007 How Does Workers Comp Work in Georgia: Lawyer Explains

0:00                                         ANNOUNCER: Welcome to Lawyers in the House with Montlick. Wish you had a lawyer in the family? Now you do! Here’s your host, Veronica Waters.

 

0:18                                         VERONICA: Perhaps you’ve heard of a little band from Athens, Georgia, and this little band, REM, sang “Everybody Hurts.” But what if you’re hurt on the job? That’s what we’re talking about today on Lawyers in the House with Montlick. I’m your host, Veronica Waters. Georgia worker’s compensation is the topic of the day: what it is, where it is, when it is, and how to get through it when you might encounter it, and how to be like, what’s another song? “Happy,” like in the words of Pharrell. How do we get a resolution that makes everybody happy?

1:01                                         We are here with two of Montlick’s dynamic attorneys. In the seats next to me today for this worker’s compensation show, we have David Rubin, and before I introduce you, I wanna say, how often do people say, “This is David Rubin, Michael’s little brother”?

 

DAVID: Too many times, unfortunately.

 

VERONICA: Too many times, so I’m not gonna say, “This is David Rubin, Michael’s little brother.” This is David Rubin, described as an aggressive and relentless lawyer by those who know him, comes to us by way of University of Maryland, Miami Law School, and he’s obsessed with tennis. Is this right?

 

DAVID- Obsessed.

 

VERONICA: Obsessed with tennis. Also obsessed with finding good results for his clients, right? He has been practicing law for 11 years, but he’s been at Montlick for just a couple of months.

 

DAVID: That’s correct.

 

VERONICA: So sort of one of the Montlick babies, if you will. Whatever. And one of the most interesting things about you, which I don’t know if we’ll have time to delve into today, is the fact that you got mistaken for a bank robber.

 

DAVID: That’s correct too, back in high school.

 

VERONICA: Seriously, I think you should have hired a personal injury lawyer. Maybe we can talk about that a little bit. (Veronica laughs) Also sitting next to me today is Alex Tertichny, another Montlick attorney who has been with the firm for 11 years, but practicing law for only six years. And yes, I got those numbers right. They are in the right order. What is up with that? Maybe we’ll get into that right quick.

2:25                                         But Alex, known as a high achiever, comfortable in the courtroom, a relentless litigator, and a guy who believes that it can be life-changing when you have the right lawyer on your side, that it makes all the difference, and he’s a beekeeper.

 

ALEX: That’s true. We keep mason bees.

 

2:44                                         VERONICA: Unfortunately, that means I don’t get any honey from Alex. But whatever, honey.

 

ALEX: Correct. They’re not honeybees.

 

VERONICA: Georgia worker’s compensation, the topic of the day on Lawyers in the House. It is something that I think has a lot of maybe mystery around it, and maybe a little fear on the part of employers and employees, I don’t know. I know I’ve talked about it in the past, but really didn’t have much of an understanding. So let’s delve right into worker’s compensation.

3:14                                         What the heck is it exactly, Alex?

 

ALEX: So the worker’s compensation system is a system that’s designed to provide you benefits when you’re injured as a result of your work activities. Now, importantly, it’s a no-fault system. That means you don’t need to prove that your employee was at fault. In fact, if nobody was at fault, which is common in a lot of accidents, that’s not a problem. There’s actually a benefit for the employee, that it’s a no-fault system, but there’s also a benefit for the employer, which means you can’t sue your employer for personal injuries when you’re hurt on the job. So in the long run, what that means is if you are hurt while performing your work activities as a result of your work activities, you can get some benefits; namely medical benefits, a disability check if you’re out of work for a period of time; but you can’t sue your employer for personal injuries when you’re hurt on the job.

 

VERONICA: I don’t know what’s the difference, though. So I don’t even understand. To me, that goes right over my head. Like, what’s a personal injury on the job- if I’m on the job?

 

ALEX: So typically, in a tort case of a personal injury case, you need to prove that somebody was at fault, for example, a drunk driver. That would be a good example of somebody who was negligent and caused your injuries.

