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

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.

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're hurt at work in Georgia, and your employer has a valid panel of physicians, you likely started your medical care with a doctor from that panel. Since these panels are chosen by workers' compensation insurance companies, however, the treating doctors' interests may not align with yours, and you may find that you do not agree with, or even like, your doctor.  Do you have options?

Certainly.  You're allowed a change in physician from the panel of doctors in Georgia.  If you've been on workers' comp disability benefits for several months, you may be able to get an independent medical evaluation (IME) at the workers' comp insurance company's expense.  Or, your Atlanta workers' compensation lawyer may set up and finance an IME for you. 

Whether the workers' compensation insurance company agrees to a change in physicians with you or not, there are options for making a change (your attorney can file a motion if need be).  Certainly, if your doctor is suggesting a treatment you're not comfortable taking, or if your doctor has released you to a job you know you can't perform, please explore some of these options for getting another opinion.  My Atlanta workers' comp lawyers are certainly willing to assist if need be.

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 you are hurt at work in Georgia, workers' compensation will cover medical care related to your injury. Even if you reach maximum medical improvement, continuing therapy, pain management, and other medical care will be provided. Sometimes, an injured worker can have a change in condition for the worse and require additional medical care years after his initial accident at work. While the insurance company may try to argue that an intervening incident caused the change in condition for the worse, medical care should still be provided.

If you hurt yourself at work in the Atlanta area and have had a change in condition for the worse, please call me, the Atlanta workers' compensation attorney. We can examine your medical records and employment records together to see if you are entitled to continuing medical treatment for your injury at work, even if several years have passed.