Ty Wilson Law Podcast

Is the insurance company required to take care of me if I’m injured on the job? Hello. My name is Ty Wilson. I'm a Georgia Workers Compensation attorney practicing law in the state of Georgia. And our video topic is just that, “Is the insurance company required to take care of me if I'm hurt on the job?” Well, the short answer is there would be maybe. First of all, are you an employee? Second of all, does your employer have three or more workers full time? Third, do they have workers compensation insurance coverage? Some guys don't. And if they don't, it's much more difficult to deal with an employer directly when they're not covered under the Georgia Workers Compensation Act. 

And so there are a couple of what we call preliminary or questions early on questions you need to get answered. If you're an employee and your employer has three or more employees and has workers compensation insurance and you're injured, what is called in the course and scope of your employment, meaning you're doing the job you're supposed to be doing for your employer, then more likely than not, yes, you have a work injury. However, we like to just say if you were hired to do something and you were doing that job, chances are that is a work injury. Reach out to a Georgia Worker’s Compensation attorney. Get confident that you do have a work injury. Now, the insurance part that's going to be separate. But that also helps in moving the case along. 

What happens when you first get hurt? Well, you need to speak with your employer. You need to say, “hey, I've been injured on the job. I need medical care.” Need to let them know immediately. We have a lot of people that give us a call and they say, “oh, I was hurt on the job, and this is horrible. And they're not getting me medical care.” I said, “Well, did you ask them for medical care?” “No, but they know I was hurt.” Take out the guesswork. They may know you're hurt, but you need to tell them directly. “I need medical care. I was hurt on the job. I need help with medical care.”  They should provide you a list of doctors. It's called a posted Panama physician. 

And so if you're in this position and you're getting nowhere with your employer, you do need to call Georgia Workers Compensation attorney. If you're getting medical care, the question is, is quality medical care? Some medical care is better than others. Some medical care. You only need to go to an urgent care clinic and you're in and out. You're done well, you don't need an attorney if that's the case. However, if you've got a more serious injury, whether it's a back injury or an extremity injury, whether it be a shoulder, knee, hip or an ankle, and you're having greater problems and the urgent care doesn't seem to be doing anything for you. You should reach out to a Georgia worker's compensation attorney. Try to get the information and guidance that you need to move forward. 

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So here's a question we get all the time. How much is a worker's compensation lawyer going to take from my settlement? Hello. My name is Ty Wilson, Georgia Workers’ Compensation attorney practicing law in the state of Georgia. And our question today is, “How much do the attorneys get paid? Who helps represent the injured worker?” Well, the short answer is it is what is called a “contingency fee contract”. And what that means is you do not pay any money up front. The attorney will obviously want to make sure that you have a valid claim that they're trying to pursue for you, because if the attorney is not successful, the attorney gets absolutely nothing. 

And so it's important that they think that your claim qualifies as something worth pursuing. And if so, they'll ask you to sign a contract. Well, the contract says if there's a recovery, the attorney is entitled to 25%. If the attorney has to fight to get your checks cut on. And when I say fight, I don't mean to send a letter. I mean, if the attorney has to file a hearing, has to sit in a deposition, has to compose and draft discovery request to go to the insurance company and the employer and has to answer discovery requests that come from the insurance company and the employer, then have a hearing on the matter and get a decision in order to get your income benefits cut on or press them enough that they can get in assent order to get your benefits cut on, they would be entitled to 25 % of your weekly income benefit. That's not something that happens a lot, but that is a possibility. And that's something you should know about. 

Now, in addition to the fees, there could be expenses. What expenses? Right. Well, postage. There's a lot of stuff that goes out in the certified mail to make sure people have received it, especially notice of the letter of representation and so forth. Mail to you, the client notice of mediation, notice of depositions, request for medical records. Those cost money as well. Those would all be expenses that would be separate from the attorney fees. And so in our agreement, we will provide and everybody should an itemization of every expense that has been expensed on the file and that we're seeking reimbursement for. And the board requires it as long as it's over $150 by those are the cost and expenses. So the fees (25%) and then any cost that's associated with that. 

