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Preventing and Preparing for Injuries at Work in Georgia: Don’t Use Your Group Health Insurance

The previous articles in this series on helpful hints to prepare you for a workers’ compensation injury have focused on things you can do before your injury ever occurs.  However, there are also some things to be prepared for after an injury occurs.  As a Georgia workers’ compensation attorney, one of the things I run into most often that I would encourage people to avoid is seeking treatment for their work injuries on their personal health insurance.

Why people use group health insurance for medical treatment of a work injury

When people contact me about an injury at work, sometimes they have already sought medical treatment for a work injury on their health insurance instead of under workers’ compensation.  The have usually done this for one of two reasons.  Some people think that the work injury was going to be very bad so they just go to the doctor under personal insurance.  They may be afraid that their employers would let them go if the injury was reported as a workers’ compensation injury.

In my experience, it is very difficult to tell how severe a work injury is going to be before you have seen a doctor.  Sometimes, injuries that seem minor end up being severe.  I would recommend that you report the work injury as a workers’ compensation injury from the very beginning. This can save you a lot of trouble later.

Another common reason that injured workers have used their health insurance to get medical treatment is that they have been told by their employers to file a work injury on group health insurance.  This may occur because the employers are concerned that a workers’ compensation injury will increase their insurance rates.

While I certainly understand that you do not want to harm your employer or your employer’s business, it is important for you to look out for yourself when you get hurt at work.  Your employer will certainly be looking out for their own interests.  If the injury happened at work, it should be filed on workers’ compensation.  Also, Georgia law requires almost all employers with three or more regular employees to have workers’ compensation insurance so that injured workers can get the medical treatment they need to recover from their work injuries.

Regardless of the reason that you might want to consider putting medical treatment for your work injury on your health insurance, you should almost never do it.    Even if you do not think it is a severe injury, you should still report it to your employer as a work related injury because injuries that may seem minor at the start often end up being severe.  When you start getting treatment for an injury on group health insurance, doctors often do not take down the details about the injury happening at work.  This can lead to your workers’ compensation case being denied by your employer or their workers’ compensation insurance company later because the doctor’s medical records do not indicate that the injury happened at work.  If you file your work injury as a workers’ compensation claim from the beginning, you will be better prepared and better protected.

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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