Who Should Qualify for Workers Compensation in Atlanta, GA

Are you in Georgia and wondering if you qualify for workers comp? If you suffered harm because of your working conditions or a situation beyond your control, you should be eligible for workers compensation. You have the right to place a request for workers comp in Atlanta GA as long as you meet a few requirements. But even with the requirements, these requests don’t always go through so quickly. You may need to get advice from a lawyer.

Georgia workers compensation lawyer assistance can change how you understand your case and the worker’s compensation process. A lawyer can explain your rights and recent updates to laws that may affect your request.

Who Does Not Qualify for Protection Under the Georgia Worker’s Compensation Act?

The Georgia Worker’s Compensation Act lays out specifically who should qualify for workers comp and who is exempt. Certain employers must carry workers comp insurance or provide coverage through self-insurance, but many workers in Atlanta GA don’t have coverage.

The people exempt from the Georgia Worker’s Comp Act are:

• Those who work in the railroad industry
• Those who work in maritime industries
• Agriculture or domestic workers such as farm hands
• Any company who keeps two or fewer employees
• Those who work for the U.S. Government
• Independent contractors

This list spreads out to cover many people who live and work in Atlanta, GA. If you work in the railroad or maritime industries, you should speak with your union rep or your employer for injury related issues. You may want the aid of a lawyer to navigate unsure areas of injury or accident law outside of workers compensation.

If your employer tells you that you do not have coverage because of the worker’s comp act, you should seek the help of a worker’s comp lawyer.

Workers Comp Stems From Accident, Injury, and Illness Related to Your Work

Workers comp may offer compensation for medical bills, and lost wages due to a work-related illness, accident or injury. These are the three qualifying events which allow someone to file a claim in GA.

On the Job Accidents

An accident on the job is the most apparent reason for any person to file a workers compensation claim. These accidents can come from neglect, or it can be a gap in your company’s safety plan. That doesn’t change that you were injured while working.

Defining Injury for Workers Comp

An injury is another of the primary reasons behind people applying for workers compensation. Georgia defines injury to include both injuries from accidents and catastrophes. The term injury, used in this way, means that any harm that comes from work ranging from break down of joints from repetitive movement to loss of a limb may qualify for workers comp in GA.

Illness and Change in Condition

Illness is the final reason available, and it has some of the most general laws. You’ll need help from someone who knows how your illness came from your work environment and how it has affected your life. You could qualify to request a claim through workers compensation in Atlanta if you developed a condition or illness because of work. You also qualify to submit a claim if there is change to a preexisting condition because of your work setting.

Georgia Workers Comp Lawyer and Company Negligence or Misconduct

Atlanta workers comp lawyers can guide you through some aspects of your claim that may overlap into other areas of the law. Negligence or misconduct which resulted in an injury or accident could tie into many other issues. When you file a claim for an injury or site an accident as the fault of the employer, you must site the work conditions which led to the harm.

Workers compensation has many grey areas, but many companies are fast to fall back on their company policies. If you were in direct violation of company safety procedure, disregarded safety policies, or were engaging in knowingly unsafe conduct, you may struggle to receive a workers comp payout.

That doesn’t mean that you can’t apply, however, if you believe that there were circumstances where a company’s policy and standard operating practices don’t align then you will need the help of a workers comp attorney.

Atlanta Workers Compensation Attorneys

When dealing with the State Board of Workers’ Compensation, you will need to make a formal claim, and you usually must do so within a strict time frame or else you may lose your rights to benefits. Benefits from workers comp claims may include the recovery of lost pay and medical bills.