4:27                                         However, a lot of occupational injuries are truly nobody’s fault. So for example, if you’re lifting a box and your back, you herniate a disc in your lower back, that may not be your employer’s fault. If you had to prove negligence, you might not find a party who was at fault for your accident.

 

VERONICA: So that means no worker’s comp claim.

 

ALEX: That would mean no worker’s comp claim.

 

VERONICA: Oh, gimme an example of what is a worker’s comp claim?

 

ALEX: So that’s a good example, what I just gave. So maybe a warehouse worker, or a nurse who’s doing some heavy lifting, throws out their back, herniated disc.

4:59                                         Maybe you need surgery. You’re out of work for a year or two while you’re recovering. That’s a common worker’s compensation claim, a lifting injury.

 

VERONICA: I’m not seeing the difference. Am I being obtuse here? Listen, David, I don’t mean to be obtuse, but I’m like, you’re lifting, you’re lifting.

 

DAVID: So the thing about it is is that in worker’s compensation, no one had to do anything wrong for you to sustain the injury. So if I’m on a job, and I’m lifting a box, and my back pops, and I have to prove a negligence case, I’m just not gonna have a case, because no one did anything wrong. But because I’m on the job and because worker’s comp’s

5:32                                         there to protect me, if I lift a box on the job and I’m doing the job I’m supposed to be doing, worker’s comp’s there to protect me, and I will be able to go get medical treatment that my employer pays for. Worker’s comp is just an insurance policy to protect not only the employee, but also the employer.

 

VERONICA: So if I break it down to the very simplest terms with these examples, with this particular box example, this means if I lift a box on my own and I get hurt, no worker’s comp claim. If my news director said, “Lift that box,” and I get hurt, claim?

 

DAVID: No, well, the distinction factor is, where you at work, or not? If you were at home and you lift the box, obviously.

 

VERONICA: Well, the news director’s not gonna have me lifting a box at my house, right?

 

DAVID: Sure, exactly, but if you were here, and you had a box somewhere, whether or not someone asked you to lift the box, but it was just part of the daily functions of your job to lift that box,

6:16                                         and you lifted that box, and, you know, accidents happen, your back popped, and you need to go see a doctor, you can ask your employer, “Hey, can you please provide me some medical assistance?”

 

VERONICA: So somebody says, veronica, can you grab that box for me, and I’m like, “No, because it’s not part of my job “duties as a reporter/anchor/legal correspondent, “and if I pop my back, I’m not gonna have “a worker’s comp claim, get it yourself,” that’s what you’re saying I should say? That’s what I say?

 

6:41                                         DAVID: Well, I would say you probably would have a claim. I’ll let Alex kinda go into the claim more.

 

ALEX: I would say yeah, you would definitely have a claim, but I see a lot of these cases where it’s individuals who were helping out with something that they’re not used to doing or they lift something that’s heavier than they’re typically accustomed to.

6:57                                         A lot of injuries happen when people are doing work that’s outside of their job description, but those are still valid worker’s compensation claims. Basically, you need to prove that you were hurt during your job time as a result of what you were doing for your job. But it can be outside of your job description. It doesn’t have to be specifically something listed as your job description.

 

7:19                                         VERONICA: So I’m talking about a lot of this lifting of the box, but let’s move outside. Let’s move outside of the box-lifting. Give me an example, if you can, of, are there most common worker’s compensation injuries?

 

7:33                                         DAVID: Well, I’d like to give a good example of what’s a worker’s compensation case. Actually, you could be driving down the road. Say you work for a commercial company doing deliveries, and someone stops short in front of you. You’re found at fault for hitting them, but you sustain injuries yourself. You can contact your employer about seeking worker’s compensation, ’cause you were on the job doing what you’re supposed to be doing, and you’re entitled to worker’s comp, even though you were actually the at-fault party for that accident. That’s what distinguishes it as a no-fault system. It’s doesn’t matter who’s at fault. As long as you’re doing what you’re supposed to be doing on the job, generally, you’re gonna be protected by worker’s compensation.

