Usually, when you are injured at work, you will notify your employer, seek medical treatment, and proceed with a workers’ compensation claim with the help of your employer. There will be an incident report, and your employer will notify their insurance company of the incident, initiating the process of filing for workers’ compensation benefits. Then, if you are out of work for seven days, you can start receiving wage benefits at 2/3 your average weekly wage. Also, your medical treatment from a company approved physician will be covered, as will any emergency treatment. When you can return to work, your wage benefits will stop. When you no longer need medical treatment, the medical benefits will stop. If your injury keeps you out of work for a long time, then your benefits may stop after a certain number of weeks, depending on the type of injury and the associated benefits. In some cases, you may end up on disability for a long period of time or even for life. Yet, most of this can be accomplished without the benefit of legal representation in the majority of workers’ compensation claims.
The challenges arise when there is some kind of dispute between you, your employer, the insurance company, the company approved physician, etc. If your employer denies your injury, if the workers’ compensation insurance company denies the injury, or if any of these parties or any other deny the severity of the injury, you may need legal advice. If there is any difficulty in being approved for or receiving the benefits that you are owed, in a Carrollton, Georgia, workers’ compensation claim, call the Law Offices of John B. Jackson & Associates to get a free consultation and get prepared for the steps that are going to come next. To begin with, you need to prepare for mediation. This is because the Georgia State Board of Workers’ Compensation orders mediation to resolve most disputes.
Mediation is Required when Ordered by the State Board of Workers’ Compensation in Carrollton, GA
Mediation is a great way to resolve your workers’ compensation disputes in Carrollton, Georgia. It is not optional when ordered, and you are required to attend. However, you are not required to say anything, do anything, or sign any agreements. It is generally wise to be open to discussion, however. If you can resolve your dispute through mediation, then you can completely avoid ever having to go to court for a hearing to decide the case. You can prepare for mediation by talking to your attorney, gathering all relevant documents, statements, and estimates of your damages and injuries. You’ll want a lawyer with you to make sure that your side is fairly represented and that nothing is overlooked in mediation. You will feel far more confident with reaching an agreement if you have legal advice through the process.
It is also important to understand that mediation is confidential. There will be a mediator who cannot be involved in the case in any other way. The mediator is an attorney or a judge with workers’ compensation law experience, but they cannot be an attorney or judge who is involved in representing, arguing, or deciding your case. They also cannot be a witness in the case. Your mediator will only be involved through the mediation process. Further, any notes that the mediator takes during this process will be destroyed for confidentiality. The only notes that will remain are those indicating whether or not an agreement was reached and what that agreement was. If no agreement is reached, then the only evidence will be the report stating that no agreement was reached.
Mediation Could Be the Best Answer to Your Workers’ Compensation Dispute in Carrollton, GA
When you go to mediation, you get to discuss your case with your employer and their workers’ compensation insurance company representatives with a professional mediator who completely understands how the law applies to your case. Further, the mediator can predict fairly accurately what might happen if the case goes to court. This helps the mediator to give advice on what is most fair and reasonable for both sides of the conversation. This is also your first opportunity to voice your concerns with the case and to express what you expect and need to happen. It may be that your company approved physician is not taking your injury seriously. It may be that there is some dispute as to how your work injury occurred and whether it was even related to work. You may have a pre-existing condition that is causing the insurance to unfairly deny your claim. This is why it’s so important to bring your evidence and documents with you, along with a lawyer, to discuss each detail of the dispute.
Call the Workers’ Compensation Attorneys at the Law Offices of John B. Jackson in Carrollton, Georgia
It can be very difficult to face the workers’ compensation insurance company and their legal representation on your own. You want to have your own attorney to advise you in the legal matters and complicated disputes that may occur. Your attorney can help you to ensure that you have all of the necessary relevant documents when you go to mediation and will help to establish the strongest arguments for your case. Your attorney could argue that your pre-existing condition was exacerbated by the injury. They could argue that your injury really did happen at work. They could argue that you need a second opinion from a different doctor. There are many points that an attorney can argue in mediation. You could argue these points yourself, of course, but working with a dedicated workers’ compensation lawyer in Carrollton, GA ensures that you have the benefit of someone who is experienced in the law fighting on your behalf. Call the Law Offices of John B. Jackson & Associates to learn more about how to fight for your workers’ compensation benefits.