And so hopefully that will answer your question as far as what the attorneys would receive if there is a resolution on a case, and if there is a resolution in the case, there will be paperwork that breaks down exactly what those amounts are to you and to your attorney. You want to calculate it, just double check it, then take a few seconds to do that. And then whenever the resolution ends the case, there will be two checks. One to you the claimant and then one to the Attorney's office. And usually they're both sent to the attorney to the attorney to monitor the days and make sure that there's no late penalties that need to be applied to it. And so that is how it usually unfolds. 

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Do you really need a lawyer for your workers compensation claim? Hello. My name is Ty Wilson. I'm a George workers compensation lawyer practicing law in the state of Georgia. And the short answer is, it depends completely upon your injury. If you have a very minor injury, you really don't need an attorney. You need to get the care you need and you need to get back to work. You're going to make more money staying at work and remaining gainfully employed and dealing with the minor injury and  letting the employer and the insurance company pay for the injuries if they're mild. 

So if you have a serious injury where you need surgery or may need surgery, the bigger question is, are you going to be able to physically return back to work? And if that's a question Mark, you likely do need an attorney to help you. And the reason for it is not necessarily what you see, but what is going on in the background. These insurance companies spend a lot of money on nurse case managers, and these nurse case managers are reaching out to the doctor. When you're not around, they're supposed to provide you notice. None of them ever do. They're supposed to notify you. Ten days before they're going to meet with the doctor and invite you as the patient to be there. They never do. So what are they doing? They're working on the doctor releasing you back to work. That doesn't sound like a bad thing. And in fact, that's how they pitch it to the doctor. Hey, Doc, do you think they can get back to work? Maybe light duty, maybe something sitting at a desk, even if that's not your job. 

And so where that comes into play is the employer. If you don't work at a desk job and they make a desk job for you, really, what they're doing is they're stopping the checks for the insurance company and making sure that the employer takes back the employee. But if they created a job, well, the question is, do you think they're going to keep that job that they just created to get you back to work forever? It depends on what you're doing. If they've created a new position, there's a chance. But I don't think that the chances are that great. And so you have to look at the whole picture when you're injured on the job. If you know other people who have been injured on the job, did they return if they did? Well, maybe they had a minor injury, or maybe the employer brought them back to work. Maybe they hired an attorney. Maybe they didn't. Sometimes when you hire an attorney, the employer will take a more aggressive stance towards you. The insurance company will always take the aggressive stance. You are threatening their bottom line, which is money in their account. That's how a fictional insurance company exists, taking in premiums and paying out as little as possible. 

The workers compensation laws are supposed to be there to protect the employee. If you've been injured and you've suffered a work injury, you realize rather quickly the laws appear to really be protecting the employer. However, there are ways to meander through the system, and the reality is there is a sort of balance with the system. And so if you're lost and you're meandering through a system in which you might need a surgery or you need care, you're not getting the care you need. The answer is yes. At that point, you do need an attorney. 

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So what should you expect in expungement in  Georgia? Hello, my name is Ty Wilson. I’m a Georgia Criminal Defense Lawyer practicing Law in the State of Georgia. And our topic today is, “What should you expect on an expungement manner in the State of Georgia? And honestly the term expungement is no longer used in the state of Georgia. Now it is called “Record Restriction”. 

And so, there’s 2 different things you wanna deal with. You wanna deal with record restriction and sealing the record. And those will secure different access information from different people including the court clerk. And so when you’re seeking a record restriction and sealing of your past records, there are certain requirements. You need to speak with an Attorney who handles these types of matters so they can tell you if your charge is qualified. If you have had any other record restriction you are only limited to a certain amount. And so, there’s a lot of rules and regulations, a lot of details which are far beyond the scope of this video itself. 