 

VERONICA: If I was driving home from work in the company vehicle?

 

8:10                                         DAVID:  I’ll let Alex take that one.

 

ALEX: That’s a good question, and we could probably do a whole episode just on these types of cases.

 

8:16                                         VERONICA: Well, listen, because, lemme just put a pin in that, because what I know about you two guys, Alex and David, is that worker’s compensation is like, all you do, which is how complex this field actually is. Montlick has a whole, like-

 

DAVID: Highly recommend that people seek an attorney who does worker’s comp mainly, because it is so complex that if you just do a bunch of areas of law, you may not know how to handle a worker’s compensation case. It would generally be best to find an attorney who does worker’s comp as their man area of practice.

 

VERONICA: I can’t just like, Google it?

 

ALEX:  If you were to Google it, you would get yourself in so much trouble.

 

VERONICA: Okay, so back to, what if I’m driving home,

8:55                                         but I’m in the company delivery vehicle?

 

ALEX: Typically, coming and going to work is not considered “on the clock;” however, there are some exceptions. For example, if your employer is transporting you to or from the job site, or if they provide you a vehicle incidental to employment. A common example would be somebody, a plumber who takes all of his tools home, and instead of going to a main office in the morning, leaves straight from home and goes to the first job.

9:21                                         Somebody involved in a motor vehicle collision in that situation, they may be considered in the course and scope of employment, which is lawyer-speak for, they’re on the clock for a worker’s comp claim.

 

VERONICA: What do you find are the most common complaints, if you will? Like, are there certain injuries or claims that you see all of the time in this? And tell me if I’m using the wrong terminology or whatever. But I’m thinking falls or whatever.

 

9:48                                         ALEX: Sure, there’s a lot of falls, where maybe, you don’t see something on the ground and you trip. There’s a lot of lifting injuries, not just one person lifting something, but say you were carrying something with a coworker, and the coworker, their hand slips, and then, a 400-pound couch, all that weight goes onto your lower back, or a lot of shoulder injuries. The shoulder is a complex joint.

10:12                                        You see a lot of those, or head injuries. So spine, joints, head injuries. We see a lot of those types of cases.

 

VERONICA: David, are there certain ones that are harder or easier?

 

10:22                                        DAVID: I wouldn’t say that any particular case is easier or harder. Generally, cases where there’s clearly an incident report. So if you were in a motor vehicle accident and the police came and there’s an incident report, that makes it a little bit easier from the attorney perspective, because you don’t have to have your employer or the insurance company question whether the incident happened. There’s written documentation of it right then and there.

10:42                                        But you know, most times, there’s many different jobs out there. Like you were saying, what if I got hurt here? It wouldn’t seem like I would get hurt here. Well, but accidents happen, things happen. The roof above you could accidentally cave in. Things like that can happen. But then there’s obviously those jobs like construction jobs. Those are very common. A lot of common people that we represent are people who work on very dangerous jobs like construction job, and accidents happen there.

 

ALEX: I think an underrated very difficult physically demanding job is in the nursing field. We see a lot of protections for these big, strong construction workers who everybody knows it’s a dangerous job, but there’s a lot of people in the healthcare field that have very physically demanding jobs. Also, warehouse work.

11:26                                        These are all physically demanding jobs. Typically the more physically demanding your job is, the more likely you are to sustain an accident. Sitting at my desk, I’m not that likely to be involved in an accident, but if I was out moving furniture, construction, that’s a more common type of accident than a desk job.

 

VERONICA: It’s really interesting too the protections that may or may be in place depending on what you actually do for a living. When you think about how random life is, we could be, as you said, we could be in an accident on the roads. I’ve talked on this show before about being rear-ended while I was driving a news Jeep on the interstate. I mean, who knows. Did I have a worker’s comp claim?

 

12:08                                        ALEX: Potentially, yes.

