Nursing homes and other personal care facilities have grown in number as the population has aged. These facilities employer many different types of nurses including:
Registered Nurses (RNs)
Licenses Practical Nurses (LPNs)
Certified Nursing Assistants (CNAs)
Working in a nursing home can often be physically demanding as many residents need assistance with many daily activities. Nurses often help residents get in and out of bed, into and out of seating, and with toileting and bathing.
Lifting or helping move residents can be dangerous. Nursing home employees can also be exposed to other dangerous conditions such as slippery floors and dangerous equipment. These dangerous conditions can cause injuries.
While some of these injuries are minor and resolve after a few days, many injuries can be more serious. These more serious injuries may require extensive medical treatment and testing. They often also prevent the injured person from returning to work for some time.
Workers compensation provides coverage for medical bills and time out of work when workers suffer on the job injuries. But, there are limits on what benefits are available and rules that must be followed. Nurses and other employees who suffer injuries while working in a nursing home need to understand what workers compensation covers and how to get answers to questions about workers compensation.
What benefits does Georgia workers compensation provide to nursing home employees who are hurt at work?
Georgia’s workers compensation law provides three basic types of benefits to nursing home employees who suffer an on the job injury. Those benefits are:
Wage loss benefits
Medical benefits
Permanent partial disability benefits
Before discussing those benefits further, it is important to understand that different states have different workers compensation laws. If your workers compensation claim is being handled under the laws of a state other than Georgia, the information below will not apply to you. There are situations where it can be difficult for you to determine what state’s law apply to your workers compensation claim and what state you can file in. The best thing to do in this situation is reach out to an attorney for a free consultation as soon as possible to make sure your claim is being handled correctly and you do not miss deadlines.
Wage loss benefits
Georgia’s workers compensation law divides wage loss benefits into two types – temporary total disability and temporary partial disability. Workers compensation pays temporary total disability benefits when an injured worker is unable to work as a result of a work-related injury. Temporary partial disability benefits are paid when an injured worker can work but they are earning less because of their injury.
These wage loss benefits do not start immediately after an injury. There is a waiting period and the insurance company has time to investigate your case before the benefits become due. This investigation period provides the insurance company the time to decide if they are going to agree that you got hurt at work or instead choose to deny your case.
One other important thing to understand is that workers compensation does not pay the full amount of your wage loss. In most cases, it pays two-thirds of your lost wages. But, there are also maximum amounts which apply that result in the workers compensation insurance company paying less than two-thirds of lost wages in certain situations. These two articles provide a more detailed explanation of workers compensation wage loss benefits:
One of the main benefits of workers compensation is payment for the medical treatment and testing for a work-related injury. Georgia workers compensation covers one hundred percent of the cost of medical treatment for the work-related injury, so you do not have a copay or deductible. But, there are rules you must follow and limits that apply.
One rule is that you usually cannot treat with any doctor you want. You usually have to pick a doctor off a list of doctors provided by your employer. This list is known as the panel of physicians.
A second rule is that your treatment has to be related to your injury for the workers compensation insurance company to be responsible. If the treatment is not related to your injury, the insurance company may deny payment.
A third rule is that the insurance company only has to pay for reasonable and necessary treatment. Workers compensation insurance companies often challenge whether medical treatment is reasonable and necessary, especially when the treatment is more expensive.
A fourth rule limits how long the insurance company has to pay for medical treatment and testing. If your injury occurred after July 1, 2013, the insurance company only has to pay for medical treatment for up to 400 weeks in most situations. There are exceptions to this 400 week limit that can apply based on the type of medical treatment or the type of injury.
Permanent partial disability benefits
Permanent partial disability benefits are the way that workers compensation compensates you if you have a permanent loss of function as a result of your injury. This means that you do not have a one hundred percent recovery.
If you have a permanent impairment, your authorized treating physician should give you a permanent partial disability rating. Georgia law requires doctors to use the American Medical Association’s Guides to the Evaluation of Permanent Impairment, 5th Edition, when assigning your permanent partial disability rating.
If you receive a permanent partial disability rating, you should ultimately receive payment for that rating. The number of weeks of benefits you get paid will depend on how high your rating is. The timing of the permanent partial disability payments will depend on when your other benefits stop. This article provides a more detailed explanation of how permanent partial disability payments work.
How do I file for workers compensation benefits after a nursing home injury?
In most cases, all you should have to do is give notice to your employer of your injury. Under Georgia’s workers compensation laws, notice could be oral or written. You do need to make sure that you do it as soon as possible after your injury because there is a time deadline for giving notice. Also, make sure to give notice to a supervisor.
The safest thing to do is provide the notice in writing. Texting and emailing can be great options for providing notice because you have the evidence showing your provided the notice if your employer tries to dispute that you provided notice.
Usually, once you provided notice, your employer should work on getting you authorized to see a doctor and your claim will simply move forward. However, if your employer denies your claim, you will need to file paperwork to pursue your claim.
What happens if my injury prevents me from ever returning to my regular nursing home job?
Some serious injuries result in permanent impairment and restrictions on what you can do. Many nursing home jobs require lifting, walking, kneeling, squatting, and other physically demanding tasks. When serious injuries limit your ability to do these tasks, they will probably prevent you from returning to work at your regular job.
When this happens, the workers compensation insurance company should pay wage loss benefits while your injury keeps you out of work. But, Georgia’s law provides limits on how long the insurance company has to pay these wage loss benefits. So, you must worry about them running out at some point.
What if I get denied workers compensation benefits because the nursing home says I did not lift properly?
One common tactic of nursing homes and other employers in recent years is to try to deny payment of workers compensation benefits on the grounds that the injured worker violated a safety rule or did not use a safety appliance. This defense often comes up with nursing home lifting injuries.
The employer or insurance company will claim that the employer’s rules require multiple people to lift in certain situations or require the use of assistive devices like a Hoyer lift. The argument is that the injury would not have occurred if the injured worker would have followed the employer’s rules.
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.
It took me probably too long to finally get a lawyer when my work comp claim started and I had no idea what I should do. I read reviews and upon recommendation of several people started the process of getting a lawyer. I am fortunate and lucky to have come across Perkins Studdard. Jason and his team has taken care of me since the moment I first called them and made sure any and all questions I had were answered as well as working hard to get me my settlement so I can continue receiving treatment. If you're looking for a good law firm to represent you in your worker's compensation case I would highly highly recommend this one.Autumn Fields
I highly recommend Perkins Law Firm. Throughout the whole process Perkins team kept me updated and explained everything very well. I am very pleased with their work. You will not be disappointed!!trina flornce
Mr. Perkins and team...Tina* they have all been so awesome. Always available to talk to me with any concerns. Kept me informed on my case all the way. Greatly appreciated!Missy Cherry
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!
-BrittneyBrittney-lee orourke
This law firm is very good at what it does the staff and the lawyer's that were involved with my case all were very perfesional and curious I couldn't ask for a better law firm I want to thank everyone for a great job thanks Les RyanLeslie Ryan
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.China Jones
The entire law office was attentive and responsive to all of my concerns dealing with my workers compensation case.Luv Locs
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.moombi
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.Dana Bess
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Navigating Georgia’s workers’ compensation system can be a daunting task, leaving you with numerous questions and uncertainties. If you find yourself in this situation, we strongly encourage you to seek clarification and find the answers you need. Perkins Studdard is here to help you through this process and provide the support you deserve.