Ty Wilson Law Podcast

Hello. We're here for the basics of Georgia workers compensation. And today we're going to talk about income benefits. Hello. My name is Ty Wilson. I'm a Georgia workers compensation attorney practicing in the state of Georgia. And our discussion for today is a general explanation of income benefits and how they work under Georgia workers compensation law. And so we discussed in a prior video, medical care. Obviously, when you get injured on the job, the most important thing you can do is notify your supervisor, and or your boss that: one, you've been injured, and two, you need medical care for your injuries. Depending upon if your employer has what is called a posted panel of physicians, they may be able to control who you get to see for your medical care. We discussed that in our prior video.
Well, now we're looking at a situation where you've either been taken out of work completely for more than seven days or you've been released to light duty, and your employer cannot accommodate your light duty restrictions. So Let's say, for example, that you're injured on the job. You're working construction, you hurt your back and you're on light duty, sedentary duty. The doctor says you can only do sitting down work. And your job is typically at a construction site. Well, your employer may say, Hey, I don't have any of that type of work. You just go on home. And if they do, it's going to be important that after seven days, there's a discussion with the adjuster on are the income benefits starting or where we at on that. You should be entitled to that, so long as you're an employee and you meet all the other things that we discussed in our prior video
 
And so what does that mean? Well, typically in Georgia, you're paid weekly, and so you're given a weekly check. So how do they calculate that? Well, they take from when you're injured and they look back before your injury 13 weeks. And does it not matter if that was the slowest time of the year or hopefully, that was a great time of year for you, depending if your wages are consistent, it's very easy to calculate. You take your average weekly wage over those 13 weeks, your average amount, and that becomes your average weekly wage.Then you take two thirds or 67% of that number. And that is what is called your comp rate. Now, if that number turns out to be above 675 dollars per week, currently, that is the Max. Those numbers are always changing. We're talking this is the middle of June 2,021. And so currently the Max rate is 675. That is subject to change and increase down the road. So if this video is older as you're watching it, you want to reach out to Georgia worker's compensation attorney or reach out to the Georgia State Board of Workers Compensation and just ask, what is the maximum rate of income benefits today?
 
Also, once that number is determined, that kind of follows you around, and that is what is called your temporary. If you're receiving income benefits and you're out of work completely, it's called temporary total disability, meaning you're totally disabled temporarily. And so you'll be getting those checks so long as either you're out of work completely per your doctor or you get released to light duty and your employer cannot accommodate your light duty restrictions. Keep in mind, as you're receiving this medical care, it is anticipated that you're going to improve in your condition.

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Hello. This video is about your guide to the basics of workers compensation. Today we're focusing on medical care. Hello. My name is Ty Wilson. I'm a Georgia workers compensation attorney, practicing law in the state of Georgia. And so Let's get into medical care. In order to obtain medical care for a work injury claim, you must be an employee, meaning you're not an independent contractor. Now, there are several questions as to what determines if someone is an employee and or an independent contractor. And that's something that we'd recommend you contact, reach out... contact Georgia worker's compensation attorney.

However, typically speaking, an employee is someone who has taxes taken out of their checks, and they are able to be controlled as far as their schedule or as they say, their time, method, manner and means. And so what does that mean? What means an employer can say, Hey, I need you here at eight o'clock and I need you to show up at eight o'clock and you'll be leaving at five. We'll get an hour lunch, you'll get a couple of breaks, etc. And when you get here, I'll tell you what to do. And then they start laying out a schedule for you. And that is typically what an employee is versus an independent contractor is typically someone where they say, I need you to do a job for me. We'll pay you for the job. We're not going to pay you hourly. You bring your own tools and show up whenever you can. We'll have that job for you, and we'll be ready sometime around next Wednesday. Something along those lines. So it's a little bit different.But this video is not meant to determine the difference between an employee and independent contract. We can do a later video on that.

The important thing is if you are injured on the job and you are an employee, that is where you would qualify for workers compensation medical benefits. Now, there are some other things that you need to be aware of. As I said, first of all, you should be an employee. Second of all, you need to be physically injured, meaning a mental injury only will not apply in Georgia workers compensation. Also, you must be injured….Your injury must occur arising out of and in the course and scope of your employment. And those are two separate things. So a rising out of is a connection between your work as an employee and the injury that you received. And so there has to be some sort of connection so that's the arising out of the course and scope of well, that's where the employee is helping the employers business goals. So you must have both in the course and scope of employment. So rising out of and in the course and scope of employment. We typically say that means you were doing the job that you were hired to be doing to help your employer out. There must be a connection between, as I said, your work and the entry that you sustained.
 