But some of the general guidelines, what you can expect is typically our experience is been you can expect. The District Attorney office do not consent and or agree to you having your records restricted and in fact they will stand in the way of you getting your records restricted. So you have to petition the court typically for a hearing, and you have to have a hearing in front of a judge. And the district Attorney office is going to argue their case is, why you should not get your records restricted. And you’re going to need to argue your case why you should get your records restricted. An example would be, your right to privacy outweighs the publics’ information or the ability for the public to only take a look at the information on your rest. 

Now, there are many, many requirements in order for you to even be able to follow for records restriction. And along that depends on were the courts, were the charges were 2013 or not. Because of that, that’s when there was a big change and all the court’s started doing the record restrictions automatically. However, before that you have to be a little more protective. Now, just because they may have restricted your records, does not mean that they sealed them. And the sealing is the second part of it, and it’s also something that you want to get. 

Make sure you get done because there are certain places such as jails and or other avenues where employers can seek to obtain if you’ve ever even been arrested. And so, when they ask you in your application, they’re double checking. They’re making sure, they wanna know what they are dealing with someone who is honest. If you say NO, and you have and you forgot about something, the chances are you're not going to get that job. So that’s how that could potentially affect you. Anyway if you have more questions about expungement and or what we call like I said in Georgia now, records restrictions and sealing of  your past charges, please feel free to give us a call. We hope this information has been helpful and we’ll see you on the next video. 

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Can I get a lump sum settlement in my workers’ compensation claim and then return back to work? Hello, my name is Ty Wilson. I’m a Georgia workers compensation Attorney practicing Law in the State of Georgia.  And our topic for today is, “Can I settle my workers’ compensation claim for a lump sum settlement and then return back to work?”. And the short answer on that is,YES.  

However, if you are settling a worker’s compensation claim with an employer, there is a very likelihood that as a condition of the settlement, you will need sign some other documents. You will need to sign the settlement for the lump sum, what is called “stipulation and settlement agreement” for Georgia state board of Worker’s Comp. 

And in addition to that, they usually require or request that you sign a voluntary resignation and a release. Let’s talk about the voluntary resignation. If you are planning on returning back to your same employer, then the likelihood of getting a lump sum settlement and then returning back to that same position and same work, would be slubbed. 

If however, you have another job lined up and you’re looking to get the lump sum settlement and then start this other new job, then that is something that could, you could possibly do. And so if you have specific questions, it’s always recommended to always reach out to a Georgia Workers Compensation Attorney. Speak to them about the specifics of your particular claim. We hope that this information has been helpful and we’ll see you on the next video. 

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“I was injured on the job and I didn't report it, I didn't think it was serious. Now I'm really hurt. What can I do?” Hello. My name is Ty Wilson. I'm a Georgia Workers’ Compensation attorney practicing law in the state of Georgia. And this is a question we get a lot. The short answer is you need to report the injury as soon as possible. The chances are the employer is going to treat you like something is up like something is crazy. They could potentially terminate you. 

The reality is this, when you're injured on the job, you need to report that injury immediately to a supervisor or as quickly as possible. If you don't, you will be barred, meaning you cannot bring a claim after so much time. And so if you haven't provided notice to the employer of your injury and that you need medical care within 30 days, I can assure you that the employer and the insurance company will deny the claim, and force you to file a hearing. And the question is always going to be, when did you tell us? And why did you wait so long? 

And we hear a lot of things like, well, I didn't want to lose my job. Well, if you're hurt to the point where it's becoming serious now, you're not going to be able to work a job you don't want to lose. And that doesn't really make a lot of sense. And so if it's a minor injury, you let it go, you're going to end up having to pay out of pocket. How do you know? Well, you don't. And that's the trick. If you don't know if it's serious or not, you need to report the injury. You need to seek the medical care. And if you feel like you've got questions, you need to reach out to a Georgia workers compensation attorney, someone that you can find that you trust and someone that you have as a sounding board. Am I doing this right? You're going to feel like you're blind running through the Woods, hoping you're not hitting a tree. 

