Avoid These Common Workers’ Compensation Mistakes

Atlanta, Georgia Workers’ Compensation Attorney Explains

Video Transcript:

Sarah Stottlemyer: 

Probably the most important thing for people to understand if they have suffered a work-related injury is this process is not going to be in any way shape or form enjoyable, and you will really need to talk to a lawyer in order to really guide you through it.

Tom Mustin: 

When filing a workers' comp claim, how can you be sure you're doing it correctly? We're gonna talk to attorney Sarah Stottlemyer about common mistakes you should avoid on today's Ask the Lawyer. Sarah, thanks for joining us.

Sarah Stottlemyer: 

Thank you so much for having me, Tom.

Tom Mustin: 

Great to have you. You've seen a lot of workers' comp claims throughout your career in Atlanta, can you tell us about you and your firm's experience when it comes to these situations?

Sarah Stottlemyer: 

So yes, I've been practicing workers' comp now for probably about 15 years or so. I am the current President of the Georgia trial lawyers workers' comp section. And I've seen a lot of missteps that people make whenever they don't have lawyers hired for their claim. Most importantly is, not reporting the injury as quickly as possible to the actual date of the injury, going home to see if they can "walk it off," say, if they've suffered a lifting injury or something like that and they may go home over the weekend. A lot of workers' comp insurance companies are gonna deny that claim 'cause they're gonna say you probably hurt it at home while moving something. So, I would say the largest problem that we see is attorneys are either a delay in reporting the injury or a failure to actually go forward with filing the claim and trusting their employer to take care of it, whether by paying some sort of weekly stipend or medical benefits up to a point in exchange for not reporting the claim to their workers' comp carrier.

Tom Mustin: 

And another problem I imagine would be, not pursuing an appeal after you're denied.

Sarah Stottlemyer: 

So, yes. If your employer tells you that, "No, we're not gonna file a workers' comp claim on your behalf," then you wanna get an attorney immediately involved as quickly as possible. If your claim has actually gone before the state board of workers' comp had been adjudicated as non-compensable you can appeal that claim to the appellate division, which consists of three appellate judges, including the director of the state board of workers' comp. Unfortunately, the missteps that were made at the trial level will follow you straight into the appellate level. So before going to any sort of hearing in a workers' comp manner, and you will definitely want to get an attorney involved as quickly as possible.

Tom Mustin: 

If you've made mistakes in your workers' comp claim before is... Will the claim automatically be denied or can you still pursue it?

Sarah Stottlemyer: 

No, you can still pursue. I mean, it really depends on the particular kind of misstep. So, in Georgia you have 30 days to notify your employer of any sort of injury. That being said, of course, the longer you are out from the actual date of injury, the less likely they are going to accept that claim as commensal, they're going to say that you could have injured yourself somewhere other than actually while you're working on the job. It really just depends on the type of mistake that you're making, but it is a very intricate system and having an attorney kind of weave you in and out through that system is vitally important, 'cause... I mean, general attorneys don't know the ins and outs of workers' comp, because it is so specialized. It's not a personal injury type claim, so there are a lot of different deadlines that your workers' comp attorney has to meet. So, I would recommend speaking with an attorney as quickly as possible to your actual date of injury.

Tom Mustin: 

So you've obviously got a lot of experience here. Is there anything else you've seen in these workers' comp cases that you think the public should know about?

Sarah Stottlemyer: 

I would... You know, I think starting out, I would want them to know that it's not a good system. You hear every day when people say, oh, somebody just wants to not work and live off the system. Georgia has the lowest income benefit rate in the entire country at $675 per week. So if you are, say, a primary wage earner in your family, and say, you're a family of four and you're middle class family, all of a sudden you're going down from, say, $2000 a week to $675 per week. I've seen clients lose cars, houses, be arrested for failure to pay child support. It's not a good system, and it's a very slow system. From your date of injury, if they do not pick it up as compensable, it can take up to a year to actually get before an administrative law judge. So I always liken it to almost social security type system, where there is nothing fast about it, there's nothing enjoyable about it, and every day that you stay in it, it makes you more angry.

Sarah Stottlemyer: 

So, I think that probably the most important thing for people to understand if they have suffered a work-related injury is this process is not going to be in any way shape or form enjoyable, and you will really need to talk to a lawyer in order to really guide you through it, you know? We end up being very close with our clients and treat them like family, because after a year of talking to them every single week, they become like family, and we know what you all are going through with your own families. And I unfortunately, intimately know about pain, 'cause I've had a back surgery and a knee surgery and all of the things, so it's just... It's a really rough system to get into, and I don't wish it on anybody, but people need to know that going into it and to have somebody to help them from the beginning is key.

Tom Mustin: 

And you talk about why it's important to have an attorney, but these days, people are watching every dollar 'cause things are so expensive. Can you give us a ballpark figure how much it would cost to hire an attorney this case?

Sarah Stottlemyer: 

So in workers' comp cases it's free, there's a free consultation, you come... I mean, you can call, we're here all the time, and we can talk you through things. And we also say, If you don't need a lawyer, we'll tell you, you don't need a lawyer, it really kind of depends on whether or not the insurance company has started messing with you yet, or whether or not your employer is actually admitting that compensable work-related injury occurred. But it is free to speak with a lawyer. It is... There's no upfront cost whatsoever. If we are able to settle your claim, then we... All workers' comp is statutorily set that there is a 25% attorney fee claim, so it's actually less than personal injury claims that start at 33%, go up to 40 and go up to 50 based on whether or not it's pre-suit or going all the way to a jury trial. So it's less attorney's fees in workers' comp.

Sarah Stottlemyer: 

And again, expenses and everything is all put forward, you all are not out of pocket for that unless your case settles. If your case settles, then there's that statutory percentage that we're entitled to for attorney's fees. I do have claims though that I've handled for eight to 10 years and haven't received a dime on them, and I call them my karma cases. [chuckle] So, if we are able to help and they're not able to... They're not interested in settling, because in order to settle in Georgia, you have to resign from your job. So, those are little intricacies that you need to know about, but if we can help you through the system, you need help through the system, and we're more than happy to do so.

Tom Mustin: 

Well, Sarah, thank you again for your expertise, we really appreciate you joining us again today.

Sarah Stottlemyer: 

Thank you for having me.

Tom Mustin: 

And that's gonna do it for this episode of Ask the Lawyer. My guest has been Sarah Stottlemyer. If you wanna ask Sarah a question about your situation, call the number on the screen. Thanks for watching. I'm Tom Mustin, for Ask the Lawyers.

Disclaimer: This video is for informational purposes only. In some states, this video may be deemed Attorney Advertising. The choice of lawyer is an important decision that should not be based solely on advertisements.