Georgia Law Blog

On September 13, 2007, the Georgia Court of Appeals issued its decision in the case of YKK (USA), Inc. et al. v. Patterson. This case involved two important issues. First, the Court of Appeals held that the injured worker did not prove, by a preponderance of the evidence, that she suffered an on the job injury in accordance with Georgia workers’ compensation law. Second, the Court of Appeals found that the Superior Court errored by remanding the case to the Administrative Law Judge instead of the State Board of Workers’ Compensation.

This case presents an interesting issue. In Georgia, there are several levels of appeal an injured worker or employer / insurer must go through before attempting to reach the Georgia Court of Appeals. In my opinion, there are too many levels of appeal. For example, in every appeal that reaches the Georgia Court of Appeals, there have already been two levels of appeal. First, one must appeal the decision of the Administrative Law Judge to the State Board of Workers’ Compensation. Second, the decision of the State Board of Workers’ Compensation can be appealed to the Superior Court of the county where the injury occurred. Only then can a party make application for discretionary appeal to the Court of Appeals. Thereafter, the Court of Appeals’ decision can attempt to be appealed to the Georgia Supreme Court. I often wonder if some of the red tape could be cut in order to streamline the appeals process, especially for injured workers.