Georgia Law Blog

    You cannot build a house without a strong foundation, or so the saying goes.  As I explain to my clients, an injured worker is entitled to four types of benefits in a workers' compensation case under Georgia law.  In a very broad sense, these are the basics to which an injured worker is entitled.
    First, an injured worker is entitled to income benefits.  These weekly benefits are either temporary total disability (TTD) benefits or temporary partial disability benefits (TPD).  The only difference between the two is that an injured worker gets TTD while completely out of work.  If the injured worker returns to work and earns less money because of the injury, the worker gets TPD benefits.  Currently, the maximum weekly TTD benefit is $450.00 per week.  In most cases, this is figured by calculated by averaging the injured worker's weekly pay over the 13 week period prior to the injury.  This figure, called the Average Weekly Wage, is multiplied by 2/3 to arrive at the Compensation Rate.  Example: an injured worker earned, on average, $600.00 each work over the 13 week period before the on-the-job injury.  They would get workers' compensation in the amount of $400.00 weekly, assuming they have a valid claim.
     The second type of benefit an injured worker can get is medical benefits.  The law says an injured worker is entitled to medical benefits that will effect a cure, give relief, or return the worker to suitable employment.  Technically, an injured worker is entitled to lifetime medical benefits.  The most traditional benefits include doctor care and hospitalization.  Medical benefits can also range from prescriptions to medical devices.  Medical benefits can even include paying somebody, even a fried or family member, to help care for an injured worker, typically after a surgery.  This is referred to as attendant care.  Medical benefits can even include payment for a gardener to do yard work if the doctor is willing to order it on behalf of the injured worker.
     The third type of benefit available is payment based on a  permanent partial disability (PPD) rating.  Typically, a doctor will assign a percentage rating to an injured worker based on a number of factors.  The ratings are supposed to be based upon the American Medical Association Guide to the Evaluation of Permanent Impairment, 5th Edition.  In a case I worked on earlier today, my client was assigned a 25% whole body Permanent Partial Disability rating.  This rating is used to compute the amount an injured worker will receive, based on a formula.  An important point is that the percentage ratings can vary among different doctors.  I have typically seen lower percentage ratings from doctors who are known to be friendly to the insurance companies (imagine that!). 
     Rehabilitation benefits are the fourth type of benefits.  Unfortunately, the law only allows these benefits for the most seriously injured workers who have catastrophic injuries.  Rehabilitation benefits can include  home modifications,  educational programs, and special vehicle modifications.
    Stay tuned!  In the future, I plan to post more detailed information about each of the above benefits.  I advise all clients with valid cases to hire a workers' compensation attorney (whether it is me or somebody else)  due to the complexity of workers' compensation law.  The waters of Georgia workers' compensation are choppy and, often, unpredictable.