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Fired After a Workers’ Compensation Injury

Restrictions from a work injury often limit your ability to do your job.  Back and arm injuries prevent you from lifting as much as you used to.  Leg injuries prevent you from standing as long.  Many people find that these restrictions prevent you from being as productive at work as they used to be.

Sometimes, your employer will terminate your employment after a work injury.  They might let you go because you cannot do your job as well anymore (although they would be very unlikely to 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 may points.

How does being terminated affect my workers’ compensation case?

If you are let go by your employer, there are two important things to understand

  1. A Georgia workers’ compensation injury does not prevent an employer from firing you.
  2. Being fired or laid off by your employer does not end your workers’ compensation case, but it can change your case somewhat.

Proving entitlement to benefits after being fired

If you still have problems from your injury that restrict your ability to work, you may be entitled to draw workers’ compensation benefits after you are fired or laid off.  If you can prove that you were fired because of your workers’ compensation injury, then you should receive benefits.  Cliff Perkins, the senior partner at our law firm, won the case of Padgett v. Waffle House, Inc. at the Georgia Supreme Court.  That case decided that an injured worker was entitled to temporary total disability benefits if the job termination was because of the workers’ compensation injury.

Even if you cannot prove that your employer fired you because of your workers’ compensation injury, you may still be able to prove you are entitled to temporary total disability benefits.  Your doctor may take you completely out of work.  If that happens, you should start receiving benefits.  Even if you can do restricted work, you can get benefits if you prove that you cannot find suitable work.  The usual way of doing this is by trying to find a job.  Even if you were not pursuing your workers’ compensation case, you would still be doing this anyway.  If you cannot find a suitable job, you can request a hearing to try to get workers’ compensation benefits.  A judge can award you benefits if you prove that the work restrictions from your injury prevented you from finding a job (or if you had to take a lower paying job because of your work restrictions).

How to get help

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.  Before you hire an attorney, it is a good idea to get a free consultation.  You can set up a free consultation with one of our workers’ compensation attorneys by calling the phone number at the right of this page or completing the “Need Help” form.

 

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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