Ty Wilson Law Podcast

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Can you get punitive damages in a workers compensation claim? Hello, my name is Ty Wilson, Georgia Workers’ Compensation Attorney. And our question today is, “Can you give punitive damages on a workers compensation claim?” And the straight answer is NO. 

There are no provisions currently under the Georgia workers compensation act to get punitive damages. Just as there are no provisions under the Georgia workers compensation act to get pain and suffering in a workers compensation claim. 

So we hope that you found this information helpful. And we hope that you'll come check out our other videos. We’ll see you on the next one.

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Hello, my name is Ty Wilson. I'm a Georgia Workers’ Compensation Attorney, practicing law in the state of Georgia. And our video topic for today is, “Do I get paid if I'm injured at work?” Just being injured at work does not necessarily get you paid. If you are hurt and taken out of work for more than seven days then generally speaking, you may qualify for Georgia Workers’ Compensation Income Benefits. 

However, the most important thing is, once you do get hurt, is to notify your employer. Let them know immediately that you've been hurt and that you need medical care for your injuries. Once you do that they should send you or direct you to a list of doctors that you can choose from. Once you go to the doctor, the doctor will give you what is called a “Work Status Report”. You should get this for every doctor's visit that you attend throughout your workers compensation claim. 

What that work status report says is one of three things; It says either you're out of work completely; You’re at light duty modified duty or limited duty all mean the same thing light limited or modified duty all mean the same thing; And then lastly that you’re full duty. If you're full duty, pretty self-explanatory you can return back to work. You do not qualify for income benefits at all. If your light duty you have to speak with your employer your employer may or may not have light or limited or modified duty. 

Before you do that, it is very important that you speak with a Georgia workers compensation attorney so that you can determine what your rights are in a light limited or modified duty release. And then of course, if you're out of work, if you're out of work for more than seven days you likely qualify for income benefits under the Georgia workers compensation system. However, you'll want to speak with a Georgia workers compensation attorney, and it also depends upon the doctor who took you out of work. 

So there are many factors involved. Always speak with a Georgia Workers’ Compensation Attorney. Find out what your rights are. The consultations are free. There is no obligation, especially if you contact our office. If you have any questions, please post a comment or question below or feel free to give us a call at the number on the screen. We hope that you found this information helpful. We hope that you'll come check out our other videos. Thank you.

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Hello, my name is Ty Wilson. I’m a Georgia Workers Compensation Attorney practicing law in the state of Georgia. And our video topic for today is, “How do I give notice?” In several of our other videos we say it's very important that you give notice. And so, what exactly is giving notice and how do you do it? 

Well, if you're injured on the job, the first thing you need to do is tell your supervisor and or your boss that: 

1. You've been injured on the job.
2. You need medical care for your injuries. 

If they refuse to give you medical care or help you get medical care for your injuries, you should immediately reach out to a Georgia Workers’ Compensation Attorney. If they provide you information on how to get medical care, you should seek medical treatment for your injuries. Tell the doctor from head to toe, everything that hurts as a result of your work injury and how you got hurt. 

After you’re done with that, if you're concerned about how you're being treated on the job, you should reach out to a Georgia Workers’ Compensation Attorney. Speak with them. Find out what your rights are. The consultation is free. There is no obligation to retain an attorney by just talking to them. 

If you have any specific questions about your Georgia workers compensation claim, feel free to give our office a call at the number below. We hope that you found this information helpful. And we hope that you'll come check out our other videos and our website with other helpful information. Thank you. 

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If I'm out on workers comp, do I have to go back to work? Hello, my name is Ty Wilson with Georgia Workers’ Compensation Attorney practicing law in the State of Georgia. And our question is, “If you are out of work on Workers’ Comp., do you have to go back to work? Well, that is a tricky question because it is possible that you do have to go back to work. It depends upon the employer. 

If the employer says I cannot have you back in my job, without you being at full duty, well, then you're not going to return back until the doctor releases you to full Duty. However, the trickier area is whenever a doctor releases you to light duty. Then the question is, “Can the employer accommodate your light duty restrictions?” If they can, there is a chance that they can bring you back to work. It's What's called the “240-process” “The Return to Work Process” under Georgia law. 

So there's this form 240 in which the employer will List out what your job duties would be. The lifting and how often and so forth. And then they would submit that to your authorized treating physician or the main doctor on your workers compensation claim. And ask that doctor to sign off on this job to return you back to work. If they do not do this returning back to work is strictly optional, but if the employer wants you back at work, there is always the possibility that they will ask you to come back to work. 

Keep in mind, the insurance company is who pays you whenever you're out on workers compensation, not the employer. So it can create some messy situations when you're dealing with health insurance and other benefits because your health insurance benefits are taken out whenever you are earning money through the employer, not through workers comp. So if you're making you're getting paid through workers comp, then you need to make arrangements to make sure that you still have health insurance coverage if that's something that's applicable to you. We hope that you found this information helpful, and we'll see you on the next video. 

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How long do workers compensation benefits last? Hello, My name is Ty Wilson of Georgia Workers Compensation Attorney practicing law in the State of Georgia. And our question today is, “How long do workers compensation benefits last?” And that really depends on the injury. 

If you have what is called a “Medical Only Claim” then once you're able to return back to work, whether it's in a light-duty capacity your employer can bring you back in light duty, or if it's in a full due to capacity, typically, you've had what's called a “Change of condition for the better”. Meaning you've gotten better and the claim will kind of just Linger on and and close out at some point. If you need further care, you can always reach out. 

