Atlanta Workplace Injury & Workers’ Compensation Lawyers

Most workplaces are relatively safe. However, some employers cut corners to save a few dollars. Sooner or later, those risky choices cause serious work injuries. If you suffered a workplace injury, you need to contact an Atlanta work injury lawyer.

Our Atlanta injury lawyers have successfully represented work injury victims for decades. We’ll deliver the best customer service and the greatest result. Our prior wins and our 5-star client reviews validate that promise.

Call us today at (404) 939-9470. Also, you may fill-out our online contact form to schedule a free case review with an Atlanta work injury lawyer. If you’ve got questions, we’ve got the answers.

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Common Workplace Accidents

At Graham Scofield Injury Lawyers, we typically handle the following types of workplace accidents:

• Construction Accidents
• Electrocution Accidents
• Fires and Explosions
• Forklift Accidents
• Hazardous Materials Exposure – The most common substances that injure workers include paint, lead, asbestos, pesticides, and toxic exhaust.
• Motor Vehicle Incidents– Many employers force their employees to work long hours. Employee fatigue causes many work-related car accidents.
• Overexertion and Repetitive Stress Injuries
• Penetration injuries
• Slip and Fall Accidents – Your employer should take reasonable steps to prevent your workplace slip and fall injury. For instance, they should: establish safe walking routes, remove clutter, and make sure that employees wear safe footwear.
• Workplace Violence – Workplace tension sometimes leads to violence, such as physical assaults and homicides. These factors increase the risk of workplace violence: alcohol consumption, isolated working conditions, and local crime.
• Wrongful death incidents

If you’ve got questions about how your employer should prevent workplace accidents, contact an Atlanta workplace injury lawyer.

Common Workplace Injuries

Many work injury victims suffer the following injuries:

• Amputation Injuries
• Back Injuries
• Brain Injuries
• Broken Bones
• Burn Injuries
• Carpal tunnel syndrome
• Chest Injuries
• Disfigurements
• Gun Shot Wounds
• Hearing Loss
• Lacerations
• Neck and Whiplash Injuries
• Nerve Damage
• Paralysis Injuries
• Raynaud’s disease/Hand-arm vibration syndrome
• Respiratory Injuries
• Spinal Cord Injuries
• Spinal Disc Injuries
• Tendonitis
• Vision Loss

Contact our Atlanta work injury lawyers to learn how you can recover compensation for your injuries.

Atlanta Construction Accident Lawyers

Construction is one of the most dangerous jobs in Georgia. Metro Atlanta’s steady stream of high-rises, road projects, and new developments puts thousands of workers at risk every day. After a construction accident, getting fully compensated is rarely as simple as filing a workers’ comp claim. Job sites often involve a general contractor, several subcontractors, equipment rental companies, and property owners, and more than one of them may share responsibility for your injury.

Common Construction Site Accidents

• Falls from scaffolding, ladders, roofs, and unprotected edges
• Struck-by accidents involving falling tools, materials, or moving equipment
• Electrocutions from exposed wiring or overhead power lines
• Caught-in or caught-between accidents, including trench collapses
• Crane, hoist, and forklift accidents

Falls, struck-by incidents, electrocutions, and caught-in/between accidents cause the majority of construction worker deaths. That’s why OSHA focuses so heavily on preventing them.

Who Pays After a Construction Accident?

Most injured construction workers can collect workers’ comp through their direct employer. If your employer is an uninsured subcontractor, Georgia law can make the general contractor above it responsible for your benefits as a “statutory employer.” That protects your benefits, but it usually also shields that contractor from a separate injury lawsuit.

Full compensation, including pain and suffering, often comes from a third-party claim against someone outside your chain of employment, such as:

• A different subcontractor whose crew caused the accident
• The manufacturer of defective scaffolding, tools, or heavy equipment
• An equipment rental company that failed to maintain its machinery
• A driver who struck you in a work zone

Sorting out who’s responsible on a multi-employer job site takes a fast investigation, before equipment is repaired and crews move on. Learn more about how our Atlanta construction accident lawyers build these cases.

Who is Liable for an Atlanta Workplace Injury?

Your employer is typically liable for your injuries. You can obtain compensation by filing a workers’ comp claim. Georgia requires most employers to carry workers’ comp insurance. However, railroad carriers, U.S. government agencies, domestic servants, and farm laborers don’t have to carry workers’ comp insurance.

If you’re unsure whether you’re covered by workers comp, call our Atlanta workplace injury lawyers. We’ll figure out whether you’re covered.

If you’re covered by workers’ comp, you can’t sue your employer. However, you can sue them if they:

• Didn’t purchase worker’s comp insurance
• Wrongfully denied your claim; or
• Intentionally injured you.

