Georgia Workers' Compensation Lawyer Blog

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. 

Unfortunately, the Atlanta State Board of Workers' Compensation has a few Administrative Law Judges and many, many Georgia workers' compensation claims to be heard at each calendar call. In my experience, at least 99% of "first set" hearings are postponed at least 30 days. More often than not, even "second set" hearings are postponed. Why?

When my Atlanta workers' compensation law office files a Request for Hearing, we also send discovery requests to the Employer and Insurer.  They have 45 days to respond when these are sent with the hearing request.  Once a defense attorney is appointed, he or she will send my office discovery requests as well, and we will have 30 days to respond.  If the defense attorney takes my client's deposition, he/she will likely want to request medical records from doctors named in the deposition, and these doctors will have 30 days to respond.

By the time all these Requests for Production of Documents and Interrogatories have been sent, and responses mailed, 2-3 months have passed.  Hence, the postponed hearings.  In order to try and "fix" this, I work to get my clients' depositions scheduled as quickly as possible with the defense attorney after we file a hearing request.  Generally, once a claimant's deposition is taken, the case begins to move toward settlement or trial.  Feel free to call Mr. Moebes, the Atlanta workers' compensation attorney, with questions about timing of Georgia workers' compensation claims.