Learn how the Georgia workers’ compensation system decides the kind, quantity, and length of benefits you may get for a workplace accident or occupational illness, as well as whether you may obtain workers’ comp benefits if you develop COVID-19 on the job.
A workplace accident or sickness may have a significant impact on your life, affecting not just your health but also your job, money, and general well-being. Fortunately, the Georgia workers’ compensation system is intended to reimburse you for part of your losses and return you to work as quickly as feasible. It does, however, restrict the amount of money you may get from your company.
This page describes the different kinds and quantities of benefits available via workers’ compensation. (In order to get these benefits, you must disclose your accident as soon as possible, submit a workers’ compensation claim on time—usually within a year—and demonstrate that your injury or sickness is work-related.)
Georgia Income Benefits for Temporary Disability
If you are unable to work due to a job-related accident or sickness, or if you are unable to work at your previous level, Georgia workers’ compensation will give you temporary complete or partial disability payments to replace a portion of your lost income.
Benefits and Limits for Temporary Total Disability
If you are unable to work due to your injuries for at least seven days, you are eligible for temporary complete disability compensation. The benefits normally don’t start until you’ve been out of work for that long, but if you’re unable to work for 21 days straight after the accident, you may get money for the first seven days.
The amount of temporary total disability compensation will be two-thirds of your average weekly earnings before to the accident, up to a maximum of $675 per week in March 2022. There is also a weekly minimum payout of $50 should you earn less.
These advantages will normally last until you attain “maximum medical improvement,” which means that your condition has improved as far as it can with therapy.
However, unless you have a catastrophic injury such as a serious head injury, severe burns, amputation of a limb, or paralysis from a spinal cord injury, you cannot get temporary disability benefits for more than 400 weeks from the date of your accident. (The maximum amount and length of benefits vary on a regular basis; the most recent figures may be found in the “Benefits Information” section of the Georgia State Board of Workers’ Compensation website.)
Benefits and Limitations for Temporary Partial Disability
If you are able to work but earn less than previously due to your injury, you may be eligible for temporary partial disability payments. The benefit amount is two-thirds of the difference between your pre-injury and post-injury average weekly earnings. For example, if you used to make $1,100 per week and now make $500 for light-duty employment, you may get two-thirds of the difference ($600), or $400. There is also a limit on these benefits—$450 per week for a maximum of 350 weeks from the date of injury.
Benefits for Permanent Disability
Once you’ve achieved maximal medical recovery, your doctor will assess you to see whether you have any lasting disabilities and, if so, how much (expressed in a percentage of disability for each affected body part or for the whole body).
If you have a permanent and complete disability, you may be eligible to continue receiving weekly payments at the temporary total disability rate for the rest of your life—or you may be able to receive a lump sum for the amount of your future payments (reduced to the present value of those benefits). Some grave traumas, such as blindness in both eyes or amputation of two limbs, are assumed to result in permanent complete impairment.
Awards for Permanent Partial Disability, Scheduled and Unscheduled
If you have a partial permanent handicap, the amount of your income benefits will be the same as if you had a temporary complete impairment—but only for a short period. Benefits are calculated by multiplying the degree of disability for each afflicted body part by the maximum number of weeks given in a state schedule for body parts such as eyes, ears, and different extremities. The timetable, for example, indicates a complete loss of use of a hand at 160 weeks. If you only had 50% use of a hand, you would be eligible for payments for 80 weeks.
If you have a permanent handicap to a portion of your body that isn’t specified, such as your head, spine, or organs, the length of your benefits will be determined by the percentage of disability multiplied by 300 weeks, the maximum for disability “to the body as a whole.” (Although this is stated in Georgia’s permanent disability benefit schedule, awards for the whole body are commonly referred to as “unscheduled awards.”) For example, if your doctor determines that you are 50% disabled due to a back injury, you will get 150 weeks of benefits.
The same standards apply to permanent partial disability caused by an occupational illness, with the exception that no compensation will be paid for partial loss of use of a specified bodily part or partial visual loss.
Medical Advantages
Workers’ compensation covers all reasonable and necessary medical care for a job-related accident or sickness, as long as it is recommended by your approved treating physician. However, unless your disability is judged severe under Georgia law, most medical benefits are limited to 400 weeks.
Other exceptions to the time restriction include the replacement of prosthetic devices or durable medical equipment that was initially delivered within the 400-week time frame.
Other Georgia Workers’ Compensation Benefits
Additional benefits provided under Georgia workers’ compensation include:
Mileage reimbursement is available. Workers’ compensation also covers mileage to and from doctor’s visits.
Benefits upon death. When an employee dies as a consequence of an on-the-job accident or sickness, the employee’s surviving dependents are entitled to death benefits. If the survivors are completely reliant on the employee, the benefit amount will be the same as for total temporary disability, and the benefits will continue for as long as the recipient is reliant. If there are no additional dependents, death payments for a surviving spouse are limited at $270,000.
Funeral costs. Survivors may also be awarded up to $7,500 in reasonable funeral costs for the deceased employee.
Workers’ Compensation Benefit Restrictions
As you can see, workers’ compensation only compensates a percentage of your lost income and does not compensate you for your pain and suffering as a result of your accident. While this may seem to be unjust, it is a necessary trade-off in the workers’ compensation system.
The benefit of workers’ compensation is that you may collect benefits fast without having to file a lawsuit or establish that your employer was at blame for your injuries. The disadvantage is that you cannot recover the whole amount of your losses. (However, in very restricted circumstances, you may be able to litigate outside of the workers’ compensation system to collect pain and suffering as well as other damages resulting from a workplace accident.)