A front page story in the Sunday, May 24, 2009 edition of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution details the struggle of five catastrophically injured Atlanta police officers to obtain needed medical help from the City of Atlanta's workers' compensation office.  Each of these police officers was injured in the line of duty - with injuries ranging from brain damage to paralysis arising from gunshot wounds to the spinal cord.

Like many city and county governments, the City of Atlanta "self-insures" against workers' compensation claims, meaning that weekly wage benefits and funds for medical treatment come directly out of the City's budget.  The City does use a private claim's administration service called NovaPro Risk Solutions out of San Diego.

The City is not denying responsibility for paying wage or medical claims, but it has been refusing to pay for various medical procedures and medical devices.

In one instance a police officer who had been rendered a parapalegic from a gunshot wound needed surgery on his Achilles tendon  because his feet kept slipping off his wheelchair footrests. More on Injured Atlanta Cops Fight Workers Comp System

A workers' compensation claim can result in many unpleasant changes in your life.   Besides the health issues and the stress that you have to deal with, financial problems also often arise.  Recently one of my workers' comp clients called me to say that he was very concerned that he was about to be sued for past due credit cards.  In addition, he had other debts and was receiving daily phone calls and threatening letters.

He wanted to know if he should consider bankruptcy.  As you may know, my husband, Jonathan Ginsberg, has been a consumer bankruptcy lawyer for many years and I asked him to speak with my client.   Here is what Jonathan has to say about dealing with these debt issues: More on Weekly Wage Benefits are Exempt from Garnishment

In our Georgia workers compensation law practice, we regularly see carpal tunnel cases.  Carpel tunnel syndrome arises when the muscles in the wrist swell and compress the nerve running down the arm into the hand.  When this median nerve gets squeezed, you will experience pain, numbness and tingling in the hands.  In severe cases, a patient can suffer permanent nerve damage.  Females are more likely than males to develop carpel tunnel syndrome.

If rest does not resolve the condition, the usual treatment for carpel tunnel injuries is surgery called a carpel tunnel release expands the space for the nerve and tendons and thereby relieves the pressure on the nerve.

Carpel tunnel injuries usually arise from repetitive motion type jobs.  Examples of these types of jobs include:

• deboning chickens
• typing
• sewing
• meat packing
• small parts assemblers

At Ginsberg Law Offices, we represent many carpel tunnel claimants.  An important part of our work is to get our clients to a doctor who specializes in wrist, hand and repetitive motion injuries and to see to it that our clients get appropriate rehabilitation care. More on Carpal Tunnel Diagnosis Need Not Arise from Repetitive Motion Job Tasks

Several times a year, I get a call from an injured worker who is facing a denial from the insurance company on the grounds that no timely notice of a claim was filed.  The Georgia workers' compensation statute contains two separate notice provisions, both of which must be met:

Notice to Employer

The Georgia Code says that an injured worker must give notice to his employer within thirty (30) days after his on-the-job injury.   We advise our clients to give notice, preferably in writing, to a direct supervisor.  The the sooner you give this notice the better.   When giving notice to your supervisor you should be as clear as possible about the exact date and time you were injured and about exactly what happened.    The more specific the better as we find that employers tend to question vague and uncertain reports about a work injury.

Remember that workers' compensation covers injuries "arising out of and in the course of " your employment.  This means that an injury incurred while you are on break, or coming or going from work may be challenged.  Be suspicious if your employer's workers' comp rep tries to put words in your mouth about when or how your injury happened.  A quick word about the phrase "arising out of and in the course of employment."  The Georgia State Board of Workers' Compensation spends a lot of its time listening to lawyers argue about what this phrase means.  What you tell your employer about your injury, and what you tell your doctor can make a huge difference.  For this reason, we encourage injured workers to seek legal counsel sooner rather than later.

Once you report an on-the-job injury, your employer is supposed to write up a "first report of injury" and send it to both the State Board of Workers' Compensation and to its insurance carrier.   Not surprisingly, this does not always occur as employers try to avoid filing claims with their workers' comp. carriers.   Your employer may delay filing the required paperwork and may tell you to file with your group health insurer.  They may suggest you file under short or long term disability for lost time from work.   Do not let this happen as group health and/or STD/LTD carriers will not pay for either lost wages or medical costs related to a work related injuries, as workers' compensation insurance is considered "primary" coverage.  We have seen some situations in which the group health carrier initially accepts the claim, but later rejects it once the file is audited.  This could leave you stuck with a medical bill that otherwise should be covered.