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Alright, today we're talking about three ways to destroy your Georgia Workers’ Compensation claim. Hello, my name is Ty Wilson of Georgia Workers’ Compensation Attorney practicing Law in the state of Georgia. And we're talking about three things that will absolutely destroy your claim. And so if you want to guarantee this is a guaranteed way to absolutely destroy your claim. 

Number one, not reporting your injury to your employer. Sitting around knowing your hurt, you never tell your employer you hurt. You never tell your employer that you need medical care. Waiting about 30 days and then picking up the phone and trying to get an attorney to take your case. The guarantee is that they will deny the claim. And you're looking at long litigation which are likely not going to win. It's very important and very critical. And the way to overcome that is to report your injury as soon as possible. And to tell them, meaning your employer, you're hurt and you need medical care. 

Alright, number two, “quitting”. Getting hurt on the job and say, “That's it. I'm done. Quit. I'm out of here, resigning.I'm not going back.” That is a guarantee to destroy the possibility of receiving income benefits. Does that mean they are eliminated forever?  Maybe not. But it’s going to behind the.. It’s gonna require likely litigation in order to get your checks cut on. And it's also going to require possibly the need for surgery and that's if the claim is not denied in its entirety. And so you want to guarantee no income benefits when you get them and when you need them, when you're hurt at the worst state and time. Go ahead and quit. 

Number three, getting medical care setup and no showing to your doctor. Why do you need to get there? Who needs it? You don't show up to your doctor, I guarantee you that your medical benefits will cease. If you're getting income benefits, they will likely cease and stop immediately. And so you want to stop your claim dead and is track. You want to guarantee that you can stop your claim, don't show up to any of the informants. 

Now, I'm going to give you a bonus one as well. Hiring and firing multiple Attorneys. If you hire an attorney, you have the right to fire them. It's your claim. But if you hire that attorney and then you fire them and then you hire someone else. Remember, in a worker's compensation claim, the attorneys can file what are called liens for the time that they put in on the file. And when you've gotten multiple, every attorney that you hire is going to find out about the prior attorneys. And they're going to have to deal with them if there is any type of resolution down the road and negotiate with them likely for their leans. And so what you end up doing is guaranteeing yourself to deal with an attorney who takes on cases that have been handled by their attorneys. Some attorneys won't touch a case if there's a lien on it. And so you narrow your chances of getting an attorney that is going to properly handle the case. The guys who wheel and deal with leans well, they're in their own little world. You could affect the ability to get good counsel in your case.
 

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Have you been injured and are looking for a Workers Compensation Settlement calculator? Hello, my name is Ty Wilson. I'm a Georgia workers compensation attorney.  And today we're going to talk about the questions that we need answered so that we can help determine a value for your claim. In order to determine a value for your Georgia workers compensation claim, There are several factors that go into making that decision. 

1. Are you out of work? Are you back at work either with restrictions or back to full duty? Certainly, as you can imagine, if you're out of work and receiving weekly income benefit checks, your claim has more value. Then if you're back at work full duty. 

2. What body part was injured? Was it a shoulder injury? Was it a back injury? Was it a finger injury? Certainly, back injuries carry more value with them than finger injuries. 

3. Have you been given permanent restrictions or an impairment rating?

4. Are you still treating or do you need more medical care? As you can imagine, if you need more medical care, potentially diagnostic testing, potentially surgery or procedures, that claim has more value than if you've completed all of your medical care. 

Now, if you'd like to speak with a Georgia workers compensation attorney to get an idea of the value of your Georgia workers compensation claim. Feel free to give us a call at the number in the screen.

If you're not ready to speak with an attorney, that's certainly fine. We've also written several special reports to help answer common, frequent questions that most injured workers have when they're thrown into a Georgia workers compensation claim. 

If you're interested in ordering those, if you look down at the description, there should be a link to those special reports, and we're adding more each day. And so take a look at those. And then if you have any questions, feel free to give us a call. We hope this information has been helpful, and we look forward to seeing you on the next video. Thank you.

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What happens when you 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 a common question we get is “What happens, I've been injured on the job, I'm out of work, I'm receiving weekly checks, and now my employer is asking me to come back to work? And so what happens if I return back to work? Well, one of the first questions that you have to ask yourself as an injured worker is, “Are you physically capable of returning back to the work that you were doing prior to your injury?”

Some injuries you're able to heal and get back to the same type of work. And that's great. However, there are some injuries that are far more serious and you are not going to return back to work. And in fact, your doctor typically will tell you you're not going to be able to return to the same type of work you are doing. And so what happens in those cases? In those cases, it could be that the employer is just bringing you back to work so that the insurance company can stop paying you those weekly checks. It may not actually be a long term solution for you.

And so you want to really think long and hard about if you are physically able to return back to the work you are doing.

