The world of workers' compensation in Georgia is a maze of complex legalities and practices. There are, however, some basics that every working person should know. Now, thanks to a video on YouTube, that information is available in a way that is easy to understand.
In the video, Atlanta-based personal injury lawyer Gary Martin Hays breaks down the three types of workers' comp benefits in Georgia:
- Wage benefits: Disabled workers may be eligible to receive 2/3 of their average weekly pay if authorized by the treating physician.
- Medical benefits: Insurance must cover all of a worker's medical costs, based on the authorized treating physician's diagnosis.
- Permanent partial disability benefits: The evaluation is made by the authorized treating physician.
Unfortunately, the real world of workers' compensation is not so straightforward. When it comes to any of these benefits, for example, a worker must seek a professional medical opinion. Hays points out that this is not as simple as it sounds.
"Sadly, some doctors and some of the industrial clinics out there put the insurance companies' interests above that of the injured worker," he says in the video.
That's just one of the many traps that an unsuspecting worker can fall into. You might be doing everything by the book, checking off each step to the best of your ability. But the fact is, what you don't know about workers' compensation benefits can haunt you for years.
You may be out of work and unable to provide for your family. The bills are piling up. So is the pressure - physically, mentally and emotionally. Who can you trust? Your employer has a vested interest in keeping medical costs at a minimum to avoid an increase in insurance premiums. They may downplay the seriousness of your injury or steer you toward a company-friendly doctor. Your insurer is in the business of making money, not making payments to workers. Knowing that you are in dire financial straits, they will make an offer that is far less than you need or deserve, yet is tempting because of your situation.
What you need is someone who understands the ins and outs of workers' compensation benefits in Georgia - every law and the way they are applied in every situation. The Law Offices of Gary Martin Hays & Associates, P.C., with offices in Atlanta, Duluth, Lithonia and College Park, have handled more than 40,000 cases involving families just like yours. Attorney Hays once worked defending insurance companies. He knows all of their tricks. For the past 25 years, he has been putting that experience to work for his clients.
Attorney Gary Martin Hays explains the workers' compensation system in more detail in his #1 Best Selling Book The Authority On Workers' Compensation Claims In Georgia.
As Gary Martin Hays says: "You have one shot, one chance to get all the justice, all the cash and benefits that you are entitled to receive." Contact us online for a free consultation. You have nothing to lose.
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