In 2019, the Georgia Court of Appeals revisited the question of whether an injury that occurs in a parking while an employee is on his/her way to or from work is compensable under the Georgia Workers' Compensation Act if the parking lot is neither owned, controlled, nor maintained by the Employer. In Smith v. Camarena, 835 S.E.2d 712 (Ga. Ct. App. 2019), an employee of a grocery store was fatally shot during a robbery that occurred while she was speaking to a co-worker in the parking lot on her way to her car after work. It was established as fact by the trial court that the employee had clocked out and was speaking with her co-worker about personal issues at the time of the accident. Like ... Continue Reading
Three Reasons Insurers Should Hire A Law Firm to Handle Annual Workers’ compensation Audit Premium Recovery Process
Three Reasons Insurers Should Hire A Law Firm to Handle Annual Workers’ compensation Audit Premium Recovery Process Workers’ compensation audits determine the final cost of a workers’ compensation policy and can often result in the issuance of an adjusted final bill ranging anywhere from $2,000.00 to $100,000.00 (or more). For many business owners, the audit process is mysterious and intimidating. For carriers, the results of these necessary audits often include angry insureds, millions of dollars in unpaid audit premiums, and canceled policies. When insured employers receive an end-of-term bill asserting that the employer owes several thousand dollars to its insurance carrier, the ... Continue Reading
Timely Disclosure of Expert Witnesses in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia
The local rules for the Federal District Court for the Northern District of Georgia may provide a basis for the exclusion of a proposed expert disclosed by a plaintiff after the close of discovery. The Federal Rules of Civil Procedure set forth and govern the procedures in all civil actions and proceedings in the United States district courts with the goal of to secure the just, speedy, and inexpensive determination of every action and proceeding. Fed. R. Civ. P. 1. Federal District Courts are permitted to adopt local rules that are binding on litigants and not inconsistent with the Federal Rule or other statutes. Fed. R. Civ. P. 83. Cohen v. Carnival Cruise Lines, Inc., 782 F.2d 923 ... Continue Reading
AWW-CALCULATION CLARIFICATION
Workers compensation benefits in Georgia are awarded on a weekly basis to compensate an injured worker for lost future earnings resulting from an on the job injury. To establish the amount of weekly compensation an injured worker is entitled to be paid a determination of the employee’s average weekly wage has to be made. In Georgia the primary basis for computing the average weekly wage will, in most cases, be the wages earned by the employee during the thirteen weeks immediately preceding the injury date. A form WC-6 wage statement listing the injured workers wages for the thirteen weeks preceding the accident must be filed by the Employer/Insurer whenever the weekly benefit paid is less ... Continue Reading