 

VERONICA:  See, and I didn’t even know it. But, I’m the girl who’s like, “Well, I don’t wanna sue my employer. I don’t wanna get in trouble. I don’t want them to think badly of me.” –

 

DAVID:  And I think that’s reasonable, and that’s why we recommend contacting an attorney. These are free confidential consultations. So calling 1-800-LAW-NEED, you’re gonna talk to an attorney right away, and they’ll kinda give you that guidance you may need. Should you pursue a claim? Is it worth it? How hurt are you? I mean, there’s a lot of factors that go into that decision, and talking to an attorney is the best way to make that decision.

 

VERONICA: We are talking about worker’s compensation,

12:43                                        a very complex and very interesting so far subject with David and Alex from Montlick, and still to come, what makes a worker’s comp case really valuable? That’s just ahead, right here on Lawyers in the House with Montlick. I’m Veronica Waters. Stay with us!

 

13:03                                        VERONICA: Welcome back to Lawyers in the House with Montlick on WSB. I’m Veronica Waters, here with these dynamic attorneys, beekeeper Alex Tertichny and mistaken bank robber David Rubin. And I’m loving the conversation that we’re having with Georgia worker’s comp, which is a mysterious sort of field to me, but a phrase

13:21                                        we’ve all heard but probably know nothing about, and I know you two are experts at it. So quickly, explain to me what worker’s comp actually covers.

 

ALEX:  So there’s three main categories of benefits when you’re injured on the job. The first is medical treatment. There’s a procedure for selecting a doctor off of your employer’s panel, and there’s some exceptions to that. The second main benefit is if you’re disabled for more than seven consecutive days from work,

13:48                                        you’d be entitled to a disability check, two-thirds of your average weekly wage, not more than $7.25, if your accident happens in the future, but in the past, it can be a smaller check depending on when your accident happens. And then the final benefit that you’re entitled to is if you have a permanent injury that results in a permanent impairment rating, say for example you injure your shoulder. You tear your rotator cuff. It gets back to 90%, but you never get the last 10% better. That’s a 10% impairment rating, and there’s the American Medical Association guides to follow for that. But that impairment rating can entitle you to some additional payments from worker’s comp, but not at the same time as your disability check, because you can’t get two worker’s comp checks.

 

14:27                                        VERONICA: You can’t get two at the same time?

 

ALEX: Correct.

 

VERONICA: Listen, I know a lot of photographers from the news field, carrying around these big, heavy cameras, they have so many rotator cuff injuries. It is no joke. I can’t tell you how many photogs I know who have had surgery, David. Anyway, I’m sorry, this is not about me. This is about you, go on.

 

DAVID: And unfortunately, in worker’s compensation, you can’t get pain and suffering. That’s a very common question we get from clients or potential clients, is what about my pain and what about my suffering?

14:53                                        Well, in reality, you’re gonna have pain, and you’re gonna have  suffering. But part of the give and take of the worker’s comp system is that employers and the insurance companies, they don’t have to pay you for pain and suffering. The closest thing you’re gonna find to that is what Alex was just mentioning about an impairment rating. If you don’t go back to 100% the person you were before your work accident, you may receive a financial benefit for that impairment to your body that is never going to be the same.

 

VERONICA: ♪ Everybody hurts ♪ – Do I get to go back to work? Can I still do it? Does that mean I don’t work anymore?

 

ALEX: Well, a lot of people continue working while their worker’s compensation claim is going on.

15:25                                        A lot of that will depend on the severity of your injury and the doctor’s orders.

VERONICA: I opened the show talking about music,

15:32                                        like my cute little REM reference. ♪ Everybody hurts ♪ I really can sing, by the way. I sound a little bit better than that.

 

15:38                                        ALEX: Better than I can.

 

VERONICA: So, but you know, Mos Def actually has a song called “Worker’s Comp.”

 

15:43                                        ALEX: Oh, did not know that.

 

DAVID: I did not know that, but I will be pulling it up as soon as we leave here.

 

VERONICA: I’m sitting here with two guys who are not Most Def but are just as cool. We’ve got Alex Tertichny the Titan, David Rubin the ruthless.

15:57                                        You would never know it to look at those smiles though, right? You guys are young dads whose son and brand new baby daughter are getting those smiles every single day. I hope you guys are getting some sleep at night as well.

