The Georgia Legislature enacted the first Georgia Workers' Compensation laws in 1920.
Prior to the enactment of the Georgia Workers' Compensation Act, the only way employees could recover from the negligent acts of their employer was through a formal lawsuit. Employers would argue the employee assumed the risk by taking the job or was partially to blame for the accident. In the majority of the cases, the employee lost. When the employee did win, the damages were often so costly many businesses could not afford to pay for the damages caused to the employee. The employee was often left with disabilities or lost wages and no legal recourse.
Recognizing the dilemma, several states starting enacting workers' compensation laws based on those enacted in European countries during the Industrial Revolution. In 1920, the Georgia Legislature passed the first comprehensive workers' compensation legislation to allow employees to recover for medical benefits, lost wages, permanent disability, and death benefits sustained as a result of injuries occurring on the job. Both the employer and the employee essentially had to compromise in that workers' compensation is a 'no fault' system, meaning the employee can recover regardless of who is at fault in most cases; however, monetary caps were put in place on how much the employee could recover in order to protect Georgia employers.
Today, Title 34, Chapter 9 of the Official Code of Georgia is the Georgia Workers' Compensation Act. The Workers' Compensation Act has several defenses employers and insurance companies can use to avoid paying for the benefits the employee is entitled to when they are injured on the job. Additionally, there are hundreds of cases interpreting the Georgia Workers' Compensation Act and Board Rules created by the Georgia State Board of Workers' Compensation that only an experienced workers' compensation specialist will be fully aware of. Navigating the Georgia Workers' Compensation Act without the assistance of an experienced Georgia Workers' Compensation attorney can be dangerous. Often the adjuster who handles the claim on behalf of the insurance company does not always tell the employee all of their rights in order to prevent their company from losing money. Do not be deceived by the commercials you see about responsibility and doing what is right. The insurance industry is not your advocate or your friend.
In my years of practicing law in the area of workers' compensation, I have seen countless employees try to negotiate with the insurance company on their own, or retain an attorney to represent them who only dabbles in workers' compensation, only to lose out on necessary medical treatment or large sums of monetary benefits they would have been entitled to had they retained an attorney who has devoted a significant portion of their practice to workers' compensation. Think of it this way, would you hire your family physician to perform your own brain surgery, or would you rather be given a referral for a brain surgeon who had been specially trained in that area? Properly handling a workers' compensation claim is no different. It is a complicated area of the law and retaining an attorney that understands the system is critical. I encourage you to give me a call and see the difference for yourself.
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