Many employers across the state of Georgia will never deal with hearing loss injuries. By the very nature of their businesses, Many employers across the state of Georgia will never deal with hearing loss injuries. By the very nature of their businesses, like restaurants, health care systems and trucking companies, there simply is no threat of a noise-producing environment. However, for certain employers, specifically manufacturing plants or other traditionally “noisy” industries, hearing loss injuries can be very costly and the impact a slippery slope as a result of the snowball effect on other employees working in the same environment that otherwise ... Continue Reading
Newly Discovered Evidence: What Was Known, And Should Have Been Known After A Work Injury
The time for an employer/insurer to investigate and determine compensability of a work injury starts ticking as soon as it is known that actual The time for an employer/insurer to investigate and determine compensability of a work injury starts ticking as soon as it is known that actual disability resulted from the injury. See Board Rule 221. Further, an employer/insurer is not granted an exuberant amount of time to perform its investigation. A notice of controvert needs to be filed within twenty-one days of disability generally, and a voluntarily accepted claim cannot be controverted sixty days after indemnity benefits are first ... Continue Reading
Coverage Denials Become More Dangerous For Insurance Carriers In Georgia
In Hoover v. Maxum, Indemnity Company, 2012 Ga. Lexis 570 (June 18, 2012), the Georgia Supreme Court held that an insurance carrier In Hoover v. Maxum, Indemnity Company, 2012 Ga. Lexis 570 (June 18, 2012), the Georgia Supreme Court held that an insurance carrier which denies coverage and refuses to defend a suit against its insured must raise all applicable coverage defenses at the time coverage is denied or risk waiving any defenses which are not raised. Even prior to this decision an outright denial of coverage carried significant risks for an insurer. That is because if a court later ruled that the there was coverage or that the carrier breached its ... Continue Reading
Work Injuries At Home: How Telecommuting Is Bringing The Scope Of Employment Into The Homes Of Employees
One of the prevailing trends in the American work force today is the ability to work from home, or "telecommute." Although fifteen One of the prevailing trends in the American work force today is the ability to work from home, or “telecommute.” Although fifteen years ago this concept was nearly unheard of, due to recent advances in information technology, telecommuting is becoming more common in almost every area of business. It offers employees more flexibility, a comfortable working environment, and no commute, while the employer benefits by saving on the costs of overhead. Nevertheless, despite the positive aspects of ... Continue Reading
They’ll Try Anything: An Uninjured Claimant Requests Benefits Based Upon A ‘Perceived Disability’
A central tenet of the Georgia Workers' Compensation system is that a worker must be injured before he is qualified to receive A central tenet of the Georgia Workers’ Compensation system is that a worker must be injured before he is qualified to receive weekly indemnity benefits. However, in one of the most novel theories of recovery ever, a claimant contended he should be entitled to benefits, not because a doctor placed restrictions upon him, but because his employer refused to comply with restrictions the claimant placed upon himself based upon Internet research. Fortunately this claimant was rebuked at every level, from the ... Continue Reading
One Size Does Not Fit All: Eeoc Guidance Regarding Employer’s Use Of Criminal Records In Employment Decisions
In recent months, the EEOC has expressed concern regarding employers' use of uniform employment policies and practices. Historically, consistency was In recent months, the EEOC has expressed concern regarding employers' use of uniform employment policies and practices. Historically, consistency was considered the key to avoiding alleged or actual discrimination. Recently, however, the EEOC has increasingly advised employers to engage in individualized assessments on a case-by-case basis. For example, the EEOC has recommended that employers engage in an interactive dialogue with an employee with a disability to determine what ... Continue Reading
No Shelter From The Storm: Court Declines To Rule Uninhabitable House Not Residence Premises As A Matter Of Law
A recent decision from the Northern District of Georgia highlights the uncertainties that often exist when an insurer relies on the "residence premises" A recent decision from the Northern District of Georgia highlights the uncertainties that often exist when an insurer relies on the “residence premises” requirement to bar coverage for a loss. In Cain v. Hanover Ins. Co., 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 105188 (N.D. Ga. 2011), the court ruled that the fact that the insured’s home was deemed uninhabitable after official inspection did not establish as a matter of law that the home was not the insured’s residence premises. Cain demonstrates the ... Continue Reading
It’s Not Personal. It’s Business: New Case Erodes Deviation Defense
In Stokes v. Coweta County Board of Education (A11A2062), the Court of Appeals recently decided a case that expands the circumstances In Stokes v. Coweta County Board of Education (A11A2062), the Court of Appeals recently decided a case that expands the circumstances of the type of personal actions and potential employment deviations, which still make an accident compensable. As a rule, for an accident to be compensable, an employee’s accident must arise both “out of” and “in the course of” his employment. When a deviation occurs, an employee breaks the continuity of employment for ... Continue Reading
Does Being On The Hook For An Occupational Disease Mean The Employer Is Responsible For The Full Amount Of Owed Benefits? Not So Fast
The primary elements of an occupational disease that a claimant must prove are: The primary elements of an occupational disease that a claimant must prove are: (1) causal connection between work and the disease; (2) disease followed a natural incident of exposure; (3) disease is not of a character to which the employee may have had substantial exposure outside of employment; (4) disease is not an ordinary disease of life to which the general public is exposed; and (5) disease had its origin in a risk connected with the employment. If an employee was exposed to dangerous chemicals or products with ... Continue Reading
Wrongful Death Cases Based Upon Suicide: The General Rule Of Unforeseeability Has Exceptions
Ranked as high as the 6th leading cause of death in the United States by the National Safety Council (13th worldwide), and with over one million Ranked as high as the 6th leading cause of death in the United States by the National Safety Council (13th worldwide), and with over one million people committing suicide each year world-wide, suicide is far-reaching, complex, and sometimes perplexing for those left behind. Any number of factors might contribute to a person taking their own life, including mental health and/or other social problems. In some cases it is likely impossible to know why a particular person chose to take their own life, and in other cases a ... Continue Reading