 

16:09

– [David] Oh, I recommended to Alex that he make sure that he gets in all of his sleep right now, ’cause he’s about to lose it for the next five to 10, 15, 20 years.

16:16

(Veronica laughs) – There you go, right? And then you’re gonna lose sleep when they’re teenagers, because you’re gonna be up worrying, especially you,

16:22

girl dad. (Veronica laughs) But today, we are talking about Georgia worker’s compensation, something your kids

16:28

won’t have to worry about for quite a while. But you two are experts at this, such a complex field

16:34

that Montlick has you pretty much locked down. I mean, I’m sure you can take all kinds of personal injury cases. But worker’s comp is what you guys do.

16:42

– Basically 100% of our practice, David and I do worker’s comp. – So much nuance, so many layers.

16:50

What makes a case, how do I know if I’ve got a worker’s comp case that’s worth anything,

16:57

or I keep saying case. It’s not a case yet, but how do I know if my worker’s compensation instance is valuable at all?

17:05

What makes a case valuable? – Well, a lot of it’s going to depend on the severity of your injuries.

17:10

We talked in the last segment that you’re entitled to medical treatment, payment, a disability check when you’re out of work

17:16

for an extended period of time, and if you have permanent impairment, you may get some additional compensation.

17:22

So the more expensive that each of those categories are, the more valuable your case could be.

17:30

But what you would look at, I mean, when you’re hurt on the job, I think most of our clients aren’t actually,

17:35

they’re not looking for what is, how valuable is my case, how much money can I get out of this. They’re focused on getting better.

17:41

So if you look at it from that perspective, a lot of what the value of your case is going to depend

17:47

on the medical treatment and the severity of your injuries and the time that you’re out of work. – Does that mean that the financial help

17:53

that you get is not of note? – Well, so, if you’re disabled from your job

17:58

and you can’t work it or they don’t have a job within the capacity a doctor says you can work, you’ll get a weekly check.

18:05

So another factor for how valuable your case may be is, well, how much money were you earning on that job? There is a maximum in Georgia, and at this point in time,

18:11

and the law just changed very recently in July, $725 is the maximum amount you can get in Georgia. So if you’re an employee who makes, let’s say $10,000

18:19

a week, you go into worker’s comp, it’s 725. If you’re an employee who makes $600 a week and you get hurt on the job and you can’t work, $400 a week.

18:26

– Is my regular check still coming in? I guess, again, that depends on how badly I’m hurt. – In general, you’re not gonna get paid

18:31

by your employer and get a worker’s compensation check, ’cause then you’re double dipping. – Do I have to choose?

18:37

I mean, well, listen, okay, I’m not an idiot. Who’s gonna give up $10,000 a week for a $725 check?

18:44

But, you know what, I’m asking ’cause I don’t know. – Well, a lot of times, it’s kind of out of your hands. It depends on how severely you’re injured.

18:50

If you have a sprained ankle, you can probably work through that in most jobs. Maybe not every job, but in a lot of jobs,

18:56

you can probably work through that. So it’s not necessarily, people don’t pick to be out on worker’s comp.

19:02

It depends on the severity of their injuries. And sometimes, it’s not up to them. The doctor says, “Look, bedrest, no work.

19:09

“You can’t do anything for,” it could be a couple of weeks. It could be a couple of months. Typically at some point, the doctor will start

19:16

easing you back into some sort of capacity, some sort of restricted work, and then it will depend on what’s available at your employer.

19:22

Is your employer available to accommodate that or not? – That’s when you might have the light duty that I’ve heard about.

19:28

Maybe you could come back to work, but you’re “light duty.” – Correct, a lot of employers will accommodate that.

19:35

This is something that we do see a lot, where an employer does make a good effort to get the person back to work.

19:42

– Am I seeing my own doctor who’s sort of prescribing me this light duty?

