Even though workplace accidents happen all the time, no one deserves to be denied workers’ compensation benefits in Wrightsville, GA if they are eligible. Apart from paying for all your medical expenses and reimbursing some of your lost income, workers’ compensation will also cover your vocational training, death benefits (in the case of a deceased employee), and mileage costs.
When an injury-causing accident arises out of and in the course of a worker’s employment, they are entitled to workers’ compensation benefits. A Wrightsillve workers’ compensation attorney from the Workers’ Compensation Lawyer Coalition can help you obtain benefits for your on-the-job injuries. We have assisted many clients in Wrightsville and throughout Georgia.
To get our competent and compassionate legal services, call 470-518-5026 to arrange an initial case evaluation. We don’t charge any upfront fees, so feel free to contact us.
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Georgia Workers’ Compensation Income Limits
The limits on workers’ compensation benefits in Georgia depend on when you were injured and what type of benefits you’re receiving.
- Medical benefits: The limit for medical benefits in Georgia is 400 weeks. This means you can receive medical benefits for your work-related injuries for up to 400 weeks. If you suffered a catastrophic injury, these benefits would continue even after 400 weeks elapse.
- Temporary Total Disability Benefits: Injured workers can receive two-thirds of their usual weekly earnings for up to 400 weeks or until they can resume work.
- Temporary Partial Disability Benefits: The limit of TPD benefits is the difference between your reduced wages and two-thirds of your average wages prior to your injury. You will continue to get TPD benefits until you return to your previous position or exhaust 350 years of TPD benefits.
- Permanent Partial Disability Benefits: The limit for PPD depends on a disability rating related to the type of injury and the amount of time (weeks) allowed for that injury according to the Official Code of Georgia.
Types of Workers’ Compensation Benefits in Wrightsville
Injured employees can obtain the following different types of workers’ compensation benefits in Wrightsville, Georgia:
Medical Benefits
If you get a job-related injury or disease, workers’ compensation will pay for all appropriate and necessary treatment as long as your assigned workers’ comp doctor prescribes the treatment. Medical benefits will pay for:
- Medical testing
- Prescription medications
- Emergency room treatment
- Hospitalization
- Ambulance fees
- Physician’s fees
- Assistive and therapeutic equipment
- Physical therapy.
Indemnity/Income Benefits
These benefits help you recover some of your lost wages when a work-related injury or illness prevents you from performing your job duties at the same level as before or working entirely.
- TTD or Temporary Total Disability Benefits: When you get an on-the-job injury that prevents you from working altogether, you will be eligible for temporary total disability. Your authorized treating doctor will determine that your job-related injuries can’t allow you to return to work. You can receive up to $575 per week.
- TPD or Temporary Partial Disability Benefits: When your workplace injuries limit your capacity at work or force you to earn less, temporary partial disability benefits will supplement your income to the tune of two-thirds of your average income before the injury.
- PPD or Permanent Partial Disability Benefits: When you suffer a permanent disability due to a workplace accident, you may qualify for PPD benefits.
Death Benefits
When a worker dies because of an occupational illness or an on-the-job injury, their survivors will be entitled to death benefits. If the employee’s survivors were totally dependent on them, the death benefits would be the same as for TTD, and payments will continue until the beneficiary stops being dependent. If there are no other dependents save for a surviving spouse, death benefits will be capped at $270,000.
Mileage Reimbursement
Workers’ compensation also covers travel costs associated with the treatment of employee’s workplace injuries.
How Are Georgia Workers’ Compensation Benefits Calculated?
Here is how workers’ compensation benefits are calculated in Wrightsville and throughout Georgia.
Calculating Temporary Total Disability Benefits.
When your work-related injury forces you to miss more than seven days of work, TTD benefits begin. You will be awarded two-thirds of your average weekly income as TTD benefits. Your average weekly income is equal to your average earnings for the 13 weeks prior to your injury.
These benefits will continue streaming in for 400 weeks or until you attain maximum medical improvement, whichever comes first. Maximum medical improvement occurs when your doctor declares you cant improve further medically.
Calculating Temporary Partial Disability Benefits
If your employer reduces your working hours or puts you on light duty, you can receive TPD benefits. You will be eligible to receive two-thirds of the difference between your current earnings and your earnings before the injury. You might receive up to $383 per week if you were hurt on or after July 1, 2016. You will keep receiving these benefits for 350 weeks or until you reach MMI (maximum medical improvement), whichever happens first.
Calculating Permanent Total Disability Benefits
Once you attain MMI, your physician will evaluate your condition to establish if you are eligible for PPD or PTD benefits. Your condition or disability must be severe to qualify for PTD benefits. If you do qualify, you will receive a figure equal to the rate of your TTD benefits for as long as you live.
Calculating Permanent Partial Disability Benefits
If you achieve MMI and your physician establishes that you qualify for PPD benefits, you will continue receiving benefits at two-thirds of your mean weekly income. The length of time you will receive these benefits will depend on whether your injury affects a body part that appears on Georgia’s list of scheduled members.
Are Workers’ Comp Benefits in Wrightsville, GA Taxed?
Georgia laws and IRS codes do not recognize workers’ compensation benefits as income, so they are not taxed. Similarly, IRS codes also protect workers’ compensation settlement money from taxation. You only have to report workers’ compensation on taxes if:
- You receive SSDI and SSI payments
- You returned to work on light duty
- You receive interest payments
Contact Our Wrightsville Workers’ Comp Lawyers Today
Workers’ compensation benefits can play a significant role in easing your financial and emotional burdens after a job-related injury. But, qualifying for these benefits doesn’t mean you will receive them. You need a competent lawyer to help you compute your benefits, their limits, and for how long you will receive them.
Reach out to the Workers’ Compensation Lawyer Coalition if you need help with your workers’ compensation benefits. We are committed to helping our Wrightsville clients get the benefits they deserve for as long as they need them. Call 470-518-5026 now to discuss your workers’ compensation claim with our attorneys today.
