits have to start again. 

If your workers' compensation doctor releases you to light duty, and you haven't seen a WC-240 (or any of the other steps outlined above followed), the workers' comp adjuster cannot cut off your temporary total disability benefits. Feel free to call Moebes Law, the Atlanta workers' compensation attorney, for help with your workers' compensation questions regarding light duty releases and return-to-work issues.

Sometimes, for no identifiable reason, an injured worker who is receiving workers' compensation benefits will not get his or her temporary total disability check on the day it normally arrives. The workers' comp insurance company might have a glitch, or the workers' comp adjuster may have decided to find new ways of expressing her worship and adoration of The Devil.

It can also happen when "the day" referenced above is a holiday on which the mail does not run, such as Presidents Day. In such an instance, you do not need to call your workers' compensation lawyer in Atlanta more than ten times to let him know that the mail has not brought your check on a federal holiday. One time should do it.

If you have a Georgia workers' compensation claim and use social media, such as MySpace, FaceBook, Foursquare, and the like, please be aware that your status updates, pictures, and check-in locations are likely monitored by investigators, adjusters, and defense attorneys.  Hopefully, by now, most folks realize their internet exclamations aren't private.

However, even if your updates and posts are set to "friends only," a workers' compensation administrative law judge may issue an Order forcing you to give up your personal computer for inspection by the insurance company.  It happened earlier this week in Macon, Georgia.

My Atlanta workers' compensation lawyers' office does not knowingly represent claimants who are malingering or being less than honest about the extent of their injuries, but we still let our clients know that creating a perception that their abilities are greater than they truly are after an accident will come back to "bite" them.  So don't do it.