Atlanta Work Injury Lawyer
Atlanta Work Injury Attorney Overview
Standing Up for Injured Workers
You got hurt doing your job. Now the hard part starts.
Not the recovery, but the fight to pay for it. In Georgia, workers’ compensation is supposed to cover your medical bills and replace some of your lost wages while you heal.
That’s the promise.
The reality is an insurance company whose whole job is to spend as little of your employer’s money as possible. They’ll question whether your injury really happened at work. They’ll argue it isn’t bad enough to keep you off the clock. They’ll hunt for any reason to say no.
That’s where an Atlanta work injury lawyer comes in. At Bey & Associates, we go after the insurer’s loopholes so you can get better. Your family still needs to be provided for. Let us handle the claim.
Workers’ Compensation Coverage in Georgia
In Georgia, workers’ compensation provides coverage for the following:
• Lost wages.
• Medical treatment.
• Permanent partial disability funds.
• Rehabilitation
• Death and dependency benefits
Your exact coverage amount will vary based on your occupation and employer.
In Georgia, if a worker is injured at work, the employer/insurer must pay medical and rehabilitation expenses within the limits of the law.
Sometimes, the employer must also pay a part of the worker’s lost wages.
Work injuries and conditions caused by working should be reported in writing whenever possible. A worker may forfeit the right to receive compensation if an accident is not reported within 30 days.
Employers must supply, upon request, forms for documenting accidents and will also furnish, free of charge, information and documentation about workers’ compensation and any open cases.
Atlanta Personal Injury Practice Areas
Medical Malpractice
Every time we enter the doors to a hospital, doctor's office, or other medical facility, we expect safe, competent care. When that doesn't happen, you deserve answers.
Car Accidents
A car wreck can change your life in the blink of an eye. If you’ve been seriously injured because of another driver’s negligence, you need help now.
Truck Accidents
Large truck and commercial truck accidents are some of the most devastating accidents we see across the United States and in Georgia.
Wrongful Death
The unexpected loss of a loved one is one of the most traumatic experiences a family can go through. When the death should have been prevented, the loss devastating.
Work Injuries
If you’ve been seriously injured while on the job, you’re likely already aware that your employer doesn’t make providing for your family a simple task.
Nursing Home Abuse
Even if you’re confident you’ve found a safe environment for them, it’s important to remember that there are negligent care facilities that abuse their residents.
The Fear of Retaliation
Many injured workers hesitate to file because they’re afraid of getting fired.
That’s a fair worry, so here’s the honest version: Georgia is an at-will state, which means your employer can let you go for almost any reason, or no reason at all. What they can’t do is fire you solely because you filed a workers’ compensation claim.
That’s illegal retaliation.
Of course, the catch is proving it, because an employer only needs one separate, legitimate-sounding reason to cover their tracks. However, losing your job doesn’t automatically kill your claim. You generally keep the benefits you’re owed even if the work ends.
If you think you were pushed out for filing, talk to a lawyer fast.
The Process of Filing a Workers’ Compensation Claim
Under the Georgia Workers’ Compensation Act, “injury” covers more than you’d guess.
Yes, it includes the sudden stuff: a fall, a machine that catches a hand, a load that drops on top of you. But it also covers conditions that build slowly.
Heart attacks, strokes, infections, and certain diseases can qualify, as long as you can show the job caused the condition or made an existing one worse.
Not sure whether yours counts? That’s exactly the kind of question a work injury lawyer can answer.
Georgia law also recognizes a separate, more serious tier called catastrophic injury.
These include:
- Spinal cord injury with severe paralysis.
- Amputation of an arm, foot, leg, or hand.
- Severe brain injury.
- Second or third-degree burns over 25% of the body, or third-degree burns over 5% or more of the face or hands.
- Total or industrial blindness.
- Any other injury severe enough to prevent the employee from doing almost any work.
Severe injuries can happen at many workplaces and job sites across Atlanta. Construction sites, factories, chemical plants, warehouses, mines, and machinery shops are some of the most common.
Bey & Associates is currently seeking victims injured due to exposure at the following two work sites:
- Marshall Steam Station and the surrounding Mooresville Coal Ash Basin
- Conyers Chemical Plant
When filing for workers’ compensation, your injuries may be defined as either catastrophic or non-catastrophic. This factor could help determine how much compensation you receive, as well as whether your claim is accepted.
Georgia laws permit you to seek recovery after a work accident occurs to “make you whole again.” The central concept is that you should be compensated in a manner that, as best as the law can arrange, places you back in the same position as you were in before the accident. As mentioned above, many employers and their insurance companies do everything they can to deny workers the coverage they require.
Our state’s laws may be implemented to help Georgia residents, but insurance companies are out to please their clients—not individual workers.
Find the Help You Need Near You
With locations from coast to coast, it’s easy to get support in your area. Choose your location, reach out, and we’ll take it from there.