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Worker's Compensation

5/13/2008
James Murphy
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Mistakes to Avoid If You Have A Workers' Compensation Case.

May 12, 2008 - Injured at work?

Mistakes to avoid if you have a workers’ compensation case

As a Workers’ Compensation Attorney, I see people who are hurt at work make the same mistakes over and over again, sometimes resulting in a denial of their workers’ comp claims.

Here are some of the most common mistakes that folks make:

1. Many people fail to report an injury right away thinking it is not serious or that they will shake it off. Some folks do this because they don’t want to be fired. However, most employers have a policy requiring reporting of an injury within 24 hours. If you violate this policy, the employer will take the position that you were not hurt at work. Remember Georgia Workers’ Compensation Law requires reporting of an accident to an employer within 30 days of the date of injury.

2. Some folks delay going to a doctor when they get hurt. This is a big mistake because many employers only acknowledge an injury if you have medical documentation from a doctor. Further, the longer a person waits to go to a doctor, the more difficult it can be for the doctor to say that the injury is related to an accident at work.

3. I have seen many clients provide the adjuster a recorded statement about the accident without obtaining legal advice. If there is a question about a client’s injury, the adjuster will use the recorded statement against the client without the client knowing he or she even has said something that might hurt his/her case.

4. Some folks think they can change doctors if they want. However, Workers’ Compensation Law in Georgia requires the employer to provide a panel of six doctors to an employee. From that panel, the claimant is required to pick his/her doctor. Once a doctor is chosen then the doctor becomes the treating doctor for the claim. Georgia Law is limited in changing doctors from this point.

5. Many people settle their cases without knowing the real value of the claim. Anyone suffering a work-related injury should consult with an experienced workers’ comp. lawyer in order to get a legal opinion as to the value of his or her case.

6. Some people go to a hearing without an attorney. They do not know the insurance company will always be represented by a lawyer. They also do not know their case may involve technicalities. Their workers’ comp. case can be lost over these technicalities, so without having a lawyer who understands these technicalities, an injured employee is at a serious disadvantage at a hearing.

7. A very common mistake is that many people believe that the claims adjusters or the insurance company nurse case manager is working for them. They don’t realize that the adjuster or nurse case manager is working against them and any statements they make can be used against them.

8. Many injured workers do not realize that insurance adjusters may continue to investigate a claim even after the claim has been established as a workers’ comp claim. For example, if the claimant is on compensation for "chronic pain," the insurers will often have the claimant secretly videotaped hoping to show the claimant doing activities demonstrating he/she is not disabled.

9. Many injured workers do not realize that once they are released to light-duty work the insurers will try to have them put on light-duty work. If the injured worker is offered light-duty work and refuses his weekly benefits, he may be suspended. It is critically important for an injured worker to consult with an attorney when this happens so that he or she understands his or her legal rights.

Many of these mistakes can be avoided if the injured worker consults early on with an attorney who specializes in Georgia Workers’ Compensation law. James Murphy has been rated "BV" by Martindale-Hubbell oct. This rating is an indication of an exemplary reputation and well-established practice with an ethics rating noting adherence to professional standards of conduct and ethics, reliability, diligence, and other criteria relevant to the discharge of professional responsibility.