19:48

– You wanna take this one? (Veronica laughs) – Well, so, in general, we do get a lot of questions from potential clients or clients, “Do I have to go to their doctor,”

19:53

which, what they’re insinuating is, do I have to go to the insurance company’s doctor? And the reality is in Georgia, and by the way,

20:00

worker’s comp law is kind of a state-by-state law. So in Georgia, employers are supposed to have a posted panel of doctors.

20:07

There should be options of doctors. So it’s not like, oh, I have to go to this one doctor. No, there should be at least six doctors on this list of doctors posted at your employer’s business

20:16

so that that way, if you get hurt on the job, you have options to choose from. – But those are the options from which I choose.

20:22

I can’t add my own option, right? – There’s exceptions where if the employer doesn’t have a panel, then you can select a doctor.

20:29

Obviously there’s no panel, so you can select your own, or if there’s not the right number of doctors. But generally speaking as a first rule,

20:35

you need to see if there is a list of doctors, and if your employer does have a proper list of doctors, then you’re supposed to select a doctor off that panel.

20:43

Now, you have an option to change once to another doctor on that panel, and you can petition the court to go to a different doctor,

20:48

if there’s some sort of specialty treatment that you need that somebody isn’t capable of providing,

20:54

or if a doctor on the panel refers you to a doctor who isn’t. It’s really kind of a complex system,

21:00

but generally speaking, there’s supposed to be a list from which you can select. – Okay, now, I have so many,

21:06

so, so many questions right now. You mentioned the law a couple of times, David.

21:13

How well does Georgia protect workers? – You know, as far as I know, comparatively to other states, pretty well.

21:20

You get hurt on a job, in some states, generally, just go to this doctor,

21:25

and whatever that doctor says controls. In Georgia, you actually have options of doctors, and if you go to a doctor

21:31

who you’re not really in love with what they’re saying, you in fact have a second choice of doctors, and you can pick a second doctor.

21:37

Lemme go to this doctor, see if he has a difference of opinion, which obviously, we recommend always getting a second opinions.

21:42

– What do employers themselves need to know? We’ve spent a lot of time talking about me as the employee,

21:49

but listen, I have a lot of friends who are business owners. So who needs the coverage?

21:55

What do employers need to know? What do bosses need to know? – Generally speaking, if you have three or more regularly scheduled employees,

22:02

you’re required by law to have worker’s comp insurance. So what as an employer you should do is

22:08

first figure out how many employees you have. If you are required to have comp coverage, then you should go to an insurance agent

22:14

and purchase a worker’s comp policy. A lot of times, what we find is the employers,

22:21

they’re not experts in this either. So maybe you have a business to run, and worker’s comp is the last thing on your mind.

22:29

So talk to your insurance agent, see what they recommend.

22:36

A lot of times, what will happen is if there’s a dispute, it’s because people don’t put stuff in writing.

22:41

So if something happens, keep track of it in writing. Take statements.

22:46

– What’s a, of course you know this terminology. What’s a regularly scheduled employee?

22:54

I mean, is that like a contractor? Is that somebody that I pay directly? Do they have to be full-time?

23:00

– So to qualify for worker’s compensation as an employee, you have to be an employee of the company.

23:06

Generally that would mean, like you and I would think, so you’re paid on a W2, something like that. But in fact, independent contractors, even though

23:13

an employer may say you’re an independent contractor, they may actually qualify as an employee, depending on the factors of, what is the nature of the job?

23:20

How much control is the employer actually having on them? So sometimes we represent people who get paid on a 1099,

23:26

are called an independent contractor, but really, they qualify as an employee based on the control of the employer.

23:31

– Let’s go back to something that you mentioned earlier. Did you wanna jump in there, Alex? – [Alex] No. – ‘Cause it reminds me of something.

23:38

Some of us really love our employers, right? I know if you got hurt lifting that hypothetical box

23:43

at Montlick, you wouldn’t want to take David to court and say, “I hurt my back “pulling down this box of law files,” whatever.

23:52

– You should talk to an attorney. You had brought up, if I got hurt and I was making x number of dollars, I wouldn’t wanna go onto worker’s comp.

23:58

Well, that’s why we recommend getting that free confidential consultation with an attorney, because there are a lot of factors that go into it.