Notice to State Board of Workers Compensation

In theory, once you give your employer notice of your injury, the employer will file a notice of claim with the State Board of Workers' Compensation.  A better course of action would be for you to file that notice directly.  You file notice using a form called a WC-14, and this form must be filed within one (1) year from the date of your accident.  Our office regularly completes and files WC-14 forms for our client.  If you are not sure how to fill out this form, you should speak to an experienced attorney as filling out this form improperly can negatively impact your case later on. More on How, When and To Whom Do I Give Notice of my On-the-Job Injury?

I recently received a question from a gentleman named Charlie who asks:

I filed chapter 13 about 2 years ago, now I got hurt on Job and am receiving W.C.  In the process W.C. is to build a new house for me.  How does chapter 13 come to play?

My husband, Jonathan Ginsberg, has been a bankruptcy lawyer in Atlanta for over 20 years.  I asked him to respond to this question.  Here is his response:

Charlie, first of all, it is important that both your workers' compensation lawyer and your bankruptcy lawyer know about your accident, the house construction benefit and possible settlement.  Assuming that your weekly wage benefit check is less than your regular salary, you need to make arrangements to keep your Chapter 13 plan current.  Given your injury, your bankruptcy lawyer may be able to amend your plan so that your payment is reduced to account for your reduced income.   Assuming that you foresee a settlement within the next three years, you may be able to make up the difference in a lump sum at settlement.

I have always taken the position that lump sum settlements in workers' compensation cases may be treated as exempt property purusant to Georgia's exemption statute.  You should speak to your bankruptcy lawyer about this.  This means that you may be able to keep some or all of your settlement even if your plan is paying only a small percentage back to your unsecured creditors.  In a similar vein, I would argue that the new house should be considered as exempt because it is necessary for your on-going support and maintenance.  Here, too, you need to seek counsel from both your bankruptcy lawyer and your workers' compensation lawyer.

Finally, you need to advise your workers' compensation lawyer to file an entry of appearance in bankruptcy court and to file a motion to approve both any settlement and any attorney's fees claimed.  Bankruptcy judges usually do not have any problem with approving either a settlement or a fee contract, but if you don't follow the required procedures, there could be delays.

You have been injured on the job and are now receiving Georgia workers' compensation benefits.  Who decides which doctor you can see?  What if you are not happy with the company doctor?  Are there any circumstances when you can choose a doctor of your choice?

In this video, attorney Jodi Ginsberg speaks about the rights of injured workers to receive quality medical care as well as options to change treating physicians in the event that company provided medical care is sub-standard.

Our firm's blog and web site makes frequent reference to the Georgia State Board of Workers' Compensation.   The State Board functions as the court system for workers' compensation claims in Georgia.  The Board is a creation of the state legislature and it uses different forms that what you might see in a Georgia State or Superior Court.

I hope that this blog, along with the Ginsberg Law workers' compensation web site, will be helpful resources for you as you educate yourself about Georgia workers' comp. law.  Another very useful site is the web site published by the State Board itself.   While some of the material on the State Board's site is geared towards lawyers, insurance companies and employers, there is a great deal of useful information there for injured workers.  For example the State Board web site has a very helpful FAQ section written for the benefit of injured workers.   Another section is written for employers - as injured worker, however, you can learn from this as well.  Another area of the State Board web site that you may want to review is the section that includes the various official forms that employers, insurers and claimant's lawyers must use.

One of the main themes of the State Board site relates to how workers' compensation is different than personal injury law.   If you understand, for example, that pain and suffering are not part of a workers' compensation claim, or that an insurance company does not have to settle, you can make better choices in your own case.  If you are an injured worker, you obviously have concerns that transcend the organizational structure of the State Board of Workers' Compensation.  However, you may find that an understanding of how the Board works can help you maximize your recovery should you have an injury claim.