How Workers Compensation for Injuries Work in Atlanta, GA

Suffering an injury while at work is a horrible scenario for an employee. The unfortunate reality is that employers will often dismiss their injured workers. Not getting the adequate workers compensation for injuries impacts the worker’s ability to cover the medical cost and keep providing for his family.

With the intervention of a knowledgeable workers’ compensation attorney, a person injured at work can obtain the workers compensation for injuries she is entitled to under Georgia Workers’ Compensation Act. While the compensation benefits are not meant to entirely replace the injured person’s income and will amount to less than her regular wages, they make for a guaranteed source of income until that person recovers and is able to work again.

Why a Workers’ Compensation Attorney in Atlanta Will Protect Your Rights

If you sustained an injury while on the job and are unable to work, you deserve compensation for medical treatment and lost wages. However, both employers and insurance companies are often reluctant to pay benefits. They will do their best to deny legitimate claims or delay payments to injured workers who have yet to resort to legal representation.

Insurance companies have typical reasons for denying claims:

• The worker did not notify her employer in a timely manner
• The worker did not seek medical treatment in time
• The injury was sustained outside the scope of the job (implying that the injury was pre-existing)
• The injury is exempt from the workers’ compensation insurance coverage (this includes self-inflicted injuries, injuries caused by impairment due to alcohol or drugs, etc.)

Likewise, the insurance company can deny the claim on the basis that the medical treatment was deemed unnecessary or provided by an unauthorized physician. There are also cases where the insurance company low-ball settlements or fails to properly calculate an injured worker’s appropriate weekly wages prior to the accident. Sometimes an unlawful termination of employment occurs to avoid dealing with the hassles of a previously injured worker returning to work with some restrictions. All of these reasons are not uncommon, and it is very challenging for a worker to prove his right to obtain just workers compensation for injuries.

Due to the absence of legal representation, the workers’ rights can simply end up lost and forgotten.

This is why you should never give up the benefits you deserve in the face of rejection or delays. Furthermore, trying to settle this matter on your own can result in getting paid less than what you truly deserve. Late benefit checks and unreturned calls will only aggravate your frustration.

Some Common Causes of Work Injury

There are several types of workplace accidents that can occur in different industries and which can result in a worker getting severely injured:

• Slip and fall accidents
• Falling objects
• Falling from a height
• Defective machinery or equipment
• Heavy lifting accidents
• Overexertion
• Machine entanglement
• Work truck accidents

These accidents can have different repercussions such as:

• Physical injuries such as lacerations, fractures, burns, industrial deafness
• Psychiatric or psychological disorders like anxiety or depression
• Diseases such as asbestosis
• Aggravation of a pre-existing disease or condition
• Death from an injury or disease.

If an accident happens while on the job and you end up injured, the first thing to do is to inform your employer as soon as possible.

What Georgia Law Says About Workers Compensation for Injuries

In most cases, an injured person working in Georgia is entitled to benefits even if she caused her injury by herself, as long as the accident happened on the job. While compensation cases are frequently settled before resorting to a trial, it is possible that the employer denies the injured worker’s claim. In that case, a workers’ compensation attorney will file the proper documentation and defend your rights in a hearing in front of an Administrative Law Judge.

The Georgia Workers’ Compensation Act also states that a person who is unable to resume her job after a work injury is entitled to compensation amounting to two-thirds of her weekly income, with the limit of $575 per week. This payment can go on for up to four hundred weeks.

Also, note that a pre-existing injury or condition does not remove a person’s right to claim compensation if her condition was worsened because of the job.

Call the Law Office of John B Jackson if You Have Suffered Work Injuries

If you have been injured at work in Atlanta, call us today at 770-988-6155 for a free consultation to evaluate your legal options and start building a case. Getting a settlement for a work injury is often an overwhelming and tedious process, and the assistance of a workers’ compensation attorney will help you obtain the compensation you deserve.