Workers Comp Claims GA

Are You Eligible for Workers Comp Claims GA?

If you were injured or became ill due to your work, you could be entitled to workers’ compensation benefits, including payments for some lost wages and medical bills. As long as you are eligible, you may obtain compensation regardless of who was at fault for the injury. In exchange for this critical protection, you lose the right to file a lawsuit against your employer for the damages (except in some situations when you can sue outside of the workers’ compensation system). All you need to do is to find an experienced and reputable attorney to help you, file workers comp claims GA.

There are four basic eligibility requirements for workers’ compensation benefits:

Your employer must carry workers’ comp insurance
You must be an employee
You must have a work-related illness or injury
You must meet the deadlines for reporting the injury or illness and filing workers comp claims GA

NOTE: There are special rules for specific categories of employees, including casual or seasonal workers, agricultural and farm workers, domestic workers, and workers placed with an employer by temp agencies.

Let us take a closer look at these requirements.

1. Employer Must Carry Workers’ Compensation Insurance

Most employers—but not all of them—are required to have workers’ comp coverage. State laws vary, but the responsibility of an employer to provide coverage depends on the type of business it is, the number of employees it has, and the type of work employees are doing.

Many states require every employer with at least one employee to have coverage, but some states set a minimum of 2 to 5 employees. Most employers obtain workers’ compensation insurance even if they’re not legally required to do so.

2. You Must Be an Employee

When it comes to workers’ comp eligibility, not all workers are employees. In particular, independent contractors (like consultants, freelancers, or members of the “gig” economy) usually are not entitled to workers’ compensation benefits.

However, of course, most workers—including drivers for Lyft, Uber, and other ride-hailing services—claim that they have been misclassified as independent contractors when the hiring firm should’ve classified them as their employees.

Volunteers usually are not entitled to workers’ compensation benefits, but there are a few exceptions. For example, some states specifically cover their volunteer firefighters, or they give the organizations the option of covering volunteers.

3. Illness or Injury Must Be Work-Related

If you were doing something for the benefit of your employer and became ill or were injured as a result, then it is work-related. For instance, your injuries are work-related if you develop carpal tunnel syndrome due to typing on the job, become ill due to exposure to hazardous chemicals at the site, or injured your back while loading the boxes as part of your warehouse job.

4. Reporting and Filing Deadlines

Even if you meet the other qualifications, you could lose your right to receive workers’ compensation benefits if you do not meet the state’s deadlines for reporting an injury to your employer and filing workers comp claims GA.

Workers Comp Claims GA

If you have been injured or became ill at work, then you may be eligible for workers’ comp benefits. You need to consult our Atlanta workers’ comp claims attorney to guide you on how to obtain the benefits. Our workers’ comp attorneys at Bobe & Snell, LLC have vast experience handling workers comp claims GA.

Call us today at 470.268.5802 or fill out our contact form to schedule a free, no-obligation consultation.