WORKERS’ COMPENSATION

YOUR ENTITLEMENT TO MEDICAL BENEFITS IF YOU ARE HURT ON THE JOB:

Your employer is required to furnish medical benefits to employees who have been injured on the job. All medical bills are paid by the employer/insurer directly to the medical provider at the rate set by the Workers’ Compensation Schedule of Fees. However, there is no time limit or dollar limit on the medical benefits that must be provided to an injured employee. The employer/insurer must also reimburse you at 40 cents per mile for round trip mileage to and from medical visits. Sometimes, if the medical visit is far away from the injured worker’s home, the employer may have to reimburse for meals and lodging.

The Employer must have a posted panel of doctors which is on a large rectangular pink piece of paper with the words “OFFICIAL NOTICE” at the top. Sometimes people call the physicians listed on the panel “company doctors.” The panel must be posted in a prominent place where all employees can see it such as a break room, the human resources office or the safety director’s office. The Employer must take steps to make sure that all of the employees know how to use the panel of physicians. If the employer has a posted panel of doctors that meets all of the requirements of Georgia law, has that panel posted prominently, and has explained how to use the panel to its employees, then the injured worker must choose a doctor from the panel. The employee gets to make the choice, and the employer cannot force him or her to go to a specific doctor on the panel.

If the employee wants to switch to another doctor, he or she has one opportunity to choose different doctor on the panel without getting the permission of the employer or a judge at the State Board of Workers’ Compensation. Alternatively, he or she may ask the employer to agree to a doctor that is not on the panel of physicians. If the employer will not agree, the employee can seek a ruling from a judge by filing a request for change of physicians with the State Board of Workers’ Compensation.

If the employer does not have a valid panel of physicians, the injured worker does not have to go to a company doctor at all. Rather, he or she may select a doctor or his or her own choice.

YOUR ENTITLEMENT TO INCOME BENEFITS UNDER WORKERS’ COMPENSATION

If you are hurt on the job, the employer has 21 days from the date that you provide notice of the accident to decide whether or not to accept your case and pay for your income and medical benefits or to decline to do so. If a company doctor or other authorized physician takes you out of work due to your injuries, there is a 7 day waiting period before your first benefit check is due. In other words, you must miss 7 days or parts of days from work before you can get a benefit check. Those 7 days do not have to be consecutive in a row. However, if you miss 21 straight days due to your injury, the employer must go back and pay you for the waiting period.

Temporary Total Disability

If an employee sustains an on-the-job injury which results in total disability, the employee is entitled to temporary total disability benefits, which is a weekly benefit equal to two-thirds of the employee’s average weekly wage, provided that the weekly benefit does not exceed the maximum limitations set forth in the statute. The maximum compensation rate is determined by the date of the employee’s injury. The following is a guide to the maximum weekly temporary total disability rates:

Accident Date	Max Comp Rate
July 1, 1986 – June 30, 1990	$175
July 1, 1990 – June 30, 1992	$225
July 1, 1992 – June 30, 1994	$250
July 1, 1994 – June 30, 1996	$275
July 1, 1996 – June 30, 1997	$300
July 1, 1997 – June 30, 1999	$325
July 1, 1999 – June 30, 2000	$350
July 1, 2000 – June 30, 2001	$375
July 1, 2001 – June 30, 2003	$400
July 1, 2003 – June 30, 2005	$425
July 1, 2005 – June 30, 2007	$450
July 1, 2007 – present	$500

For dates of accident on or after July 1, 1992, total disability benefits are payable for a maximum of 400 weeks from the date of injury in non-catastrophic cases. For accidents prior to July 1, 1992, there is no limit on the number of weeks for which temporary total disability benefits may be paid, so long as the employee remains disabled.

Temporary Partial Disability

If an injured employee is working at a reduced wage because of an on-the-job injury, he or she can receive temporary partial disability benefits as long as the injury is the reason for the reduced wage. The law provides that an employer shall pay the employee a weekly benefit equal to two-thirds of the difference between the average weekly wage before the injury and the average weekly wage the employee is able to earn after he returns to work, for a period not exceeding 350 weeks from the date of the injury. The law provides maximum limitations for temporary partial disability benefits. The following is a guide to the maximum weekly temporary partial disability rates:

Accident Date	Max TPD Rate
July 1, 1986 – June 30, 1990	$117.00
July 1, 1990 – June 30, 1992	$150.00
July 1, 1992 – June 30, 1994	$175.00
July 1, 1994 – June 30, 1997	$192.50
July 1, 1997 – June 30, 1999	$216.67
July 1, 1999 – June 30, 2000	$233.33
July 1, 2000 – June 30, 2001	$250.00
July 1, 2001 – June 30, 2003	$268.00
July 1, 2003 – June 30, 2005	$284.00
July 1, 2005 – June 30, 2007	$300.00
July 1, 2007 – present	$334.00

Permanent Partial Disability

An employee also will be paid for any permanent partial disability rating assessed for loss of body members or for the partial loss of use of the body. The law defines permanent partial disability as a disability partial in character but permanent in quality resulting from the loss, or loss of use of body members, or from the partial loss of use of the employee’s body. The employer must pay weekly income benefits equal to two-thirds of the employee’s average weekly wage for the number of weeks determined by the percentage of body loss or loss of use multiplied by the number of weeks for certain specific losses. A specific list is set out in the Code section as follows:

	Bodily Loss	Maximum Weeks
(1)	Arm	225 weeks
(2)	Leg	225 weeks
(3)	Hand	160 weeks
(4)	Foot	135 weeks
(5)	Thumb	60 weeks
(6)	Index Finger	40 weeks
(7)	Middle Finger	35 weeks
(8)	Ring Finger	30 weeks
(9)	Little Finger	25 weeks
(10)	Great Toe	30 weeks
(11)	Any toe other than Great Toe	20 weeks
(12)	Loss of hearing, traumatic
	One ear	75 weeks
	Both ears	150 weeks
(13)	Loss of vision of one eye	150 weeks
(14)	Disability to the Body as a Whole	300 weeks

Generally, if an employee is given a permanent disability rating and is receiving either temporary total or temporary partial disability benefits, payment of permanent partial disability benefits will not be made until the employee’s entitlement to the other income benefits ends.