Monthly Archives:' March 2013
Hiring A Lawyer For Your Personal Injury or Workers’ Compensation Claim: Myths by Insurance Adjusters
Many people are often skeptic when it comes to hiring a lawyer for your personal injury or workers’ compensation claim. They are often of the view that hiring a lawyer will only take a large piece of their pie and leave them with a lesser monetary amount from their claim than if they had done the claim on their own. Sunne Law is here to tell you that is just a myth. This myth has been long fueled by insurance adjusters. Can you think of the reason why?
Can You Sue Your Employer If You Are Fired After A Workers’ Compensation Injury
I am asked if I can sue my employer at least once a month by one of my clients or someone calling me for advice. The answer is,”no”, you can not sue your employer. Georgia is a termination-at-will state.
The “AT WILL” employment doctrine in Georgia means that most employees usually are regarded as employees “at will.” Workers in Georgia work at the will of the employer and the employer can fire the worker for any reason at any time. It has been said that the worker can be terminated for “a good reason, a bad reason, or for no reason at all.” You can not sue your employer.
Catastrophic Injury Georgia
A Catastrophic Injury Can Be Life-Changing and Permanent
On a daily basis, many workers are faced with working with dangerous heavy equipment and raw materials. This within itself creates an unsafe working environment. Even though employers take the necessary precautions required by law to protect employees from workplace injuries, they unfortunately still occur. Being injured on the job can be frightening and devastating. Some workplace injuries can be more serious than others. Georgia’s law divides workplace injuries into two categories, those that are catastrophic and those that are non-catastrophic. Non-catastrophic injuries are injuries that will heal to some degree and the worker will return to gainful employment. Catastrophic injuries are life-changing and permanent. And are injuries which are so severe that they prevent the worker from returning to work.
Injuries That are Automatically Deemed Catastrophic
Certain injuries are automatically deemed catastrophic such as an amputation of an arm, a hand, a foot or a leg and a spinal cord injury involving paralysis of an arm, a leg, or the trunk. Other injuries must be deemed catastrophic by the Board of Worker’s Compensation. Those injuries must be of a nature and severity that prevents the employee from being able to perform his or her prior work and any work available in substantial numbers within the national economy for which such worker is otherwise qualified. If your injury falls into this latter category then you will most likely need to retain a workers’ compensation attorney in order to obtain a catastrophic designation from the Board of Worker’s Compensation.
Life Time Benefits For A Catastrophic Injury in Georgia
If an injury is catastrophic the worker will be entitled to lifetime weekly benefits of two-thirds of the worker’s average weekly wage but no more than $500 per week. The injured worker will also have 100% of his medical covered for the work-related injury and rehabilitation services. Rehabilitation serviced could include re-training and education. A workers’ compensation lawyer at Sunne Law can explain this to you in further detail.
The catastrophically injured worker may also be entitled to modifications to his or her home and/or a vehicle that can accommodate a wheelchair or a scooter. The insurance company must provide items that the treating physician deems medically necessary for the catastrophically injured worker.
Head Trauma Injuries Can Be Catastrophic
Head trauma relates to closed head and traumatic brain injuries. A closed head injury such as a concussion from falls or other related workplace accidents are very common but a lot of times, head injuries are not noticeable at the time of the accident and the injury only becomes detectable when symptoms arise such as short-term memory loss, headaches and behavioral changes of the injured employee.
A competent workplace injury attorney specializing in head injuries has a good working relationship with neuropsychologists who conduct various tests to decipher the root of the head injuries and to determine whether it is a catastrophic injury as defined in the Statute. Sunne Law, workers compensation attorney will help you in proving that the head injury you received on the job was a catastrophic injury, thus requiring lifetime benefits.
Traumatic Brain Injuries and Catastrophic
Traumatic Brain Injuries or TBIs as they are commonly called in the legal profession are head injuries that result in brain damage, comas or the employee being in a vegetative state. There is no question that a TBI should result in a catastrophic designation and therefore permanent benefits to the injured worker. These benefits should include home care payments as well as payments to spouses who often times act as the primary home caregivers.
Sunne Law, takes your interests into consideration when fighting to ensure that you receive your permanent Workers’ Compensation benefits due to your catastrophic injury.
Unfortunately, because the expenditure of paying for benefits related to catastrophic injuries are so high, many employers try to downplay the seriousness of the injury received by the employee which is why you need a workplace injury attorney at Sunne Law, who specializes in catastrophic injury in Georgia. We will help you so that your receive all of the benefits you deserve. Don’t waste time thinking that you can handle the claim on your own. The insurance company does not have your best interest at heart and will not work on your behalf to make sure you receive all of the benefits you deserve after suffering a catastrophic injury in Georgia. If you think you have a catastrophic injury and would like to talk to an attorney about it, contact Sunne Law. www.sunnelawpc.com