You have suffered an injury at work through no negligent or malicious fault of your own. You have informed your employer of your injury, you have sought medical treatment and are following the advice and instruction of your approved physician, you have filed your claim with the State Board of Workers’ Compensation, what should you expect next?
When Should I Start Receiving Disability Benefits?
If you have been injured at work, and miss more than seven days from work, you are entitled to receive weekly Temporary Total Disability benefits. Once you have informed your employer of your injury, and you have filed your claim with the State Board of Workers’ Compensation, your check should be mailed to you 21 days after the first day of your injury. You will not receive benefits for the first week you were out of work unless you have missed 21 consecutive days of work resulting from your injury.
What Are the Types of Income Benefits That Are Available to Me?
There are four types of income benefits available under the workers’ compensation statute. These income benefits are dictated by what your rating is under the statute, and will decide how much you or your loved one can receive weekly.
Temporary Total Disability
If you are injured at work and your authorized treating physician determines that you are unable to work, you may receive up to two-thirds of your average weekly wage at the time of your injury, up to $550.00 per week if your injury occurred after July 1, 2015, with a maximum payout of 400 weeks.
Temporary Partial Disability
If your authorized physician determines that you can return to work, but, it is at a job which pays less than what you were making prior to your injury, you may receive up to two-thirds of the wage difference between your weekly rate of pay before the injury and your weekly rate of pay after your injury. You may receive this benefit for up to 350 weeks from the date of your injury.
Permanent Partial Disability Benefits
Under this benefit, if your authorizing physician determines that you have suffered a permanent disability as a result of your on the job injury, you may be entitled to benefits based upon a percentage rating by your authorized physician and the American Medical Association Guidelines. The percentage you may receive is calculated by a formula which contains the number of weeks assigned under Georgia law and is multiplied by your percentage rating multiplied by the temporary total disability rate.
Death Benefits
Death benefits are available to your legal representatives and/or dependents (spouse, minor children and dependent stepchildren) should your work related injury result in death. Under this benefit your spouse, legal representative, or dependent children could receive up to two-thirds of your average weekly pay at the time of the injury. If your spouse does not have dependent children at the time of your death, the maximum your spouse can receive is $220,000, provided that your spouse does not remarry or cohabitate with another.
Can I Receive More Than One Income Benefit at a Time?
No. You can only receive one income benefit at a time.
Contact 1Georgia Injury Lawyers, PLLC
If you feel you are not receiving disability income benefits owed to you, there is help. You need to understand your options, and rules under the law. The attorneys at 1Georgia Injury Lawyers, PLLC are skilled Georgia workers’ compensation attorneys with experience and drive. Schedule a consultation with our team today.