24:06

And this day and age, people work at home a lot now. So you may have the benefit in the last couple years

24:12

where you did get hurt on the job, but you can do that job also from your home. So that may be something and an avenue.

24:17

– That is an amazing point. Listen, what if I got injured during my work hours? I was on a Zoom call, I was doing an interview,

24:24

and the roof caved in. – [David] At your home? – That’s not gonna happen. Yeah, I’m at home, but I’m on the clock.

24:29

– [David] Sure, Alex can take that one. – Oh, Alex? – I mean, just the same way, you would look at it the same way you would look

24:35

at if you got hurt while doing your job at the job site. If you were doing your job at home,

24:42

you could qualify for worker’s comp benefits. – I hate saying the roof caved in, because I know that is like, so far beyond hypothetical.

24:48

But little know fact about Veronica, when I was little, I was at a McDonald’s. I was very tiny. I had always a tiny appetite, not like I am now.

24:56

And I had my McDonald’s cheeseburger, which I would always get, and for the first time in my life,

25:03

I was going to finish a McDonald’s cheeseburger. We were in Vicksburg, Mississippi,

25:08

my parents and my big brother and I. It was raining cats and dogs outside. How about, literally, right over our booth,

25:16

as everyone was eagerly watching me chomp on this burger, I mean, like, everybody was really happy for me,

25:21

(Alex laughing) the roof really did cave in. The ceiling opened up, and it was like, we all got drenched.

25:28

It was like, is this the universe telling me, “Don’t overeat, Veronica?”

25:34

I don’t know what it was. But that is a true story. Ask my brother, as my mom. I’m telling you, it is absolutely true,

25:40

clearly not a worker’s comp case. Listen, I’m just going far afield. But it does happen. Just saying, people, roofs do cave in.

25:47

– I think if there’s one thing you could take away from this conversation, (Veronica laughs) it’s that, taking it back to worker’s comp,

25:53

is that it’s kind of a complex system. For any given client of ours, it’s probably their first

25:58

worker’s compensation case, and they don’t know the system. We always recommend to call an attorney

26:06

and speak to get a consultation. It’s a free consultation. Actually, when you call us, typically,

26:11

you’re on the phone with an attorney within 10 minutes. It’s not like we’re gonna call you later. We’re not gonna call you back tomorrow.

26:17

We’re gonna talk that day and give you answers. And we can point you in the right direction. What should you do?

26:23

Should you get an attorney right away? Is it okay to wait? Is the employer doing the right thing, and there’s nothing for an attorney to do?

26:28

But I’d much rather you call us too early and decide you don’t need us than wait ’til it’s too late.

26:35

– Do the employers need to call you too? – The employers are typically going to go through their own insurer,

26:40

and their insurer probably has an obligation to provide them with counsel if it’s necessary.

26:45

– Have you had a case, David, that sticks out in your mind when you think about all of the worker’s comp cases that you’ve had,

26:52

like, one that sticks with you? – A lot of cases boil down to, employers may acknowledge that an accident happened

26:58

on the job, but are the injuries related to this accident, or were they preexisting? And so, a lot of times, Alex and I will take on cases

27:05

where we have to show that our client has a new, definitive injury different from what may have been preexisting before,

27:11

because you can have a preexisting injury and qualify for worker’s compensation. The question would become, do you have a new injury or an aggravation of an old injury?

27:18

And so, a lot of the cases that I think satisfy me is finding someone who may have had a prior problem

27:25

but clearly has had an aggravation or even a new injury and help them fight to get the benefits

27:31

that they are entitled to. – Alex talked about the importance of calling early.

27:36

What happens if I’ve already been injured, but I haven’t given you guys a ring,

27:41

and it’s been two weeks, a month, a month and a half? – You know, I would say it’s never too late

27:47

to contact an attorney for a free confidential consultation, but there are statute of limitations in Georgia.

27:53

So you don’t wanna wait too long, and the more that you wait, the harder it may be to get the right treatment and the right benefits.

