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No Cameras in the Delivery Room? The Disturbing Truth Behind the Ban

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Warning Signs of Nursing Home Negligence and Elder Abuse

Worker's Compensation

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An accident on the job can cause devastating injuries. These injuries can keep you from providing for your family. Every day, hard workers are injured on the job. Slips, falls, lifting, repetitive lifting, car crashes, defective products, and occupational diseases are just a few examples of the many ways that you can get hurt at work. Workers’ compensation statutes provide for income benefits regardless of whether the injury was due to the employer’s negligence, the worker’s negligence, or the negligence of other employees.

Georgia’s workers’ compensation statute provides you with medical, rehabilitation, and income benefits if you have been injured on the job. The benefits are designed to prepare you to return to work or to help provide for your family in case the unthinkable happens.

Georgia requires all businesses employing three or more workers to have workers’ compensation insurance. You are covered by workers’ compensation from your first day on the job until your last day.

If you have been injured on the job, it is important to immediately call a lawyer. Georgia’s workers’ compensation statute can be very confusing, and in some cases, you may have as little as 30 days to give notice of your injury. If you fail to satisfy this requirement, you may lose some of your benefits.

Benefits
In Georgia, you are entitled to weekly income benefits if your injury keeps you away from work for more than seven days. You are entitled to receive two-thirds of your average weekly wage. In most cases, you may recover workers’ compensation benefits for up to 400 weeks. However, if your injury is catastrophic and prevents you from ever returning to work, you may be eligible for lifetime benefits. Additionally, if you are able to return to work part-time, or are able to return to a different, lower-paying job, you may be entitled to a reduced benefit.

The Process
In order to preserve your benefits, you must file a claim within one year of your accident. However, in some cases, there may be a pre-filing notice requirement. Call James Murphy as soon as you can to find out if this applies to you.

After filing your claim with the State Board of Workers’ Compensation, the Board will meet and determine whether or not you are entitled to benefits. If they initially determine that you are not, you may request a hearing. The hearing is much like a trial and is presented in front of an Administrative Law Judge. After listening to evidence from both sides, the judge will make a determination about your benefits.

If you or your loved ones have been injured on the job, please call Murphy & Associates at (770)577-3020 or email James Murphy at murphylawfirm@bellsouth.net.
James Murphy has years of experience in dealing with Georgia’s worker’s compensation statute. His experience will help you recover for your injuries and get you back on your feet. Murphy & Associates are located near the Douglas County Courthouse and has successfully represented seriously injured individuals throughout West Georgia, including clients in Douglasville, Hiram, Bremen, Villa Roca, Lithia Springs, Dallas, Tallapoosa, Carrollton, Douglas County, Paulding County, Haralson County, and Carroll County.

Library for Worker's Compensation:

Repetitive Strain Injury: When to Claim Compensation
Description: RSI is a condition caused by overusing an instrument associated with repetitious movement. Computers, assembly line machines, knives, and guitars or other musical instruments are just of few of many tools that can lead to this type of injury. Rather than medically diagnosing you with “repetitive strain injury,” your doctor will determine which specific condition you have acquired, whether it be carpal tunnel syndrome, cumulative trauma disorder, tendinitis, tennis elbow, radial tunnel syndrome, or another type of injury. If you are experiencing symptoms of RSI due to work-related activities and believe that your condition is a result of your employment, you may consider consulting an attorney. Employers have insurance to cover worker’s compensation injury and cannot discriminate against you for making a claim.
Injured at Work? Mistakes to Avoid if You Have a Worker's Compensation Case
Description: As a Workers’ Compensation Attorney, I see people who are hurt at work make the same mistakes over and over again, and sometimes it can mean a denial of their workers’ comp claims. Many of these mistakes can be avoided if the injured worker consults early on with an attorney who specializes in Georgia workers’ compensation law.