And so that's the benefit of getting a Georgia worker's compensation attorney involved in your claim. They can help walk you through the minefield. If it's a minor injury, get the treatment, get back to work. And don't worry about any type of settlement or resolution. The reality is any type of settlement or resolution in a workers compensation claim is not going to set you for life. They may buy you some time. It may give you some money for rainy days, but it will not set you for life. 

And if you're gauging your decisions based upon, well, how will this affect my workers compensation claim? That's really not the right way. What you need to do is, you need to figure out what is the best way I can get back on my feet and get back to work and start making money for myself and my family. The workers compensation claim may or may not come into play with that, but it's not going to set you for life. Hope this information has been helpful and we'll see you on the next video. 

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I was hurt on the job, and my employer is saying that I need to use up my sick leave before they'll kick in workers’ comp. Hello. My name is Ty Wilson. I'm a Georgia workers compensation attorney practicing Law in the state of Georgia, and a question for today is Do I have to use my sick leave instead of going on workers Comp? And the short answer is no, you don't have to, but it may be beneficial for you, too. And let me explain why. 

So if you're injured on the job and you're unable to return back to work, at least for a short period of time at that point in time, the first seven days workers’ Comp does not have to pay you anything. After 21 days of being out of work consecutively, they are required to pay you for that first seven. So the first seven days, so they'll catch up over the course of 28 days, and then they'll pay you weekly weekly income benefits. 

Now, those weekly income benefits, though, are calculated at a discounted rate. And what I mean by that is they take your average weekly wage and then they pay you 67% of it. Now they don't take taxes out. However, it's still going to be two thirds of your average weekly wage, and it's capped currently under Georgia law to cap at 675 per week. That changes from time to time and is changing rather often lately. So you may want to check after you see this video and see if in fact it has changed again. But currently, 675 is the maximum that someone is receiving in Georgia for a work injury under the workers compensation system. 

Once again, if you use your sick leave, likely that will be just like you had a paycheck. Now you will be using up your sick leave. That's the downside of it. But the upside of it is you will make your full paycheck versus the reduced amount from workers comp. If you're seriously injured, you may not be returning back. You may want to use that sick leave and maximize the amount of money that you can receive. Once you use up your sick leave, then you can kick into workers compensation and get the reduced rate at least at that point in time. 

You can try to do some more planning as if you're seriously injured, you're probably going to be out for a considerable amount of time. Certainly it depends on how much sick leave you have and  so forth, but you want to use it strategically if you can. And so if you use up your sick leave, then workers compensation should kick in. And from that point on, you'll continue to receive those income benefits as long as you're out of work completely or on light duty restrictions and the employer cannot accommodate your restrictions. I hope this information has been helpful and we'll see you on the next video. Thank you.

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So what are three things you need to know about surveillance? Hello. My name is Ty Wilson, Georgia workers compensation attorney practicing law in the state of Georgia. And what we're talking about today is surveillance or the insurance company hiring an investigator to follow you if you've been injured on the job. And we're talking from the state of Georgia perspective. We see this from time to time, and I guess the most important thing now is that:  

One. In all cases, they're not necessarily just going to hire investigator can be very expensive. And so if they're not paying you income benefits and especially if they're not paying you income benefits or medical benefits, and they denied your claim entirely, there's a pretty good chance they're not going to waste their money hiring an investigator to follow you unless you're claiming some pretty outlandish stuff. However, if you are receiving medical benefits, well, there's a possibility that they'll hire an investigator. It just depends upon how serious the injury is in the nature of the injury. 

If you're receiving income benefits, I would say you're always a target to be followed by an investigator. They have to hire a private investigator and they'll follow you. And usually the times when they're looking for you and following you is when you're out in public. But keep in mind that workers compensation claim. There are certain things are situations where the insurance company knows where you will be, such as if you're in litigation on your workers compensation claim, then they're going to know that you've got to go to that deposition. They'll have an investigator waiting for you outside your Attorney's office, just waiting for you to hop into your car and follow you from there. 

