Brookhaven
Workers’ Compensation Lawyer

If you have been injured at work in Brookhaven, you are probably entitled to workers’ compensation benefits. These benefits can pay the entire cost of your injury, but they are not always easy to get. Your employer’s workers’ compensation insurance company may try to pay you less than you are really owed, and this can leave you struggling without much-needed money to pay for medical care and the time you are out of work. You need a Brookhaven workers’ compensation lawyer.

John Foy & Associates is one of the largest and most successful injury law firms in the country, and we have helped hundreds of injured workers get workers’ compensation benefits. We start every case with a free consultation, and we never charge you a fee unless we get you paid.  Let us give you a free consultation. Call us at 404-400-4000 and get your free consultation today.

What Exactly Is Workers’ Compensation?

The workers’ compensation system is designed to help both injured workers and their employers:

• It helps workers by allowing them to get compensation for their injuries without having to go through a long and expensive legal battle.
• It helps employers by covering the cost of worker injuries through insurance, instead of risking a jury verdict in the local courtsthat could ruin the company financially.

The basic concept behind workers’ compensation has been around since ancient times, but it didn’t take hold in America until Upton Sinclair published his 1906 novel, The Jungle, which detailed the horrific working conditions in Chicago slaughterhouses. Back then, there were few safety protections and injured workers faced huge legal hurdles if they wanted to get any kind of compensation for their injuries.  

People were outraged after the book came out. During the first half of the twentieth century, every state passed workers’ compensation laws requiring employers to pay employees for their injuries and lost pay. Georgia law today requires all employers in the state – including in the City of Brookhaven – to carry workers’ compensation insurance as a way to make sure employees are able to recover money if they are injured.

What do You Have to Prove in a Workers’ Compensation Claim?

To make a workers’ compensation claim, you must have been injured, and your injury must have happened on the job. You will need medical records to show how bad your injuries are.  

Unlike a traditional lawsuit where you must prove who was at fault before you can recover money, fault is irrelevant in a workers’ compensation claim.  This means you do not have to blame your employer or accuse anyone of anything.  

You do, however, have to have an injury that happened at work. If you were at your workplace when you were hurt, you have a claim, even if you were hurt because of something that didn’t have anything to do with your job duties. But some injuries happen while you are working, but not while you are at your employer’s place of business. These fall into a gray area, but you may be able to make a claim if you were injured in one of these situations:

• While working off-site, including while out of town
• While attending a meeting or event for work
• While traveling in a company vehicle
• While running an errand at your employer’s request

If you were injured during your morning or afternoon commute, you typically do not have a claim because you were not at work when the injury happened. However, if you arrived at work and were injured in your employer’s parking lot, you may be able to make a claim.  

How Much Money Will I Receive in a Workers’ Compensation Claim?

Workers’ compensation claims are handled on a case by case basis, so the money you receive will depend on the injuries you have. Workers’ compensation commonly covers all medical costs and the paycheck you would have received if you had been able to go right back to work after your injury. When workplace tragedies kill workers or leave them permanently disabled, workers and their families are entitled to additional large sums of money.

We admit this is a poor substitute for the life you lost, but many people find that the money they receive brings some comfort and relief in the aftermath of a tragic event.

Workplace accidents and injuries can take an emotional toll, causing post traumatic stress syndrome, depression, anxiety and other issues. Treatment for these consequences is covered too, as long as you also have a physical injury. Emotional distress from witnessing a horrible accident is not covered by workers’ compensation.

Will My Employer Be Angry If I File a Workers’ Compensation Claim?

We have found that employers are usually quite supportive of their injured workers. Most employers are happy that workers’ compensation exists, because it means their employees can get the care and treatment they need. And remember, workers’ compensation is insurance, and your costs will be paid by the insurance company, not by your boss personally.  

We have far more issues with the insurance companies that issue workers’compensation policies. Although workers’ compensation is supposed to help you get the money you need quickly, insurance companies may drag their feet, try to minimize your injuries, or even send you to doctors who are more interested in helping the insurance company save money than in getting you a proper diagnosis and the treatment you need.

This is why it’s so important to talk to a lawyer if you have been injured at work. Our law firm will refer you to the right kind of doctors to evaluate your injures and tell you the kind of treatment you will need. We are old hands at dealing with insurance companies, and we will build the strongest claim possible to get the insurance company to pay you every penny you deserve.

Talk to a Brookhaven Workers’ Compensation Lawyer

At John Foy & Associates, we have focused exclusively on helping injured people ever since our founding more than 20 years ago. We know how to get you money in your workers’ compensation claim, and we’d like to give you a free consultation to talk about your claim and explain what we do.

Call us at 404-400-4000 or fill out the form to your right and get your FREE consultation today.