Macon, Georgia If You Get COVID at Work Can You Get Workers’ Comp? Lawyer

If You Get COVID at Work Can You Get Workers’ Comp?

Do you wonder, if you get COVID at work could you get workers’ comp? Yes, it is possible. You may be able to receive workers’ compensation if you get COVID at work, but whether or not you will qualify depends on the circumstances of your individual situation. The COVID pandemic has resulted in some unique challenges for employees trying to qualify for workers’ compensation insurance. Georgia employers who have three or more employees are required to carry workers’ compensation insurance to pay medical, rehabilitation and income benefits for workers who are injured on the job, including illnesses contracted at the workplace. The benefits are meant to help workers recover from their illnesses and injuries and return to work and also [...]...

Macon, Georgia 25 Years of Workplace Injuries – How Do Today’s Workplaces Stack Up? Lawyer

25 Years of Workplace Injuries – How Do Today’s Workplaces Stack Up?

For more than 45 years, the Injuries, Illnesses and Fatalities program at the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) has compiled statistics about injuries, illnesses and fatalities on the job in the U.S. According to a recent survey of the last 25 years of data, U.S. workers are getting injured less and dying less often at work. But, clearly, there is still work to be done to make every workplace in America safe. BLS reports that fatal work injuries have dropped 17% since 1992. From 1992 through 2016, there were approximately 140,000 fatal work injuries in the U.S. In 1992, there were 6,200 fatal injuries; in 2016, there were only 5,190, even though the U.S. population and work force was larger. According to BLS data, there were 14 deaths per d[...]...

Macon, Georgia Outdoor Workers Should Be Extra Careful This Year Lawyer

Outdoor Workers Should Be Extra Careful This Year

Disease cases due to bites from mosquitos, ticks and flea bites more than tripled from 2004-2016 in the U.S., according to a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report. Outdoor workers are at higher risk for serious health problems from these insect bites. The CDC stated (http://www.safetyandhealthmagazine.com/) that cases of serious domestic diseases, such as dengue fever, Zika, Lyme and plague occurred more than 640,000 times in this time period. The CDC notes that state and local health departments, as well as vector control organizations, are the major defense against spread of these diseases. But it noted as well that 84% of these organizations lack vital core competencies to reduce incidence of disease: Regular mosquito s[...]...

Macon, Georgia Too Many Georgia Workers Not Getting Protection They Deserve Lawyer

Too Many Georgia Workers Not Getting Protection They Deserve

The state of healthcare at the national level is up in the air, but candidates to be the next Georgia governor have been making their views on healthcare for the state clearer in recent months. Recently, Democratic State Rep. Stacey Evans claimed thousands of workers in Georgia are being misclassified as independent contractors. This means their employers may deny them benefits, including disability, healthcare and other vital worker benefits. Evans added that she supports the expansion of Medicaid and the proper classification of Georgia workers so that health insurance is available to hundreds of thousands more people. Politifact.com has performed an analysis of Evans’ claims to determine whether it is true that Georgia workers are be[...]...

Macon, Georgia Forget the Hard Hats — Construction Helmets Might be Safer Lawyer

Forget the Hard Hats — Construction Helmets Might be Safer

Workplace safety is a critical component to any job. Some workplaces, such as construction sites, are inherently more dangerous than others, and as the times change, so does safety technology. However, the familiar hard hat has largely remained unchanged for 40 years. It's essentially just a rigid shell with a brim and a suspended, adjustable headband attached on the inside. Seems as though an object meant to protect vital body parts such as the skull and the brain should be a little more complex. Perhaps that would have helped some of the approximately 1,000 construction workers who died between 2011 and 2015 due to brain injuries. Most hard hats sit on the head without any additional parts to keep them secured. Think of how many ways tha[...]...

Macon, Georgia The Importance of Job Safety Analysis Lawyer

The Importance of Job Safety Analysis

Because not all on-the-job hazards are equal, hazard controls must be developed to address each one’s unique dangers. While some measures are more effective than others at reducing the risk, the work task must be assessed before the safest way to complete it can be identified. That’s where job safety analysis (JSA) comes in. Also referred to as job hazard analysis (JHA), Field-Level Risk Assessment, and Pre-Task Analysis, this process observes the connections between worker, task, tools, and environment to locate dangers before they happen and to develop recommendations for reducing or removing those risks. Among other scenarios, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) requires formal hazard assessments for documentin[...]...

Macon, Georgia Workers’ Compensation Benefits & Idiopathic Injuries Lawyer

Workers’ Compensation Benefits & Idiopathic Injuries

We spend much of our lives at work, in part to earn money to be able to enjoy whatever leisure time is left over. All those on-the-job hours means that workplace injuries are bound to happen. When they do, most fall under the umbrella of workers’ compensation, which awards financial benefits for certain injuries. Georgia law provides that an accidental injury is compensable under the Workers' Compensation Act if the employee's injury arose out of and in the course of employment. Determining whether there is a causal connection between the workplace conditions and the injury can be a complicated matter – and one that is key for compensation. As opposed to outward risks associated with employment, some risks stem from idiopathic conditio[...]...

Macon, Georgia Most Common Workplace Injuries Lawyer

Most Common Workplace Injuries

We've got a lot of hard-working people in Georgia, people who go to their jobs every day, giving their best effort to do good work and support their families. Unfortunately, many of these workers fall victim to injuries in the workplace and find themselves struggling to provide financial security for their loved ones because of an accident that happened on the job. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, there were about 105,000 occupational injuries or illnesses in the state of Georgia in 2014. Of these, 148 were fatal injuries. In fact, the number of work-related fatalities in Georgia rose by 31 over the year before. Fatal occupational injuries in the state have ranged from a high of 249 in 1994 to a low of 101 in 2012.  According [...]...

Macon Crane Accident Kills One, Injures Three Others

A recent crane accident at the Graphic Packaging Company in Macon took the life of one young man and injured three other workers. The tragedy reminds us all that accidents happen every day – even in our small Georgia community. A Tragic Accident According to Macon Warner Robins 41NBC/WMGT, a group of men were dismantling a crane at the Graphic Packaging Company in Macon when a strap broke and the crane fell apart.  Three of the subcontracted workers for the company who were injured were transferred to the Medical Center of Central Georgia and are expected to survive.  However, according to Bibb County Coroner Leon Jones, 21-year-old Johnathan Siroky of Fayetteville was killed at the scene of the accident when he was crushed between th[...]...

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Does Workers’ Compensation Insurance Pay Lost Wages?

Learn What Benefits You are Entitled To

Does workers’ comp pay lost wages? This is an especially important concern for workers who have been injured on the job or who have become ill due to their work. The answer...