If you have medical appointments and remember, the insurance company has to approve and authorize all medical appointments. Another time would be if you have a hearing. Well, certainly they know you're going to be there at the hearing and you're going to leave the hearing at some point. And at that point, they can follow you as well. 

What are they trying to do when they follow you? Are they trying to intimidate you? Well, not necessarily. What they're hoping you'll do is they're hoping that you'll do something that the doctor says you shouldn't be doing or you can't do. And they're hoping to catch you doing those things, whether it's limited walking, driving, no lifting more than 15 lbs. I want to catch you at the Home Depot lifting a 50 pound bag of something. That's what they want to catch you doing, because what they do and how they use these videos and the investigative reports is they will go to your authorized treating physician or your main doctor and your workers compensation claim, and they'll say, hey, Doc, we know that you said this person couldn't return to work. But we wanted to show you this video and see if you still believe they can't do these different things. 

And a lot of times the doctor will feel insulted, let down like you lied to them about how you were hurt and they become resentful. And obviously you're not there to explain the situation. They do this all behind the scenes, and they're allowed to, unfortunately, and the doctor will release you then full duty, not even seeing you. 

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Is the employer required to hold my job if I'm injured on the job? Hello. My name is Ty Wilson. I'm a Georgia Workers compensation attorney. And our question for today is, “Is my employer required to hold my job if I'm entered? And the short answer is No. There are some programs that can come into place that can help protect you, but it's not every employer that has to fall under them. 

And so what I'm talking about is, there is something called the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA ). And what is that? Well, that's a federal program but doesn't qualify that all employers are under FMLA. And so I believe the current threshold is there must be 50 or more employees for the employer to fall under the FMLA requirements. So there's less than 50 employees. The employer does not have to give you FMLA time. And something that's important with the FMLA is it's not a guarantee of any benefits other than protecting your job for up to twelve weeks. 

And if you've used part of your FMLA, this is twelve weeks over the course of the year. And so that's some things that you need to know about and be prepared for. If you're injured and you're going to need to be out of work for an extended period of time, FMLA  may be something you want to think about in order to keep your job available. But after those twelve weeks, if you fall under the FMLA umbrella, they do not have to keep your job open and can terminate it. 

If you do not fall under the FMLA or Family Medical Leave Act umbrella, they do not have to keep your job. They can terminate you. They choose to terminate you, though, and you're on light duty or you're out of work completely. The Workers Compensation Insurance company should be issuing you something called income benefits. We'll do another video on covering income benefits and how much and how often and so forth. But the long and short of it is if you are taken out of work completely or you're on light duty and your employer cannot accommodate your life duty restrictions and your employer terminates you. Well, they should be issuing you income benefits, If however, you are full duty, the employer is not required to pay you any income benefits, or the insurance company is not required to pay you any insurance income benefits, and the employer is not required to keep you employed. You could have what is called a medical only where you're only receiving medical care. And if you're full duty, that employer can terminate you and it will continue to be a medical only claim. And so we hope that this information has been helpful. And we'll see you on the next video. 

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So if I'm hurt on the job and I'm not able to return back to work in that position, is the employer required to find me another position within that company? Hello. My name is Ty Wilson. I'm a Georgia Workers’ Compensation Attorney practicing law in the state of Georgia. And our question for today is really; “Is the employer required to find me a position to work in if I can't work in the job that they had originally hired me for?” And so the short answer, it's very short answer is “No”. 

They are not required to find you work now, that doesn't mean they won't create a light duty job to get you off of the income benefits from the insurance company. However, they don't have to. They have a choice in the matter. And so if they want to bring you back, then they likely will bring you back. And if they want to make that light duty position a full time job, well, certainly they can do that. But that's going to be up to the employer. And a lot of it's going to depend upon what you're doing for the employer. And is it beneficial to the employer or is it a full time job or is it a part time job and what heavy. And so they're not required to do that, but they can. And so that's going to be on an employer b y employer basis. I hope this information is helpful. And we'll see you in the next video. 

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