Saturday, January 28, 2012

Weekly Checks While You Can't Work

This post explains the money you are entitled to when you are unable to work because of an on the job injury. To be entitled to any money, your doctor must state either that you are completely unable to work or that you have restrictions on what you can do that keeps you from being able to do your own old job. Without this statement, you will probably not get any money for your lost wages.

Your weekly check should be two-thirds (2/3) of what your gross weekly pay was right before you were hurt. However, this amount is capped at $500 per week. If your income changes from week to week, your employer will take a weekly average for the 3 months right before you were hurt.

When your checks start can be confusing. While your checks should come weekly, you won't get one until the end of the second week of being out of work. At the end of your third week out of work, you should be paid for the first and the third weeks out of work. After that, you shoud receive a check every week thereafter.

If your injury is catastrophic (extremely severe), your weekly checks can go on indefinitely. However, for less serious injuries (the vast majority of them), your weekly checks can and probably will end or be reduced in amount. This can happen because the doctor has reduced your work restrictions or it's been 350 or 400 weeks after your injury.

Most workers compensation cases end in settlement, and the value of your case drops over time. Determining the best time to settle, both for you and for your case, takes an experienced workers compensation lawyer.

I would be happy to meet with you in my office at no charge to you to discuss your workers compensation case and to discuss your legal rights and responsibilities.  This meeting also gives you the opportunity to get to know me and for me to get to know you and your precise legal problems. 

I've been practicing law in the metro Atlanta area since graduating from UGA Law School in 1986, and I've represented hundreds of injured men and women with their workers compensation cases during over 25 years of practicing law.

For more information, visit my website at www.gentrylawfirmgeorgia.com or call or email us for a free in-person consultation at 770-425-5573 or bill@gentrysmithlaw.com.

William C. (Bill) Gentry