Georgia Workers' Compensation Lawyer Blog

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.

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.

Unfortunately, if you are hurt at work in Atlanta and file a Georgia workers' compensation claim, you cannot get pain and suffering. Workers' comp in Georgia pays disability benefits to replace your income, medical benefits to give you access to health care, and any permanent impairment rating your treating doctor gives.

Incidentally, there are no punitive damages for workers' compensation claimants in Georgia, either. In order to best maximize the benefits you can get in Georgia, consult an experienced workers' compensation lawyer in Atlanta for assistance, and we'll be glad to give you a free consultation.

Unlike Florida and a few other states, in Georgia, your workers' compensation indemnity benefits will not be cut off when you hit MMI (maximum medical improvement).

Your authorized treating physician (ATP) may issue an impairment rating if you have a percentage of permanent partial disability (called a PPD rating) that will be paid based on the percentage the doctor assigns, the body part(s) affected, and your workers' compensation rate, but your TTD benefits can't be stopped just because you're at MMI.

If your workers' compensation doctor has told you you are at maximum medical improvement, and the workers' comp insurance adjuster has asked you if you're interested in settling your claim, please contact an experienced Atlanta workers' comp attorney to discuss your case's exposure and what to "look for" when settling your claim.

If your workers' compensation claim has been accepted, and you're getting disability payments while you treat with a workers' comp doctor and can't work, the maximum amount of time you can receive temporary total disability (TTD) benefits is 400 weeks (about 7.5 years), unless your claim is deemed to be "catastrophic," meaning you are unlikely to ever work again.

The longest you can be on temporary partial disability (TPD) benefits is 350 weeks. Of course, TPD benefits are paid if you're on light duty restrictions from your authorized treating physician (ATP) and are working light duty at a lower wage than what you made before your workplace injury.

If your employer cannot (or will not) offer light duty, but you are on light duty restrictions from your treating doctor, the workers' comp insurance adjuster may file a WC-104 to drop your benefits to a 350-week cap if you're on light duty restrictions but aren't working for 52 straight weeks or 72 aggregate weeks.

Seem confusing? It can be to a novice, but feel free to contact the Atlanta workers' compensation attorney, and an expert on Georgia workers' comp law will be glad to assist you!

Sometimes, an injured worker in Atlanta will get convicted of a crime and will have questions about whether or not someone who is receiving workers' compensation benefits in Georgia can continue to get disability benefits while incarcerated.

While the injured worker may continue to receive benefits after an arrest while awaiting trial, he will not be able to continue receiving temporary total disability (TTD) or temporary partial disability (TPD) after being convicted of a crime if he is "locked up." Permanent partial disability (PPD) is also no longer an option if the injured worker is incarcerated.

Once the individual is released, he may be able to get his workers' compensation benefits reinstated, but the insurance adjuster is not going to reinstate benefits automatically. Better to talk with a competent workers' comp attorney in Atlanta for a consultation regarding legal options.

As an Atlanta workers' compensation attorney, I monitor developments in employee benefits and wages, as increases can affect injured workers' temporary total disability (TTD) rates if they are completely disabled after a workplace injury in Atlanta, or their temporary partial disability rates (TPD), if they are partially disabled after getting hurt at work in Atlanta. 

Accordingly, the coming increase in federal minimum wage to $7.25 per hour is on my firm's radar.  When minimum wage goes up, other lower-income workers tend to get an increase in wages as well.  The unemployment rate increases afterward.  This creates scenarios in which injured workers who were previously trying to "work through the pain" will now be more willing to seek medical treatment and/or need income benefits while they search for suitable employment.  An increase in minimum wage will often spur the Georgia Legislature to increase the maximum workers' compensation rate (currently at $500/week).  

Thus, while the increased minimum wage may hurt our national economy as small businesses struggle to make a profit with increasing labor costs, it may help injured workers in Georgia who are on (or are seeking) workers' compensation benefits.