Georgia Law Blog

    On February 22, 2007, the Court of Appeals decided yet another workers' compensation case. This case involved an oversight by a judge wherein an Order was not sent to the parties.  The employer, who wanted to appeal the case, was unable to do so because they never received a copy of the Order.  The Court of Appeals ordered the Superior Court to re-enter its judgment so the Employer and Insurer will have 30 days to file an appeal.
    This case gave a break to the Employer.  While it can be viewed as beneficial to the Employer, the tables could have easily been turned on the injured worker.  The importance of this case should not be overlooked as parties now have a case to rely upon if they fail to read and follow the law closely. O.C.G.A. 34-9-105 states that if the Superior Court does not issue an Order within a specified time, the Award from Georgia's State Board of Workers' Compensation will be affirmed. This is precisely what happened in this case.  Nevertheless, once the Superior Court issues its Order, it admittedly failed to send it to the Employer and Insurer. This was the basis for Wal-Mart's successful appeal.