I often get asked by clients about getting paid for what they have gone through because of their injuries. In a personal injury case, you can get paid for pain and suffering. Sometimes, you can have a workers’ compensation case and a personal injury case from the same incident. However, most people who are injured at work only have a workers’ compensation case. So, many people wonder if workers’ compensation has to pay them for the pain and suffering they experience.
Clearly, injuries cause pain. Many of my clients experience severe pain because of their injuries. It is frustrating to tell them that they cannot get money from workers’ compensation for pain and suffering, but that is the law in Georgia and many other states.
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.
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. These benefits are not paid to you because of the pain that you currently experience or have experienced. PPD benefits are paid because the doctor has indicated that you have a permanent impairment as a result of your injury.
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 claim and have to deal with those laws, fair or not. 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.
What can I do to protect myself?
So, what can you do about it? It is best to make sure you have good legal representation. 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.
