Industrial and Factory Work Injuries Laywers

What Kind of Damages Can I Receive After Suffering a Factory Work Injury in Fulton County?

Depending on the type of injury you sustained and the amount and severity of your damages, you may qualify for indemnity benefits through your employer’s workers’ compensation insurance or by way of a personal injury suit, or both. To better understand the different benefits that each compensation type uses, the below overview explains the compensation each method provides.

Workers’ Compensation Damages

Income

If you miss working for seven days or more because of your work-related injuries, you should be able to recover workers’ compensation benefits to make up part of this lost income. In situations where you are off work for more than three weeks, you will also receive payment for the first week you missed. Catastrophic injuries that leave you with some form of a temporary or permanent disability could provide longer-lasting payments, depending on your case circumstances.

Any income benefits you do qualify to receive will only be equal to two-thirds of your normal weekly wages until you can return to work. This benefit has a maximum time limit of 400 weeks for most claims. In some cases, you may have less coverage time, depending on the nature of your injury and the disability it has caused you.

Medical

In addition to wage compensation, workers’ comp insurance can also provide medical benefits that will reimburse you for treatment costs related to your injuries. This compensation payment of surgeries, rehabilitative care, medication, medical devices, and more.

Death Benefits

Fatal industrial workplace accidents often leave surviving spouses or children emotionally and financially devastated. Georgia workers’ compensation laws also provide death benefits to cover funeral expenses and lost wages the surviving family had relied upon for a limited time.

Damages Available in Personal Injury Cases

Unlike workers’ compensation claims, personal injury suits can handle economic and non-economic damages like pain and suffering. While this coverage has stringent caps and eligibility guidelines, personal injury claims require you to prove that a third party to your case contributed to your injuries. Remember, Georgia law does not allow you to sue your employer after getting hurt on the job.

The type of damages you might be able to recover due to another liable party’s negligence includes:

It’s important to note that if you are already receiving compensation for lost wages or medical bills, your employer’s insurer may consider subrogating your case if you sue a third-party. The reason for this is so they can recover the money they have paid to you for your injuries. Any aspect of your injury that another party caused and you already received workers’ compensation could be subject to this action.

Do I Need a Lawyer for My Workers’ Compensation Claim in Gwinnett County?

Even though Georgia workers’ compensation laws are a critical aspect in protecting factory workers who sustain on-the-job injuries, the insurance companies and your employer probably don’t have the same priorities. Accidents cost money and make insurance premiums go up. This is the reality of operating a business in Georgia, but that doesn’t stop insurers from minimizing injury claims in any way possible, including:

Denial of Valid Claims

It’s not uncommon for an insurance adjuster to flat-out deny a perfectly valid claim. Simple mistakes on your paperwork that would only require a two-minute phone call to correct and claiming your injury is actually a pre-existing condition are common forms of denial that can cause frustrating delays and runarounds. This purposeful frustration of your case is one way in which they try to make you give up on receiving the compensation you rightly deserve.

Intentional Claim Delays

Insurance companies and employers alike are infamous for intentionally delaying compensation claims hoping that you will either give up or be desperate for any settlement offer they throw at you. They know you are under extreme financial and medical pressure after getting hurt at work and use this stress to their advantage.

Refuse to Acknowledge the Seriousness of Your Injuries

Because insurance companies are all about making money and minimizing payouts on claims, they rarely have your best interests in mind when making a settlement offer. This is why having an experienced workers’ compensation attorney with personal injury practice is crucial to your case. Having advocates like the lawyers of The Law Offices of Darwin F. Johnson by your side will ensure that any settlement offer you are given truly addresses the scope of the harm you endured.