If you are like the majority of Americans, you live paycheck to paycheck—or very close to it. That means that when you are hurt at work in Tucker and can’t work, it puts a severe strain on your ability to provide for yourself and your family.
Thankfully, if you’re hurt at work, you will likely be able to get workers’ compensation benefits. These benefits give you money while you focus on getting back on your feet after a work accident. But, while benefits should be automatic, it sometimes takes the help of a Tucker workers’ compensation lawyer to get the money that you deserve.
If your employer or its insurance company is giving you a hard time about getting workers’ compensation benefits or if you feel that you aren’t getting enough, John Foy & Associates can help.
We will take a look at your situation and help you determine if you should be getting benefits, how much they should be, and why you aren’t getting them. Our team has extensive experience getting workers’ the money they need to provide for their families after a work accident—we’ve been doing it for over 20 years. Let us give you a free consultation. Call us at 404-400-4000 and get your free consultation today.
How does Workers’ Compensation Work in Georgia?
Nearly every employee in Georgia has access to workers’ compensation benefits from the first day they start working. If you are injured at work, the workers’ compensation system will provide you with:
- Medical care at no cost to you
- A portion of the wages you have lost while you can’t work
- Permanency benefit to address permanent losses to your earning capacity
- Payments mileage to and from your doctor’s appointments and other treatment
- Payments for necessary prescriptions
- Vocational rehabilitation
In some situations, you are injured so severely that you can’t return to your prior job again. In circumstances where you must go to a lower paying job because of your injuries, you may also be entitled to weekly benefit payments as well.
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What Should I Do If I Was Hurt at Work?
You should always get medical attention as soon as possible. If it’s an emergency, don’t wait to talk to a supervisor—call 911 or ask a coworker to take to you to the hospital right away. Your employer will cover these emergency expenses if they are necessary.
If it’s not an emergency, you should take the following steps:
- Report the accident to your supervisor or manager as soon as possible. If you wait too long to report your injury, you may end up waiving your right to get workers’ compensation benefits.
- Choose a doctor. Your employer is required to provide you with a list of at least six doctors that you can use to address your work injury. A list of those doctors should be posted at your place of employment, but if you can’t find it, talk to your supervisor or manager to get this information.
- Attend doctor’s appointments and follow recommended treatment. It’s important that you attend your scheduled appointments and get follow up care as prescribed by your doctor. Your employer should pay you for time away from work to attend these appointments. If you don’t attend appointments or get recommended care, your benefits may be suspended.
You may never recover completely from your work accident. In those situations, you will reach what is known as “maximum medical improvement” or MMI. That essentially states that you are “as good as you are going to get.” You may have some limitations in your range of motion or stamina, for example, but many workers will reach a point where medical care will not help you any longer.
Once you reach MMI and you can go back to work as you did before the injury, your benefits will stop. But, you may be able to get some amount of money for the permanent damage or restrictions that you may have going forward.
Why do I Need a Workers’ Compensation Lawyer?
The Georgia workers’ compensation system is designed so that you don’t have to use an attorney to get benefits. You don’t have to go to a traditional courtroom, and you can often get benefits immediately after your accident occurs. But, the system doesn’t always work as it should—and insurance companies and employers often don’t want to pay workers the full value of their claim. In those situations, you need a workers’ compensatio attorney to help.
One of the major drawbacks of the workers’ compensation system is that it’s confusing and employers don’t fully explain a worker’s rights to them. That makes it harder to tell if you are getting all of the benefits that you are entitled to receive from your employer. While you may be getting benefits right now, you might actually only be receiving a portion of what you are allowed to get.
If you are permanently damaged as a result of your work injury, you may also be offered a settlement to close out your claim. While that possibility may sound good, it often cuts off your rights to future medical care, even when you know you will need follow up treatment in the future. It’s never a good idea to accept a settlement without talking to a Tucker workers’ compensation attorney first.
At John Foy & Associates, we can examine your situation and determine if you are getting the full value of the benefits you should be getting. We can also evaluate a settlement offer to decide whether or not it’s a good deal for you. In some cases, we can do all of this as part of our free consultation process—which means it won’t cost you a dime.
Talk to a Tucker Workers’ Compensation Lawyer
If you need help with your work comp claim, John Foy & Associates is here for you. Don’t agree to a settlement without talking to our team first—you may be waiving valuable rights to get additional money. Let us give you a FREE consultation. Call us at 404-400-4000 or fill out the form to your right and get your FREE consultation today.
404-400-4000 or complete a Free Case Evaluation form
