You may have heard of employees/workers’ right regarding injuries sustained at work especially if your industry has a union. Georgia falls in the category of state with a right-to-work. But most people in Atlanta do not understand the regulations instituted by the state to ensure their safety at work.
Once a business has 3 or more employee, the owner must have an insurance cover for the employee’s compensation. It does not matter if there is high or low risk at your workplace. This guide will tell you about the few essential things you need to know about these benefits prior to you needing them.
Why is workers compensation important?
Though one know some jobs are high risk i.e. a construction site. But anything can happen even if you work elsewhere. According to the Occupational Safety and Hazard Administration, the main reasons for death at work include electrocutions, stuck in between something, collision with an object, and falls. This is based on their regular observation of injuries sustained by workers. Click here to stay updated.
Other examples of typical injuries are burns, loss of hearing, injuries to neck or back, amputations, fractures, accidents while using tools, accidents on business trips, accidents while using machinery or tools etc.
3 essential things that you should know
- Cover for Employees’ Compensation
A typical compensation plan cover payments such as physical therapy, prescription medicines, hospitalization costs in relation to a work injury. You will be allowed to claim income benefit per week that you can’t work. Most time, you will get the 1st check on the 21st day since you stopped working because of the injury.
2. Approved Doctors
In case you’re harmed at work, you shouldn’t postpone getting medical care especially if the injury needs immediate treatment. Your boss has to provide you with a list with details of doctors that are on their insurance panel. He can make them available in these ways:
- A list with 6 doctors so you can choose one. Do note that you are allowed to change to another if you aren’t satisfied with the care received. You don’t need to tell your employer.
- A toll-free number available 24-hour that can link to you a doctor.
The employer has to ensure that the doctors provided are local and accessible to you in Atlanta if you are claiming benefits.
3. Caps for Employees’ Compensation
Since 2016, Georgia made new rules regarding compensation. You won’t get more than average of $575 weekly for about 400 weeks– you can take 2/3 of your usual income for a week. You can claim up to $383 for about 350 weeks even after returning to work if you have to take a job with low pay.
Employer Non-Compliance in Workers’ Compensation Cases
Most of the time, your boss should have employee compensation coverage but some unscrupulous ones in Atlanta do not abide by rules. On the other hand, some greedy employers want to reduce premium so they discourage you from claiming even though you can. In the event that you’ve been harmed in the working environment and you are experiencing issues getting your benefits, you should directly approach law firms in Atlanta or even the State Board of Employees’ Compensation.
Things to do so you can have a compensation case in Atlanta
To begin with, you should let your supervisor or manager know within 30 days if you have been harmed at work. Second, before you sign any agreement with your manager or their insurance, you need to get in touch with a lawyer to enable you to understand the whole procedure. Make sure you don’t send any recording to them either. This is to reduce the chances of them having things to use against you. The purpose of employee compensation is to enable you to recover with no worries about money till you are able to get back to work.
To conclude, your manager is lawfully committed to giving you insurance coverage and should be the one in charge of making it easy for you to claim when you are injured. You can then focus on getting better. However, you should keep in mind that most companies have lawyers that help them with cases. They know how to ensure they pay as less as possible claims. It is recommended that you contact an attorney that know the tricks to back you up.
Be the first to comment on "A guide by a Lawyer about Workers Compensation in Atlanta"