#200 Georgia Workers' Compensation Lawyer - Basics of Workers' Compensation - Income Benefits

Hello. We're here for the basics of Georgia workers compensation. And today we're going to talk about income benefits. Hello. My name is Ty Wilson. I'm a Georgia workers compensation attorney practicing in the state of Georgia. And our discussion for today is a general explanation of income benefits and how they work under Georgia workers compensation law. And so we discussed in a prior video, medical care. Obviously, when you get injured on the job, the most important thing you can do is notify your supervisor, and or your boss that: one, you've been injured, and two, you need medical care for your injuries. Depending upon if your employer has what is called a posted panel of physicians, they may be able to control who you get to see for your medical care. We discussed that in our prior video. Well, now we're looking at a situation where you've either been taken out of work completely for more than seven days or you've been released to light duty, and your employer cannot accommodate your light duty restrictions. So Let's say, for example, that you're injured on the job. You're working construction, you hurt your back and you're on light duty, sedentary duty. The doctor says you can only do sitting down work. And your job is typically at a construction site. Well, your employer may say, Hey, I don't have any of that type of work. You just go on home. And if they do, it's going to be important that after seven days, there's a discussion with the adjuster on are the income benefits starting or where we at on that. You should be entitled to that, so long as you're an employee and you meet all the other things that we discussed in our prior video  And so what does that mean? Well, typically in Georgia, you're paid weekly, and so you're given a weekly check. So how do they calculate that? Well, they take from when you're injured and they look back before your injury 13 weeks. And does it not matter if that was the slowest time of the year or hopefully, that was a great time of year for you, depending if your wages are consistent, it's very easy to calculate. You take your average weekly wage over those 13 weeks, your average amount, and that becomes your average weekly wage.Then you take two thirds or 67% of that number. And that is what is called your comp rate. Now, if that number turns out to be above 675 dollars per week, currently, that is the Max. Those numbers are always changing. We're talking this is the middle of June 2,021. And so currently the Max rate is 675. That is subject to change and increase down the road. So if this video is older as you're watching it, you want to reach out to Georgia worker's compensation attorney or reach out to the Georgia State Board of Workers Compensation and just ask, what is the maximum rate of income benefits today? Also, once that number is determined, that kind of follows you around, and that is what is called your temporary. If you're receiving income benefits and you're out of work completely, it's called temporary total disability, meaning you're totally disabled temporarily. And so you'll be getting those checks so long as either you're out of work completely per your doctor or you get released to light duty and your employer cannot accommodate your light duty restrictions. Keep in mind, as you're receiving this medical care, it is anticipated that you're going to improve in your condition. CALL US ►  912-208-2992TEXT US ► 912-233-1100EMAIL US ► [email protected] •  Website•  Facebook•  Pinterest