How Long Do Workers’ Compensation Benefits Last?

After a serious workplace injury, our Macon workers’ compensation attorneys know how devastating it can be to learn that you are unable to work and that your path toward recovery appears long and arduous. We know how essential workers’ compensation benefits are during this time, and our firm is here to help you seek the workers’ compensation benefits you need. We also know that it can be stressful when you do not know how long your benefits will last and what they will cover.

Medical Benefits Timetable 

The length of time you are entitled to receive medical benefits will depend upon whether your injury was recent. Any accidents that happen on or after July 1, 2013 will allow the injured worker to receive medical benefits for up to 400 weeks (or approximately 7.67 years). If your injury occurred prior to July 1, 2013 and you are trying to determine whether your medical benefits will continue, then you should know that your injury likely entitles you to lifetime medical benefits, but you should check with an experienced workers’ compensation lawyer.

Wage Replacement Benefit Timetable 

How long are your wage replacement benefits available? For any injuries occurring on or after July 1, 1992, an injured worker can receive wage replacement benefits for up to 400 weeks (or for approximately 7.67 years). In cases where injuries are catastrophic, however, an injured worker may be able to receive lifetime wage replacement benefits. Weekly wage replacement benefits are paid at the rate of two-thirds of the injured worker’s average weekly wage up to $800 per week.

Permanent Disability Benefits Timetable Based on Specific Loss 

If you lost permanent partial or total use of a body part, you can be eligible for additional benefits at a set amount and for a particular time period set by law and based on your specific injury. As the Georgia State Board of Workers’ Compensation explains, for example, the permanent loss of an arm or a leg will result in disability benefits for a total of 225 weeks.

Timetable for Workers’ Compensation Death Benefits

 When a worker is killed in an accident, the timetable looks a bit different. Only certain family members can receive death benefits, including dependent children or stepchildren, or a spouse. Generally speaking, Georgia workers’ compensation law permits dependents (i.e., children, stepchildren, and/or a surviving spouse) to receive two-thirds of an injured worker’s average weekly wage up to $800 per week. When there is only a surviving spouse with no surviving dependent children or stepchildren, then the total amount will be capped at $320,000. Georgia law also clarifies that these benefits will stop if the widowed spouse “remarries or cohabitates in a meretricious relationship.”

Contact a Workers’ Compensation Attorney in Macon, Georgia Today 

Do you have questions about the length of your workers’ compensation benefits in Georgia, or any other questions or concerns about the workers’ compensation system in our state? Whether you need initial assistance seeking benefits or you need help with an appeal or a claim for death benefits, an advocate at our firm can assist you. Contact one of the experienced Macon workers’ compensation attorneys at the Law Offices of Buzzell, Welsh & Hill today to learn more about how we can help you with your claim and to find out more about the services we provide to injured workers and their families in Georgia.

Source:

sbwc.georgia.gov/frequently-asked-questions/workers-compensation-law-faqs