What Rules Apply To Workers Compensation Amputations?
Georgia’s workers compensation law is complicated and confusing. This is the case even when you are dealing with a relatively minor injury.
An amputation is much more than a minor injury. Also, in addition to the rules that apply to other injuries, Georgia has special workers compensation rules which apply to injuries involving amputations.
You need to understand these rules in order to make sure the insurance company does not take advantage of you. This article is intended to provide you with some helpful information about the general rules and special rules that apply to workers compensation amputation injuries.
In workers compensation, amputation injuries can happen a few different ways:
The injury itself causes the loss of the body part – I have represented many people who have lost fingers using a saw or some other type of machine.
A doctor recommends surgical amputation after the injury – This sometimes happen with people with severe crush injuries where the doctor recommends surgery to remove the injured body part.
A condition develops as a result of the injury which requires amputation – This could happen with infection or other disease that develops as a result of the original workers compensation injury
Regardless of why an amputation is required, the end result is the same. You lose a part of your body. This is certainly traumatic. It will almost certainly affect your ability to return to work and require ongoing medical treatment.
What medical treatment can I get for an amputation?
Medical treatment and testing for your injury is one of the primary benefits provided for Georgia workers compensation injuries. Basically, the insurance company need to pay for treatment and testing for your injury that is provided by authorized workers compensation doctors.
When you suffer an amputation as a result of a work injury, some of the common types of medical treatment you might need are:
This list is not intended to be complete. As long as it is ordered by your workers compensation doctor for your injury and it is reasonable and necessary, then it should be covered. But, there are some limits.
The primary limit is a time limit which only makes the insurance company responsible for medical treatment for 400 weeks from when your injury occurred. This time limit applies to injuries that occurred after July 1, 2013.
400 weeks is a little more than seven and a half years. While this is a long time, there is a good chance that you will still need treatment for an amputation injury more than 400 weeks from when it occurs.
Even if an amputation injury does not qualify for a catastrophic designation, certain types of treatment after 400 weeks may still be covered. There is an exception to the 400 week cap that covers prosthetic devices in some situations. So, the repair or replacement of a prosthetic device after 400 weeks should generally be covered.
Are there time limits on how long I can get workers compensation checks?
This is a big concern when your amputation makes it very difficult for you to return to work. If you cannot go back to work, you will depend on the temporary total disability check you receive from workers compensation to get by.
Georgia workers compensation has limits on how long you can receive temporary total disability checks. It also has rules which apply which can reduce the amount of your checks.
The maximum time you can get checks for being out of work in most cases is 400 weeks from when your injury occurred. As I discussed above, this is about seven and a half years which seems like a long time. But, some severe injuries make it difficult for people to ever return to work. Fortunately, this 400 week limit does not apply if your amputation injury qualifies for a catastrophic designation.
If your amputation injury is going to keep you out of work for a long time, you need to find out if you will qualify for a catastrophic designation. You also need to find out if your check is going to be reduced to temporary partial disability through the filing of a Form WC-104 by the insurance company.
Can I see a different doctor?
Often, your employer will tell you what doctor to treat with after you get hurt. But, you do have the ability to see a different doctor other than the one to whom your employer sends you.
Georgia law gives you the right to choose your workers compensation doctor with limitations. You generally have to pick a doctor off of your employer’s panel of physicians. But, you may also have the right to pick any doctor you want if your employer did not have a valid panel of physicians.
Apart from changing your doctor, you also have the right to get a second opinion. This can often be important if you have questions about the treatment your doctor recommends or if your doctor is not being supportive.
What happens if I cannot go back to my regular job?
Many amputation injuries make it difficult for you to do your regular job. If your injury prevents you from returning to work at your regular job, your employer should provide you with another suitable job or start paying you temporary total disability benefits. This will provide you some money coming in while you recover from your injury.
Unfortunately, there are limits to how much you can recover when you suffer an amputation injury. If you sprain your knee, you will likely recover 100 percent after a few weeks or months.
With an amputation, you will never have 100 percent recovery. So, you could still not be able to return to work even when you reach maximum medical improvement. If this happens, you should continue receiving temporary total disability benefits while you are out of work, but you have to worry about the time limits on workers compensation checks that I mentioned above.
Will I receive permanent partial disability benefits?
Yes. You should receive permanent partial disability benefits at some point when you suffer an amputation injury. All amputations involve some degree of permanent partial impairment because you permanently lose a part of your body.
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.