Catastrophic Injury

Catastrophic injuries are those that permanently prevent an individual from performing work at all. These injuries include spinal cord injuries, severe burns, accidental amputations, brain injury, and paralysis. Under the Georgia Workers Compensation system you may be entitled to lifetime wages, medical treatment and additional benefits necessary for future care including home modifications, housing, case nurse management and transportation. When catastrophic injuries occur it is necessary to choose a plaintiff’s attorney with experience handling these claims. ReisLaw handles many of these claims every year and will pursue all legal avenues for recovery.

For Example: John works for a tree company and is paralyzed when he falls 20 ft from a tree. John’s average weekly wage was $986 so he will receive the maximum comp rate of $650 per week. The insurance carrier will be responsible for the $650 per week for the rest of his life since his injury is catastrophic. They will also be responsible for all future medical care. This will include 24 hour nursing care if necessary. We would also argue workers compensation is responsible to provide a handicap accessible van for transportation. Workers compensation would also be responsible to make any modifications necessary to make his home ADA compliant. They would provide a wheel chair ramp, modifications to the shower, cabinet pulls and grab bars where necessary. As you can imagine the cost of future medical care could be millions of dollars. In many instances, the workers compensation carrier tries to limit their payout by refusing to pay for things like housing and transportation. A good attorney at ReisLaw can ensure payment for these benefits.