So initially when you get injured you're entitled to 400 weeks of medical benefits related to this work injury. Most people do not need 400 weeks in order to get better and get back to work or move on with life. And so, that is on a “Non-catastrophic claim”. If your claim is catastrophic that would be a very serious injury. Loss of limb would be an example. If you lose your arm or you lose your leg then that would be what is called, “Automatically Deemed Catastrophic”. That is Lifetime medical benefits. That is a lifetime Income Benefits. 

So in a non-catastrophic, it depends on when you get better and that depends on your medical care. And that depends upon getting the care providing notice with the employer. So we hope that you've found this information helpful, and we'll see you on the next video. 

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Hello Ty Wilson here, Georgia Attorney, practicing the law in the State of Georgia. And our video topic for today is, we have someone who is injured and they were getting treatment. And while they are still getting treatment, they got into another, either work or a motor vehicle collision. It could be for anyone. This particular individual got into both. They drive for a living and they got into a car wreck. 

Now, both car wrecks were not their fault. And so, the question is, “What happens to the first claim once I have a new claim? Do I have two claims and everybody is paying for the Medical Care?” The answer to that is NO. When you have a new accident and if you’ve injured the same body parts, you have something that has intervene and stop the first claim and start the second claim. And so, it’s somewhat of a tricky scenario. 

Always recommended that you speak with a personal injury attorney in your State or in the State of Georgia if you’ve been injured there. And find out what exactly your rights are. And what happens to the first claim versus what happens to the second claim? Do you get Medical Care? Or a lot of it depends on, “Are you hurt?” “Was it a serious collision?” 

If not a serious collision, you may not receive medical treatment and may not change things at all. If you’re hurt seriously or the injuries, the same injuries were aggravated or there are additional injuries, well everything’s probably going to go to the second claim. And so, it is very fact specific. And so, we hope that you found this information helpful. Anyway, feel free to come check out our other videos. Thank you!

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Is Workers’ Compensation Insurance mandatory for all employers? 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, “Is Workers Compensation Insurance Coverage mandatory for all employers?” And the short answer is NO.

What is required is, if an employer has three or more employees, they are then subject to the Georgia Workers’ Compensation Act. And from there, they are required to obtain Workers’ Compensation Insurance Coverage. 

There are exceptions to certain types of work. Where they do not need or are not required to have Workers Compensation Insurance Coverage. If you have any questions about a claim that you have, or a loved one has, always recommended to reach out to a Georgia Workers’ Compensation Attorney. We’ll see you on the next video.

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What does Workers’ Compensation Insurance coverage cover? Hello, my name is Ty Wilson. I'm a Georgia Workers’ Compensation Attorney practicing Law in the State of Georgia. And our video topic for today is, “What does the Workers’ Compensation Insurance cover?”

Well, it covers if you're an employee and you're injured on the job in what is called the course and scope of your employment. You're doing the job that you were hired to do and there are always exceptions to these rules. But typically you're doing the job you were hired to do and you get injured. Those injuries would fall under workers compensation insurance coverage. And so it covers the medical care for your injuries. 

And then if you're taken out of work for more than seven days by an authorized treating physician, you may be entitled to income benefits as well. If you have any injury that takes you out of work for more than seven days, it's important that you always get the out of work excuse from the doctor. And share a copy of that with the insurance company so that they realize that you are out of work completely for at least seven days. 

If you have any specific questions about a claim that you have you should always speak with the Georgia workers compensation attorney. Hope this has been helpful and we'll see you on the next video. 

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So what is diligent job search? Hello, my name is Ty Wilson. I'm a Georgia Workers’ Compensation Attorney practicing law in the state of Georgia. And our video topic for today is, “What is a diligent job search?” “How many jobs do I have to look for?” I get this question all the time when we talk about a diligent job search. 

Well, the Georgia legislature has intentionally provided diligent job search as a vague term. And ultimately the decision of if you've made a diligent job search or not is going to be up to the administrative law judge. If you're in a hearing, and that would be based on, if the employer has determined or filed a hearing saying that they don't believe you made a diligent job search. 

So when do you need to search for work? Well, if you've been released to light duty and your employer cannot accommodate your light duty restrictions and they've started paying you income benefits. You can't sit down and just enjoy those income benefits. You need to be doing what is called a “Diligent Job Search”. So that means you need to be making every effort you can within your medical restrictions to find employment. 

And you should keep what is called a “Job Log”. We have one we can provide you free of charge with no obligation. However, you want to get the details of the information: “When did you apply for the job? Did you get an interview for the job? Did you do it online? Did you do it in person?” And you want to get as many as you possibly can. 

You want to prove and you don't want to leave it up to a judge to say, “Don't think you've made a diligent job search”. You want that judge to see your list of all the people you've applied for work with and say, “Wow, they've done their job. They've worked hard to try to find a job. And they just haven't been able to find one because of their medical restrictions.” Hope that information is helpful and we'll see you on the next video. 

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Hello, this is Ty Wilson of Georgia workers compensation attorney practicing law in the state of Georgia. And our video topic for today is really just a notification. If you happen to drive and operate a vehicle of any sorts for your job and are involved in a motor vehicle collision, you may have both a workers compensation claim and a personal injury claim. 

It’s something to look into and determine what your rights are. Some people don't want to open up workers compensation claims if they have a personal injury claim, certainly an option. However, if you have two claims, there's two benefits. Are there several benefits to using them together? Depending upon the extent of your injuries. 

If you want more information, you should always reach out to a Georgia workers compensation attorney. We hope this information has been helpful and will look for you on the next video. Thank you.