28:01

So we recommend making that call early upfront, and then making a decision: do I need an attorney now,

28:07

do I wait, and go that route. – I love this information. Thank you so much, David and Alex.

28:13

This is really helpful stuff, and I know people are taking notes. We have had an amazing show so far.

28:18

I wanna remind everybody, if you missed it, you want the CliffsNotes or you want to see our smiling faces, make sure you check us out on YouTube.

28:25

Go to lawyersinthehouse.com. Find us wherever you find your most favorite podcasts,

28:31

because we are going to be there. Coming up, Montlick’s closing argument on Lawyers in the House.

28:37

I’m Veronica Waters; stay with us. (upbeat rock music) Back in the house with Lawyers in the House with Montlick.

28:44

This is Veronica, this is Alex, this is David. We are here with Montlick’s closing argument,

28:50

the stuff that you take with you for the next seven days to make your life better. David, take it away.

28:56

– Well, so I just wanted to kind of give an example of why is there worker’s comp? Well, essentially, worker’s comp was created

29:02

to protect employers and employees, but imagine if you’re an employee of the company, and you get hurt on the job, and you don’t have health insurance.

29:09

What would you do? What if there was no worker’s comp and you couldn’t pursue a negligence case? So that’s why worker’s comp was created,

29:14

to protect people who get hurt on jobs, so that that way, if they get hurt on the job, their employers will actually try to physically get them better

29:19

so they can return to the workplace, whereas if there was no worker’s comp and they got injured and had no ability to get treatment, employers

29:25

may not need them anymore and may send them on their way. So thankfully, worker’s comp is there to protect the injured worker and the employer.

29:31

– And I would say, if you find yourself in this situation, you get hurt on the job, the first thing you should do is you should report it

29:38

to your employer, in writing, if possible, because you have that permanent record of what happened.

29:44

Create an accident report. Probably the worst thing you could do is tough it out and don’t tell anybody that you got hurt.

29:50

Then you might come and miss a deadline, a notice deadline, or by the time you get around to telling anybody,

29:56

everybody might have forgot what happened. So the most important thing you can do is report it right away, get medical treatment.

30:03

Make sure when you do go to the doctor, you explain how you got hurt. You don’t want there to be any confusion about what happened.

30:08

So report it, get medical treatment. – [Veronica] Paper trail to report. – Explain that it happened on the job when you see a doctor.

30:16

Make sure that they know that this had happened when I was working. – Some of the toughest cases are the he said/she said,

30:21

where maybe somebody tried to tough it out, they didn’t tell anybody.

30:26

That’s difficult to prove. – Toughing is out is good when you’re a dad whose daughter

30:31

is going out on her first date, but it’s not good. – [David] Pray for me. (Veronica and David laughing) – But it is not good if you get hurt on the job.

30:38

Thank you so much to Alex Tertichny and David Rubin. It has been wonderful learning about this really complex,

30:44

and I’m so sorry I spent so much time talking about my cheeseburger experience. It’s been wonderful learning so much about Georgia worker’s comp with you guys.

30:51

I can tell that you are the experts that everybody would need to have. But listen, a friend of mine got hurt.

30:58

He’s a videographer, one of my many videographer friends. But he didn’t get hurt carrying heavy equipment.

31:04

He was rear-ended, and he was on the clock. But I know that he said part of the reason

31:11

that worker’s comp worked for him was because it helped pay for the physical therapy that he needed

31:16

so that he could continue to work, continue to provide for his family. I’m sure his employer was happy

31:22

to be able to provide that for him in their own way, because they had the policies in place,

31:27

and they knew that they were retaining a valued employee. – That’s right.

31:32

That’s the act. – That’s the way it’s supposed to work. – That’s the way it’s supposed to work. This is Lawyers in the House with Montlick.

31:39

Alex, David, Veronica. It’s been a fantastic show, don’t you think, guys? – [David] Yeah, thanks for having us.

31:44

– I had a really good time. (Veronica laughs) I love you guys. Make sure you come back to see me again. – So nice to see you, of course. – [Veronica] And we’ll see you next time. (upbeat rock music)