You need to know that once you do return back to work, if that's what you choose to do, that your weekly checks will stop.

And at that point, you have a deadline that starts running, and it's what's called an independent medical examination. You get one independent medical evaluation. The doctor of your choosing, paid for by the insurance company, up to the statutory amount for your injuries. However, you have to have it scheduled within 120 days of your last income benefit check.

If there's any questions to always recommended that you reach out to a Georgia worker's compensation attorney. But this would give you an opportunity for a second set of eyes. Second opinion, if you will. Based upon what your doctor has said. The doctor is releasing you to some form of light duty work and your employer is trying to bring you back to work. They're working to cut those checks off. And that's fine if you're going to get back to the job. However, if you're more seriously injured and you're not able to get back to that job, what do you do? Well, this is where you want to look into potentially exercising what is called an independent medical evaluation.

I always recommend you speak with Georgia Workers Compensation and turn in their deadlines. And things are moving pretty quickly, and you need to know who to go to. And certainly, a Workers’ Compensation Attorney can help you find a doctor who will listen to you and then discuss with you what is in your best interest.

One Last thing you need to be concerned about if you are returning back to your former job is What happens if you re-injured yourself? Well, depending upon how the injury occurs, you may have a new injury. It's not something you want to look forward to, and it's certainly not something you want to get involved with if you could help it, However, it is something that's there should you get reinjured. Depending upon if it is the same body part that was injured before or not.

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Injured workers, have you been injured, taken out of work, paychecks, and now your doctor is releasing you to light duty? That's a question that we got sent to us today. And I want to address that in this video. It's going to be a little longer than our other videos. But if you have been released to light duty and are receiving income benefit checks, you're going to want to listen. Especially towards the end, as to some of the things you want to look out for in your claim.  Hello, My name is Ty Wilson. I'm a Georgia workers’ compensation attorney practicing Law in the state of Georgia.

And our question, which was sent today from a gentleman, states, “I was injured on the job and taken out of work. I have received medical treatment and ultimately was forced to undergo surgery for my back injury. I am receiving checks from the insurance company for being out of work. However, recently I have been released to light duty by my doctor. What do I need to know prior to returning to work?” Well, this is one of the most critical times in a work injury claim. The last thing you want to do if you're receiving income benefits is when that employer calls you and says, “good news, we have light duty work for you” Well, there's a lot more questions than just that.

And so the first thing I would say is do not just return to work. This is a very important time in your workers compensation claim. And during the important times, you need to weigh out all of the possibilities that could happen as a result of returning back to work. So I recommend that you reach out to a Georgia worker's compensation attorney. We're happy to take the call, and we'll be happy to talk to you about what your options are. But there's some things to think about, and we've made some notes.

If you mishandle this, this could be a very detrimental or dangerous time and your workers compensation claim. So if you're taking out of work and you're receiving weekly benefit checks for temporary total disability benefits, you do not want to just return back to work. What is important is that the employer is required under Georgia law. More specifically, Board Rule 240 and the official code of Georgia annotated Section 34-9-240, which is the rules that the employer must follow. I know when you're nine workers, all these rules, all these rules, these rules contain me and limit me and limit who I can see and treat with and what my pay is and so forth. Well, the employers also have rules, and this is a critical one that you want to hold their feet to the fire. And it's called a return to work WC-240.
So what must happen? Okay, what must happen is the employer must put together a light duty job that they believe is obviously within your right to be restrictions, and they must send it over in the form of a WC 240 A to the doctor. They must also send you a notice that they are sending you WC 240 and that is coming. And so what must happen then? Well, then the doctor has to review it. Doctors are busy and then the doctor has to sign off on it. If the doctor doesn't sign off on it, they can't return you back to work. And that's really an important thing. It's very difficult when you feel the stress of being asked to return back to work, to sit there and say, I don't have the proper documentation.

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So how and why would you want to settle your Georgia workers compensation claim?  Hello. My name is Ty Wilson. I'm a Georgia Workers’ Compensation Attorney. And our question for today is how and when and why would you want to settle your workers compensation claim? There's a lot of things that go into settling your workers compensation claim.

The first thing that is very important for anyone to know is that you cannot just file a hearing and make the other side settle the claim. Settlement is completely optional, and that is for both the employer insurer and for the injured worker. And so it's highly recommended. If you want to settle your case, you probably should reach out to a Georgia workers compensation attorney, talk to them about where you're at, and they can give you some guidelines and some directions on why or why not. The insurance and employer may not want to settle at this time.

