Recently, the Georgia Court of Appeals released a ruling that could have a major impact on your workers’ compensation claim. For the first time the Court of Appeals (which creates precedent that must be followed by the State Board of Workers’ Compensation) ruled that private (“ex parte”) conversations between lawyers and doctors is improper. Now, both parties must be participants in any pre-deposition discussions. I fully agree with the Courts concerns that medical providers ought not be subjected to persuasion or coercion by lawyers.
I think that the Court of Appeals has issued a smart, common sense opinion. Many times in the past, I would arrive at a doctor’s deposition only to find defense counsel and the doctor engaged in private conversation. It can be enough of an uphill battle dealing with “industrial clinic” physicians who derive all of their income from insurance companies. At least now these private conversations are definitively improper and hopefully will result in more informative and truthful, uncoached testimony.
I would also note that these new rules apply to both claimant’s lawyers and to defense counsel. In my view, it is just as inappropriate for a claimant’s lawyer to lobby or coach a doctor as a defense lawyer.
If you experience severe stress at work, you may be experiencing symptoms of depression, anxiety or even PTSD. Perhaps your work environment is extremely hostile, or perhaps you were physically attacked or injured at work and are having a difficult time with the psychological aspects of recovery.
In this video I explain that psychological symptoms are compensable under Georgia workers’ compensation law only if there is an associated physical injury. Examples of physical injuries that give rise to mental health problems that must be treated by an employer paid psychologist or counselor include:
post traumatic stress symptoms after suffering a physical injury
after-effects of violence at the work setting
psychological symptoms that arise from covered medical treatment
Obviously employers and their insurance companies will try to avoid picking up the cost of a psychologist, and mental health providers are almost never on any posted panel. Thus, if you are eligible for mental health treatment, I will have to reach an agreement with the adjuster about who will be the provider and about the extent of treatment.
If you think that you may be entitled to mental health treatment as a result of a work injury, please call me at 770-351-0801.
Georgia’s workers’ compensation law allows employers to deny payment on work injury claims if the employee was engaged in “horseplay” at the time of the accident? What exactly is “horseplay?” Georgia law is somewhat vague about this but essentially it means that you were engaged in some activity outside the scope of your employment, even [...]
What is an industrial or occupational disease? Any chronic condition or sickness that occurs as a result of your occupation or work activity is referred to as an industrial or occupational disease. It is one of the facets of occupational health and safety and is usually identified when it occurs more prevalently in a specific [...]
Basic worker’s comp benefits Whenever you are injured on the job, you are entitled to receive worker’s compensation benefits. The value of these benefits will usually depend on the amount of money you were earning at the time the injury occurred as well as the amount of permanent damage that has been done to the [...]
What is the Georgia Worker’s Compensation Act? The Worker’s Compensation Act of Georgia provides immediate income benefits and medical care for any employee who is injured on the job anywhere in the state. Additionally, it fixes the amount of those benefits that an employer is responsible for paying. Originally adopted in 1920, it is known [...]
A difference in the two laws The primary differences between Workers’ Comp and Personal Injury lies within the state laws associated with each. Workers’ Compensation laws apply to those employees who have incurred on-the-job injuries. On the other hand, Personal Injury laws as well as wrongful death laws apply to anyone who is injured as [...]
How much is your Worker’s Comp case worth? As experienced and qualified Worker’s Compensation attorneys, we are frequently asked two very important questions – namely, “what is the value of my case?” and “when can I expect a settlement?” Truthfully, these are difficult questions to answer without having had an opportunity explore the client’s file [...]
A word about the AMA The AMA or American Medical Association was originally founded in the mid-1800s and was incorporated 50 years later in 1897. It is the United States’ largest association of medical students as well as physicians. Approximately 22% of all the members of these two groups belong to the AMA despite a [...]
What are catastrophic injuries? Depending on the nature of your on-the-job injury, you are entitled to certain benefits that Worker’s Compensation insurance provides for you as the injured employee. Typically, on-the-job injuries are categorized as either being “catastrophic” or “non-catastrophic.” Here are a few accepted categories of catastrophic injuries: Severe paralysis Severe head injuries Severe [...]
