As a previous post on this blog discussed, in Georgia workers’ compensation benefits are available to workers in this state who get hurt on the job.
The law in Georgia requires employers to make sure that, without regard to fault, their employees get their medical bills taken care of and also get some of their lost wages covered while they are off work recovering from their injury. Workers’ compensation is also available in the even an employee gets killed or permanently disabled in a workplace accident.
With respect to the nuts and bolts of how an employee submits a workers’ compensation claim, an employee first of all must make sure he or she reports any work-related injury to his or her immediate supervisor as soon as possible.
Georgia has a special form and employee must complete in order to file his or her claim for benefits officially. This form is available online, and one’s employer should also offer some assistance with obtaining the form.
The form gets submitted to Georgia’s Board of Workers’ Compensation, which will oversee the claim and will be involved if there is an appeal or a dispute. The employee must also make sure his or her employer and workers’ compensation insurance company get a copy of the claim.
Just because filing a claim is relatively straightforward, it doesn’t mean the whole process from start to finish is obvious or easy to complete. There are also a lot of strict deadlines and procedures that may need to be followed as the claim goes forward, such is in the case of an appeal.
Particularly when there is a dispute, it is often helpful for a Georgia worker to have the help of an experienced workers’ compensation attorney.