Workers’ compensation is an accident insurance program paid by your employer, which may provide you with medical, rehabilitation and income benefits if you are injured on the job.  These benefits are provided to help you return to work.  It also provides benefits to your dependents when death occurs as a result of a job related injury.

You are covered from the first hour and day on your job.

The law requires any business with three or more workers, including regular part-time workers, to have workers’ compensation insurance. Coverage can be verified by going to www.sbwc.georgia.gov and clicking on “How Do I verify an employer’s workers’ compensation insurance coverage.”

You should report any accident occurring on the job to your employer (boss, foreman, or supervisor) immediately.  If you wait longer than 30 days, you may lose your benefits.

Your employer is required to post information identifying medical care providers.  Your employer may satisfy this requirement in one of the following ways:

• Posting a Traditional Panel of Physicians consisting of a minimum of six doctors.  You may choose any one of the six. However, the Board may grant exceptions to the required size of the panel where it is demonstrated that six physicians or groups of physicians are not reasonably accessible.  The panel must include one orthopedic physician and not more than two industrial clinics.  Where possible a minority physician must be included.  You may make one change to another doctor on the list without the permission of your employer.

• Posting a Conformed Panel of Physicians consisting of at least ten physicians.  This panel shall include the same physicians required in the Traditional Panel, plus a chiropractor and a general surgeon.  You may make one change to another doctor on this panel without the permission of your employer.

• Post the name of the Workers’ Compensation Managed Care Organization (WC/MCO) certified by the Board, which your employer has contracted with to provide medical services.  Your employer must give you a notice of the eligible medical service providers and post a 24-hour toll free number for the managed care organization.  A managed care representative will assist you in scheduling an appointment with the eligible medical provider of your choice.  You may make one change to another eligible physician at any time, without the permission of your employer.

Your company’s workers’ compensation insurance carrier must pay for your authorized medical treatment, if the treatment was for an on-the-job injury.

All authorized doctor bills, hospital bills, physical therapy, prescriptions, any necessary travel expenses and mileage will be covered if the injury or illness was caused by an accident on the job.

• When you’re injured on the job your employer or the insurance company may hire a private investigator to watch you to see if you really are injured. They’re looking to see if you’re doing things you told the doctor you can’t do, or if you’re doings things the doctor told you not to do. They might also be looking at your social media to see what you’re posting. This type of surveillance can be detrimental to a case and often take place when a mediation or trial is upcoming. Since the insurance company knows when and where your doctor’s visits are they might try to follow you there or outside your home. Be cautious and make sure to follow your doctor’s orders at all times.

When your claim is controverted it means that your workers’ compensation carrier is taking a hard stance and is not going to pay you any weekly checks or pay for your medical treatment. It’s imperative you hire a competent and experienced lawyer immediately to go over your rights and make sure you get what you deserve. Call us today for a free consultation.

When your claim is denied it means the claims administrator believes your injury is not covered by workers’ compensation. You have the right to challenge the decision and should hire an attorney to help you do so. You should act quickly because some of this paperwork has deadlines for filing. Call us today for more information.

Mediation is a negotiation that will be ‘refereed’ by a neutral third party. It’s a good process to turn to when parties are unwilling or unable to come to an agreement. It’s usually voluntary but can be court mandated.

A: Don’t let a failed drug test stop you from bringing a valid claim if indeed your injury had nothing to do with it. The employer gets only a presumption; it is not a bar to a claim. You need an experienced attorney to help you navigate the system and prove that your injury was NOT a result of the alleged drug in your system. Particularly marijuana, it stays in your system for an extended period of time and certain tests, like urine tests, do NOT prove that were impaired at the time of the accident.

A: Yes, Georgia’s system protects the injured worker, regardless of fault, unlike a car accident case. Georgia is a “No Fault” state for job injuries. Your rights are the same if it was your fault and/or if it was not your fault.

A: Yes, you need to call to make sure that this is accurate. Many times it is not.

A: The overall test under Georgia law used by courts to make a determination as to whether a person is an employee or an independent contractor and thus covered is whether the alleged employer has the right to control the time, the manner, the methods, and the means of execution of the work to be completed under the contract. Further if you provide your own tools or if the employer provides the tools.   If the employer calls you an independent contractor for tax purposes and as defined under tax law, this does NOT mean you are barred from a claim if the employer in reality, controls when you must work, where you must work , how you must work, and treats you like an employee, then you are covered.  All this means is that you need an experienced lawyer to help you navigate these obstacles. Call Poirier Law today for a free consultation.

A: Yes but you still are entitled to all of the above rights under the Georgia Workers’ Compensation Act. They still hold the responsibility for your injuries, and does not stop your entitlement to weekly checks and medical treatment, by firing you.

A: Yes, sick pay is not a credit against workers’ compensation benefits owed; unemployment benefits are a credit against workers’ compensation weekly benefits owed, NOT as a substitute for benefits in either case.

A: You need to let them know immediately. If they do not offer you suitable light duty work, you are owed benefits for each week that you are not able to work.

A: Tell the doctor and/or ask for a change in doctors if you feel that your treating doctor is not accurately diagnosing and treating your condition.  Depending on your injury date and designation, you have a right to LIFETIME treatment, as long as it relates to the work injury, with a doctor willing to treat you, until you recover. Always consult your attorney before you change your doctor.

A: Tell the doctor and/or ask for a change in doctors if you feel that your treating doctor is not accurately diagnosing and treating your condition.  You have a right to LIFETIME treatment, as long as it relates to the work injury, with a doctor willing to treat you, until you recover. Always consult your attorney before you change your doctor.

A: Put it in writing yourself to your employer and keep a copy and call an attorney immediately.