Insurance companies often intentionally miscalculate the wages earned and time worked in order to reduce those benefits. Indemnity benefits are financial benefits for lost wages that injured employees can receive while they’re unable to work. Miscalculate an injured worker’s earnings Learn more about how to choose the best doctor for your work-related injury or illness.ĥ. If your employer doesn’t have a posted panel of physicians, then you can treat with any medical professional you want to. 34-9-200) and Rule 201 of the State Board of Workers’ compensation, employees have the right to choose any 1 of 6 doctors on the panel of physicians. Sometimes, these doctors are not concerned about the injured worker at all. Force workers to visit preselected doctorsĮmployers may insist the injured worker see “their” doctor. If disputing a workers’ compensation claim from the outset doesn’t work, insurers and employers might try another set of tactics to minimize the amount of benefits they may have to pay. With help from an experienced workers’ compensation lawyer, you may be able to successfully prove that you were misclassified as an independent contractor. Luckily, the Georgia courts have a 13-part test to determine the validity of the employer’s claim. However, it is not up to the employer to determine what type of employee the injured victim is. In Georgia, independent contractors, freelancers and subcontractors aren’t eligible for workers’ compensation benefits. When an employee is injured and seeks compensation, the employer might try to deny that they are an actual full-time employee by producing a 1099 form. However, a strained muscle or rotator cuff injury might not show up on these kinds of tests, nor would traumatic brain injuries (TBI). Or worse, the employer will claim that the injured worker is faking it because nothing is showing up on an X-ray or MRI. “It’s just a scratch, he’ll be fine.” Meanwhile, the injured worker can’t properly do their job because of shooting pain in their arm from a shoulder injury. Deny the worker received an actual injury This is harmful to the injured worker because it can deny them care at a critical time and make the injury much worse in the long run.Ģ. Even though it’s hearsay, they can still deny it even if no proof can be procured. Sometimes, the employer will insist that another employee informed them the injured worker wasn’t hurt on the job. Once the medical record is memorialized with the injured worker stating they were not hurt on the job, the employer will use that denial as proof the injured worker was hurt elsewhere. In order to prevent their premiums from going up, the employer may offer to pay all the medical bills if the injured worker agrees not to tell the treating physician that they weren’t injured on the job. ![]() ![]() Insurance companies and employers in Georgia often try to fight the injured worker’s claim from the very beginning by attempting one or more of the following techniques:ġ. These tactics can be divided into 2 main categories. ![]() Here at Gerber & Holder Law, we’ve seen these tactics used against injured workers time and time again. Unfortunately, workers’ compensation insurance companies and employers often use a number of different underhanded tactics to reduce the amount of compensation they have to provide or deny benefits altogether. It also ensures that employers can’t be sued by their employees, so some see it as a “win-win” situation.īut it’s only a win-win if everyone plays by the rules. ![]() Workers’ compensation exists to protect employees in case of injury or illness conceived while on the job.
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