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Can I Get Pain and Suffering in Workers Compensation?

Injuries are painful.  A workers compensation injury can cause you pain for week or months.  Some serious injuries cause pain that lasts for years.

In Georgia, workers compensation covers you when you suffer an injury doing your job.  But, does it cover all of the harm that you incur as a result of that injury?

Man suffering from neck or shoulder painGeorgia workers compensation law does not pay you for pain and suffering

Georgia workers compensation is a “limited benefit system”.  That means that it does not pay for every harm that you suffer as a result of your injury.

One of the benefits Georgia workers compensation does not pay is pain and suffering.  Everyone agrees that injuries cause pain.  But, Georgia’s workers compensation law does not allow you to recover money for that pain.

Many of my clients experience severe pain because of their injuries.  It is frustrating to tell them that they cannot get compensated by workers compensation for what they go through.

I wish I could force the workers’ compensation insurance company to pay my clients for the pain they experience.  Unfortunately, workers’ compensation does not force insurance companies to do this.  You may even run across an attorney who will promise you they will get you paid for pain and suffering in a workers’ compensation case.  That is an empty promise because the law does not allow them to do that.

Is there any way that I can recover for pain and suffering when I get hurt at work?

It depends.  In order to recover for pain and suffering caused by an injury at work, you would need to be able to pursue a personal injury case.  Unfortunately, a part of Georgia’s workers compensation law called the “exclusive remedy” often prevents you from pursuing a personal injury case against your employer or a co-employee.

But, you can sometimes pursue a personal injury case against someone else.  A classic example is when you are driving on the job and are struck by another vehicle.  In this situation, you have a workers compensation case because you were injured on the job.  You may also have a personal injury case against the driver of the other vehicle.

In a personal injury case, you can get paid for pain and suffering.  So, it can be important to ask an attorney whether you may have a personal injury case in addition to your workers compensation case.

If workers compensation does not pay for pain and suffering, does it pay anything similar?

The closest that workers’ compensation gets to paying for pain and suffering is something called permanent partial disability benefits.  These benefits are usually referred to as PPD benefits.

Permanent partial disability benefits are not paid to you because of the pain that you currently experience or have experienced.  You receive permanent partial disability benefits because the doctor has indicated that you have a permanent impairment as a result of your injury.

In addition to permanent partial disability benefits, Georgia workers compensation pays two other primary benefits.  The first is wage loss benefits which are divided into two types, temporary total disability and temporary partial disability.  The second primary benefit is your medical benefits which basically covers the medical treatment you need as a result of your injury with certain doctors.

Senior man suffering from neck pain speaking with female doctor or therapistWhat can I do to protect myself?

Is it fair that people are not paid for the pain that they experience when they are injured at work? Probably not.  Unfortunately, there are many things that may not seem fair about the workers’ compensation system in Georgia.

When you are accidentally injured at work, you have a workers compensation claim and have to deal with those laws.  You do not get to choose whether you have a workers’ compensation claim or not.  The best thing you can do is to protect your rights in that workers’ compensation claim.

So, what can you do about it? It is best to make sure you have a good understanding of Georgia’s workers compensation laws.  It is also important to consider hiring a good workers compensation attorney to help you with your case.  While hiring a good attorney will not get you pain and suffering in a workers’ compensation case, a good attorney can help assure you get all the benefits to which you are entitled while you recover from your injury.

What if I have other questions about workers compensation?

Georgia’s workers compensation system can be very confusing.  You have to worry about getting the treatment you need and paying your bills while also worrying about not missing any deadlines that could cause you to lose your right to receive workers compensation benefits.

If you have questions, I would recommend that you try to get answers.  To find out more about how to schedule a time to talk to me about your workers compensation questions, just read this short article.

Jason Perkins is an attorney who specializes in representing injured workers.  He regularly publishes videos and write blog articles about Georgia’s workers compensation system and issues that are important to injured workers and their families.

To be notified of Jason’s new workers compensation videos, subscribe to his Georgia Workers Compensation Video Series channel on YouTube by clicking the subscribe button below.

Brittney-lee orourkeBrittney-lee orourke
05:23 18 Feb 22
Amazing! Jason and his team were very helpful and had the best communication by far. Walked me though every step with great detail and had answers for any question I had. They handled my case better then I could imagine, it was a weird case and they stayed on top of it and kept me updated every step of the way! Highly recommend this Team! Thanks so much to Jason and his Awesome team!-Brittney
China JonesChina Jones
18:58 08 Feb 22
I absolutely love this group of attorneys, when I was at my lowest they did everything they could to help me get justice for my injury. I believe if I were to have never picked my phone up and called the amazing group that helped me I definitely would not have received my idea of rights. If you have an issue and are just not sure please understand that they will help you, stay in contact, answer any question you have, and for sure get you the justice you deserve I thank them from the bottom of my heart and I will definitely refer them to anyone who has been hurt because they most definitely care about their work and clients.
Luv LocsLuv Locs
16:08 15 Jan 22
The entire law office was attentive and responsive to all of my concerns dealing with my workers compensation case.
moombimoombi
21:14 02 Jan 22
If you must get a lawyer involved, you’d do well to work with Jason Perkins and his team at Perkins Studdard Law.They were thorough in gathering information and in sharing all the steps in the workers comp process specific to my case. Jason and the team were responsive to my bevy of questions and concerns.I appreciated the informative videos and consultations provided by Jason over video meetings and multiple phone calls.I hope I’m never injured on the job again. However, if I am and if my employer responds as my previous employer did, I’ll contact Perkins Studdard Law immediately to handle the case.
Dana BessDana Bess
23:57 10 Dec 21
Everyone at Perkins Studdard was kind and professional. They were always extremely responsive and answered all questions that I had and followed up to make sure I had an understanding of what was going on along with emailing videos to explain every step of my case so I would know what to expect and be prepared. Jason is a very genuine person and I trusted him with my case. He answered so many questions for me even before I retained him as my WC lawyer. I highly recommend him and his associates at Perkins Studdard.
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Jason Perkins

Workers' Compensation Attorney

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