The same is true if they want to settle and you do not want to settle. Well, you may need an attorney to help protect you. As oftentimes when the employer insured want to settle, they put a great deal of pressure on the employee. And while I'm not going to go into great detail on our great depth of what they will do. There are very few lines that some of them will cross. And so sometimes you may need a Georgia worker's compensation attorney to protect you in those types of situations.

Meaning the employer and the insurer want to settle. But you need a surgery and you're not going to be able to function without the surgery. You've got to get the surgery. And so you may need an attorney to help protect you, to help shepherd you through the surgery. And then you can discuss settlement if that's something that you guys decide is in your best interest down the road. And so we discussed that to sell is completely optional.

Now, there are other factors, and there's a lot of them in a worker's compensation claim that make each one of these claims unique and different. Now they're all similar in a way. But some of the factors would include work status. Are you at light duty? Are you at full duty? Are you out of work completely? Are you receiving weekly income benefit checks? And so work status is a Biggie weekly check, more specifically, temporary total disability income than fit checks where you're totally out of work, or temporary partial disability checks where you're partially disabled, but the employer cannot accommodate your light duty restrictions. Well, those are different than if you're not receiving checks and you're at what is called a medical only status, meaning you're only receiving medical care for your injuries.

That could be a big factor as to why the employer and the insurer are not really interested in selling your case, because all they have to do is pay these reduced medical bills. And if they don't have to pay income benefits and they’re doing everything they can to make sure they don't have to pay in the future, well, chances are they are not interested in resolving it. Or if they are, they're resolving it at a lot more lower rate than they are. If there are future Meds, possible future surgery, possible ongoing income benefit checks, and they don't see where they're cutting off. And so those are all factors that can come into play.

And so, as we said, weekly checks, as we said, medical care, prescription costs. Are you now in pain management? Where are you going to have very expensive prescription medication for well into the future? And it's hard to tell when. Well, those are things that as an attorney or another attorney with the Georgia Workers Compensation who practice in that area can help guide you in obtaining the details and the information you need if you do want to sell.

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If a loved one or myself has been attacked by a dog, what is the first thing and most important thing to do? Hello, my name is Ty Wilson. I'm a Georgia personal injury attorney practicing law in the state of Georgia. And our topic for today is, “What is the first thing you do after an animal attack and or dog bite?” Well, the first thing you want to do is you want to get medical care as quickly as possible, especially depending upon the severity of the injuries. That is the absolute most critical thing that you can do. 

After you receive the care, or perhaps you can solicit a family member who has not been involved in the incident, you want to reach out to police and or animal control or both and file a report and have them investigate. And get as much detail as you can about what happened to them so that they can do their investigation. And determine if there's someone who they can follow up with and who is responsible for the dog or animal. Either way, that's going to be critical and helpful to you in helping try to reimburse you for medical expenses that you're going to end up having to pay out as a result of those types of injuries. 

If there is no injury, you really don't need to worry about that. You can still file a report to put the homeowner on notice that the dog has attacked, but there was no serious injury. And that way, the dog owner then will have a duty to make sure that they are diligent in keeping their dog contained and following whatever the laws are in that area. Whether it's a leash law or containment law. What if this information has been helpful? And we will look for you on the next video.Thank you.

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So what is the statute of limitations for a dog bite case? Hello, my name is Ty Wilson. I'm a Georgia personal injury attorney practicing law in the state of Georgia. And our topic for today is. “What is the statute of limitations on an animal attack and or dog bite case?” That is a personal injury case, which is two years from the date of injury currently under George Law. Always subject to change. Do not rely on this video. 

It's always recommended that you reach out to a Georgia personal injury attorney who handles cases in the state of Georgia and can tell you what the personal injury statute of limitations is at that point in time. It has stayed pretty consistent throughout the years, but it is always subject to change. And so you want to reach out and get first hand knowledge of what that statute of limitations is, which, as I said, is two years currently under Georgia statutes. However, “always subject to change”. Wish you luck. Let me know if you have any questions. We'll see you in the next video. Thank you. 

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What happens if I'm attacked by a dog while I'm working at someone's house? Hello, my name is Ty Wilson. I'm a Georgia personal injury and workers’ compensation attorney, practicing law in the state of Georgia. And in this type of situation, I have actually known someone who has been attacked by a homeowner while they were working helping them. I believe it was with their air conditioning unit. 

And what happens in that type of situation is you potentially have two claims. The first would be a workers compensation claim. That claim would provide you a certain set of benefits, and then the personal injury may provide you a second set of benefits. There are different things that have to be proven. There are different things that have to happen for each of these two different claims. 

However, if structured properly and you would want an attorney who handles both types of claims like that, you can obtain benefits for both. At least that's the idea. And that certainly depends on the nature and severity or how severe and how bad the injuries are. I hope that information has been helpful, and we will see you in the next video.

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