spinal cord injury with severe paralysis.A "catastrophic injury" is an injury that occurs on and after July 1, 1992, and involves any of the following: Compensable "injuries" can also include heart attacks, strokes, infections and other conditions where it can be shown that the employment either caused the disabling condition or caused a pre-existing condition to become worse or combined with an underlying condition to cause disability.Ī new category of injury has been created by the Georgia legislature. "Injury" includes not only sudden accidents such as falls, but also includes many physical problems that come on gradually. The term "injury" is given a very broad definition by the Workers' Compensation Act. Are all the "injuries" that I might sustain in my employment covered by the Workers' Compensation Act?Ī.
If your employer refuses to provide benefits to you claiming that you are not covered by the Act, you should seek an experienced workers' compensation attorney to give you legal advice and make a proper claim with the State Board of Workers' Compensation to preserve your rights. Also, there are some situations where it may seem that you are not covered, but coverage may actually be available to you. Some employers who are not required to have workers' compensation insurance provide it voluntarily. You should assume that there is workers' compensation coverage for you even if it appears that you may be in an excluded category. employees of an employer who has less than three employees regularly working for him.There are certain categories of workers who are not covered by the Georgia Workers' Compensation Act. Are all the workers in Georgia entitled to workers' compensation benefits if they have a job related injury?Ī. The worker no longer had to prove that the employer was at fault in causing the accident or injury in order to be entitled to recover loss of wages and medical expenses. The most important aspect of the workers' compensation law was that it stated that the injured worker was entitled to benefits without regard to whose fault it was. A special agency known as the Georgia State Board of Workmen's (now Workers') Compensation was created to administer delivery of the compensation benefits so workers would no longer have to rely on the civil courts.
The workers' compensation laws were passed to correct this situation and to give the Georgia workers prompt and reliable relief from the effects of job related accidents, injuries and diseases.
It is estimated that only 15% of the injured employees were ever successful in making any recovery of their losses from the employers under this system. It often took years before the employee's case was reached by the court. The worker had to prove that the employer was at fault in causing the accident and injury. Workers' compensation is accident insurance which covers most Georgia workers for injuries and diseases that come about as a result of the worker's employment.īefore the passage of the first workers' (then Workmen's) compensation laws in 1920, the only way a Georgia worker could recover the wages lost and medical expenses incurred as a result of a job related injury was to go into the local court and sue the employer. Workers who are unable to resolve their workers' compensation problems or obtain satisfactory answers to their questions should talk to an attorney who is trained and experienced in workers' compensation law.Ī. This handbook is not a substitute for current legal advice from a qualified attorney. Each worker should also understand that the legislature and the courts modify the law from time to time. The information set out in this handbook is based upon the law existing on and before July 1, 1999.
The purpose of this handbook is to answer for Georgia workers some of the most frequently asked questions about their rights under the Workers' Compensation law. Who can the injured worker ask about his rights under workers' compensation? His fellow employees, supervisors, or union representative often have only a limited knowledge of the law and some of what they tell the injured employee may be incomplete or incorrect. Most know that their employers should pay their medical bills if they are injured on the job, but almost all wait until they have actually suffered an injury before attempting to learn what benefits are available to them and what they must do to obtain these benefits. A Guide for the Worker, Shop Steward and Union Representativeįew Georgia workers realize the valuable rights they have under workers' compensation laws of Georgia.
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