If a third party harmed you, you can sue them. For instance, heavy machines injure many workers. If the machine malfunctioned, you can sue the machine manufacturer. Also, if a third party’s employee injured you, you can sue the third party.

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Work Injury Compensation

Georgia workers’ comp benefits replace some of your lost wages. Those benefits also cover your medical bills. However, workers’ comp benefits don’t cover your pain and suffering damages. You can only recover those damages if a third party harmed you.

Third-party injury claims enable you to recover the following damages:

• Disability and disfigurement
• Earning capacity losses
• Lost wages
• Medical costs
• Pain and suffering

You may not know if a third party harmed you. That’s OK. Our Atlanta work injury lawyers will figure that out for you.

Atlanta Work Injury Filing Deadline

There is a one-year window to file Georgia workers’ comp claims. Georgia’s workers’ comp statute of limitations (SOL) encourages victims to act quickly before memories fade and evidence disappears. If you don’t file your workers’ comp claim before the SOL expires, the court may dismiss your case.

One year might sound like a long time. But, it’s not. Work injury investigations may take many months. It also often takes 3-6 months for your lawyer to acquire your medical records. If medical causation is disputed, your lawyer may also have to hire an expert to review the case before filing it. Therefore, you should contact an Atlanta work injury lawyer ASAP.

Steps To Take After An Atlanta Work Injury Accident

If you suffered a workplace injury, you should take the following steps to protect your rights:

Get your injuries treated: You should always get your injuries treated ASAP. If you don’t, your injuries might not heal. Additionally, the insurance adjuster will low-ball your claim if you don’t seek medical treatment.

Notify your employer: You should always notify your employer as soon as you’re injured. If you wait longer than 30 days, their worker’s comp carrier may deny your claim. Also, when you notify your employer, they’ll hopefully make the workplace safer. That way, your co-workers won’t suffer similar injuries.

Call a work injury lawyer: Don’t handle your work injury claim on your own. If you do, the insurance adjuster will take advantage of you. An Atlanta work injury lawyer will:

• Accurately complete your claim paperwork
• Evaluate your damages
• Investigate the accident
• Resolve your work injury claim for top value
• Timely file your workers comp claim

Our Atlanta Work Injury Lawyers Can Help You

At Graham Scofield Injury Lawyers, we understand that work injuries are traumatic. In fact, many work injury victims are permanently disabled. Thus, we’ll fight to settle your claim for top value.

Give our team of personal injury and wrongful death lawyers in Atlanta a call at (404) 939-9470 to receive assistance. Also, you may fill out our online contact form to schedule a free case review with a work injury lawyer.

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Georgia Workplace Injury FAQs

Can I be fired for filing a workers’ comp claim in Georgia?

Unfortunately, yes, it can happen. Georgia is an at-will employment state. Unlike most states, it has no law that specifically bars an employer from firing someone for filing a workers’ comp claim.

Losing your job doesn’t end your claim, though, and in many cases your benefits continue. You may also be protected by federal laws such as the ADA, FMLA, or OSHA’s whistleblower rules if you were fired because of a disability, protected medical leave, or reporting unsafe conditions. If you lost your job after a work injury, talk to a lawyer about both your benefits and a possible workplace retaliation claim.

Do I have to see the company doctor?

Usually you must choose from your employer’s approved list, but you have more choice than most workers realize. Georgia employers must post a “panel of physicians” with at least six doctors, including an orthopedic surgeon, or use a certified managed care organization.

You can pick any doctor on the panel, not just the one your employer suggests. You’re also allowed one switch to another panel doctor without needing approval. If your employer never posted a valid panel, you may be able to see a doctor of your own choosing at the employer’s expense.

Choose carefully. Your authorized doctor’s opinions about your restrictions and your ability to work will shape much of your claim.

Can I get workers’ comp and sue a third party?

Yes. Workers’ comp doesn’t stop you from suing someone other than your employer whose negligence caused your injury. That could be a negligent driver, an equipment manufacturer, or another contractor on your job site. You can pursue both claims at the same time.

A third-party claim can recover damages workers’ comp never pays, including pain and suffering and your full lost income. Your employer’s insurer may seek repayment from that recovery. Under Georgia law, however, it generally can’t collect unless you’ve been fully compensated for all your losses, which is a high bar.

The two claims have separate deadlines, so don’t wait to get advice.

What if I’m a 1099 contractor?

A 1099 doesn’t automatically disqualify you. Some companies label workers as independent contractors to avoid paying for workers’ comp coverage. What matters is the actual working relationship, especially how much control the company has over when, where, and how you do the work. If you were misclassified, you may be entitled to benefits.

Even true independent contractors can still bring a third-party claim against whoever caused the accident.