Georgia Workers' Compensation Lawyer Blog

Unable to find an itunes application that will assist with evaluating exposure in a workers' compensation claim, Atlanta workers' compensation attorney Michael Moebes created an app to do just that. "The Compulator" was designed to serve as a tool for litigation attorneys, insurance adjusters, and injured plaintiffs to analyze case exposure and negotiate settlements at mediations.

Features include a date calculator that figures the number of weeks between dates; this assists in totaling past due workers' compensation disability benefits or future disability exposure for 350 or 400 week cases.

There's a present value calculator function for tallying the present value of a lump sum settlement covering several years of future earnings.

A life expectancy calculator uses the Center for Disease Control's (CDC) data to analyze remaining life expectancy based on age and gender.

For mediations, the settlement worksheet feature allows clients and attorneys to get a "net to the client" figure after costs and contingency fees. 

The mediation tracker feature shows midpoints between dollar amounts offered and demanded; then it tracks and charts the upward (or downward) progression of these midpoints.

Look for "The Compulator" for iphones and ipads in the business section of itunes, or click here to get there quickly.  Don't negotiate your injury case without it!

We are pleased to announce that Atlanta injury lawyer Michael Moebes was featured as a profiled attorney in Carolyn Elefant's new book: 

Solo by Choice - The Companion Guide: 34 Questions that could Transform Your Legal Career.

The book will be released next month, but as contributors, our firm received an advance copy, along with an index of our 17 published responses provided to the questions asked of successful self-employed attorneys throughout the United States.  The dog was not included with the advance copy, however.

Topics covered include how to create immediate revenue streams, a spouse's role in deciding to go solo, work/life balance issues, budgets, marketing (online and otherwise), business plans, and many other questions and answers useful to attorneys hoping to one day become self-employed. 

If you're an aspiring or new solo attorney and would like to get this great reference book, look here in late October to get a copy.  In the meantime, if you've been injured at work and have questions about your Georgia workers' compensation claim or personal injury case, please contact Moebes Law, LLC at 404-354-5432.

I'm frequently asked to spell my name over the telephone with new workers' compensation clients, opposing attorneys, and insurance adjusters.

Because of my 14-year military background, this question normally leads me into my default method of phonetic spelling:  Mike, Oscar, Echo, Bravo, Echo, Sierra.

However, the letters are often lost on the listener, either from a lack of experience with general aviation or a failure to serve in the armed forces.

So, I've created a new phonetic alphabet for spelling my last name that's more befitting my proud profession:

M as in Major Surgery
O as in Occupational Illness
E as in Exemplary Damages
B as in Burns over 25% of the Body
E as in Emotional Distress
S as in Severe Sciatica

Now that you can spell Moebes Law, feel free to refer us to your friends and neighbors who have been injured at work in Georgia. 

If you read your workers' comp lawyer's fee contract carefully, there's probably a provision in there about what happens if you fire your attorney. Usually, the attorney will file a WC-108b with attached documentation outlining the number of hours spent on your claim and the administrative expenses incurred.  The fee contract should lay out an hourly fee in case of termination, and this fee will be reflected in the total requested on the WC-108b lien (after multiplied by hours spent). 

The questions I most frequently get when this happens are,
"Do I owe this money?" and, if so,
"When?"

The answer is, "It depends."

You cannot give an attorney more than 25% of your TTD, TPD, PPD, or stipulated settlement amount; that's the most the Georgia Workers' Compensation Act allows an attorney to receive for representing an injured worker.  Thus, if you get a new attorney, you're not going to owe 25% to one and the lien amount to the other.

Regarding timing:  you don't owe the total lien amount immediately after termination. 
Instead, it's to be paid when/if the case is settled by stipulated settlement.  The amount may be negotiable.  If you're already receiving your full Temporary Total Disability weekly benefits (i.e., 25% isn't going to an attorney), and the case never settles, you may not have to pay the lien at all.  

Have more questions about attorney's fees in Georgia?  Feel free to call us:

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

The Georgia State Board of Workers' Compensation Rules prohibit attorneys from lending money to their clients.  Sometimes, unscrupulous attorneys will try to draw clients to their firms with promises of monetary loans or gifts in exchange for signing up to be represented by their firms.  However, this is an ethical breach and is clearly against the governing rules for workers' compensation claims in Georgia. 

In short, one should seek representation elsewhere if a potential workers' comp lawyer tries to get your business by promising you loans from his/her law firm in exchange for giving them your business.

-Moebes Law, LLC
3535 Piedmont Road NE
Building 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.

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.

No.  More than likely, his youthful appearance is due to his passionate representation of his clients and a strong belief in what he does. Have you ever seen someone who's spent 20 years at a job he didn't like? It shows. Such people have bad posture and frown lines.  They also swear a lot.

Another reason your Atlanta workers' compensation lawyer may appear youthful is his service in the U.S. Air Force Reserves. The military requires that its members maintain a high level of physical fitness (yes, even the Air Force, contrary to what those in green or brown may believe). A fit attorney is a seemingly youthful attorney.  Augustus Gloop doesn't get "Happy Veterans' Day" emails.

So, if you arrive at your deposition and meet the attorney whom you've previously only known from his witty blog and timely telephone conferences, there's no need for a "How old are you again?" greeting.  I'm as old as Mozart was when he died.  Doesn't that put things in perspective?

Just as you shouldn't trust skinny chefs or tee-totaling bar tenders, you should be leery of the attorney who doesn't have a Blackberry. When a friend of mine was selected as a "Super Lawyer" as I was starting my career at his defense firm several years ago, I asked him what he did to get bestowed such an honor.  His response?  "It's because I have a Blackberry."  Naturally, I bought one a few days later.

I've since upgraded a couple times, but now I want the latest and greatest, the Tour.  Accordingly, I'm entering a contest held at "Good, Bad, Ugly Reviews" to win one.

And oh yes, since purchasing my first Blackberry, I have received notification of numerous nominations for that Super Lawyer club.  Like I said, only hire an Atlanta workers' compensation attorney who recognizes the value of utilizing technology. 

Continue reading "Injured workers in Atlanta: how to choose an attorney" »