After you’ve been injured on the work site, you can file for workers’ compensation. The first question on most workers minds is how much of their weekly salary will they receive?
The law in Georgia is simple: You will receive two-thirds of your weekly pay but not more than $575 per week. That maximum figure is updated periodically; this is the amount as of July 1, 2016.
Depending on the nature of your injury, you can receive benefits for up to 400 weeks, or about seven and a half years.
Report your accident immediately
Here are more facts about workers’ comp:
- The statute of limitations for reporting your accident is, under most circumstances, one year
- If you are in an accident, you should immediately report the incident to your superior.
- Filing a claim requires filing form WC-14 with the State Board of Workers’ Compensation
- You should get a check within 21 days of your injury. You won’t get paid for the first seven days you were out of work unless you were out of work for more than 21 days
- If you return to your job and do not suffer a loss of income or a loss of use or function, then you don’t get workers’ comp benefits even if you still have disfigurement or pain.
If you are injured but can work at a lower-paying job, your weekly benefits will be two-thirds of the difference between what you made before the accident and what you make after the accident.
What about death benefits?
Does workers’ comp help in case you die on the job? Yes, it does.
Dependents can receive two-thirds of your average weekly wage up to $575 per week, as well as a one-time $7,500 payment for burial expenses. The total maximum benefits are $230,000.
Temporary partial disability payments of two-thirds of your weekly pay but not more than $383 per week can last as long as 350 weeks, or about six and a half years.