Unfortunately, Georgia workers compensation law does not prohibit your employer from firing you. So, many people face the situation where their employer fires them sometimes after they get hurt at work.
Your employer may give you one of a few different reasons for firing you. They might fire you go because you cannot do your job as well anymore (although they would probably not admit that). They may just say that they are laying people off because business is slow. They may fire you because they say you have violated company policy, broken a work rule, or accumulated too many points.
How does being fired affect my workers’ compensation case?
If you are fired or laid off by your employer, there are two important things to understand
A Georgia workers compensation injury does not prevent your employer from firing you.
Being fired or laid off by your employer does not end your workers’ compensation case, but it can change your case somewhat.
Can I still get medical treatment for my workers compensation injury after my employer fires me?
Yes. Being fired from your job should not affect your ability to get workers compensation medical treatment in a Georgia workers compensation case.
Your right to get treatment for your injury comes from the injury itself, not from whether you still work for the employer. So, be sure to keep getting the medical treatment you need to recover from your injury.
Does my employer have to pay me weekly workers compensation benefits if I cannot find another job?
If you have problems from your injury that limit your ability to work, you may be entitled to draw workers compensation benefits after you are fired or laid off. But, you will probably have to prove that it is your injury that is causing your loss of income.
There are a few different ways you can prove that. One of the ways is to prove that your employer fired you because of your injury. This can be hard to do because employers do not want to admit that.
Another way to get weekly workers compensation benefits is to prove that you still have restrictions and that those restrictions prevent you from getting a job somewhere else. We often refer to this type of proof as a “diligent job search”. The idea is that you should receive workers compensation benefits if you show that the restrictions prevent you from getting another job after looking diligently for a job.
Even if you were not pursuing your workers compensation case, you would be looking for a job anyway. If you cannot find a suitable job within your work restrictions, you can try to prove to a judge that you should receive temporary total disability benefits.
What if I need help trying to get workers compensation benefits after getting fired?
Proving that you were fired because of your injury or that you were unable to find another job because of your restrictions can be difficult. You will probably have to request a hearing. Most people have to get an attorney involved.
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.
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
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.
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.
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.
