As undoubtedly any self-insured employer or workers' compensation insurance carrier knows, the golden rule when paying workers' compensation benefits pursuant to an award is: "20 days in-state and 17 days out of state." As undoubtedly any self-insured employer or workers’ compensation insurance carrier knows, the golden rule when paying workers’ compensation benefits pursuant to an award is: “20 days in-state and 17 days out of state.” After an Administrative Law Judge (“ALJ”) issues an award calling for the payment of income benefits, the Employer/Insurer has 20 days from the date the award was issued to ... Continue Reading
The Doctrine Of Continuous Employment: Still Confusing After All These Years
Perhaps one of the more confusing issues that arise in workers' compensation claims involves the doctrine of "continuous employment."Perhaps one of the more confusing issues that arise in workers’ compensation claims involves the doctrine of “continuous employment.” Under this doctrine, if an employee who travels is injured while in “continuous employment” for his employer, those injuries are deemed compensable because the scope of employment of a traveling employee is deemed wider than that of an ordinary employee. New Amsterdam Casualty Co., v. Sumrell, 30 Ga. App. 682, 118 S.E. 786 (1923). Obviously, determining whether an employee ... Continue Reading
No Midnight Train To Georgia: Legal Defenses And Practical Solutions To Claimant’s Request To Depose An Out-Of-State Adjuster
Partly thanks to the benefit of technological advances, it is now common for adjusters to handle workers' compensation claims from separate parts of the country.Partly thanks to the benefit of technological advances, it is now common for adjusters to handle workers’ compensation claims from separate parts of the country. A Georgia claim might be handled by an adjuster outside of Atlanta, or by an adjuster working out of Lexington, Kentucky or Fargo, North Dakota. In such claims handled by an adjuster outside of Georgia, an issue arises when an obstinate claimant’s counsel pushes for the deposition of the out-of-state adjuster to be held in ... Continue Reading
A Global Offer Of Settlement From One Plaintiff To Multiple Defendants: Take It Or Leave It?
With the enactment of Senate Bill 3 by the Georgia General Assembly on February 15, 2005, for the first time under Georgia law, an "offer of settlement" rule was created. With the enactment of Senate Bill 3 by the Georgia General Assembly on February 15, 2005, for the first time under Georgia law, an “offer of settlement” rule was created. The initial version of the law was quickly declared unconstitutional, and the General Assembly responded the following year be enacting House Bill 239. As a result, the constitutional issues were addressed and Georgia’s offer of settlement rule was reinstated. The effect ... Continue Reading