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Contact Cummings & Middlebrooks, LLP by calling 404-250-3292 to schedule a free initial consultation with a lawyer — not a paralegal or legal assistant. We offer evening and weekend hours, and home or hospital visits by request. Our law firm is conveniently located in Buckhead, near the NE7 Lenox Marta stop.
If you get a work-related injury or industrial disease, you should file a claim as soon as possible for workers' compensation.
Atlanta Lawyers Helping You Understand Workers' Comp
While anyone injured during their employment can file a workers' compensation claim with the State Board of Workers' Compensation, it is usually best to do so with the help of an experienced lawyer. Georgia workers compensation law is complicated and it is easy to make mistakes. That is why the attorneys at Cummings & Middlebrooks, LLP have dedicated their careers to guiding injured workers through the process. Contact our Atlanta law office online or by calling 404-250-3292 to schedule a free initial consultation.
Workers' Compensation - An Overview
US employers and their employees rely on our dependable workers' compensation system to resolve disputes about vocational injuries and disease and to provide for related worker needs. Workers' compensation benefits are commonly awarded for work-related injury, illness and death, helping to meet the needs of injured workers and their families even when faced with overwhelming situations. If you or your family member is injured or becomes sick in the course of employment, an experienced and skilled workers' compensation lawyer from Cummings & Middlebrooks, LLP in Atlanta, Georgia, can assess your potential workers' compensation claim.
History and Origin
The idea of workers' compensation has its origins in Germany in the early 1800s. The industrial revolution brought dangerous new workplaces into existence such as railroads, factories and mines with accompanying increases in injuries, deaths and new work-related diseases. Social and political sympathy for the common worker grew and led to the enactment of early workers' compensation legislation.
Employer Retaliation against the Workers' Compensation Claimant
Workers' compensation is sometimes viewed as a compromise between employees and employers: workers give up the right to sue for large awards in court in exchange for certain and timely, albeit relatively lower, reimbursement for work-related injuries and illnesses. Employers accept responsibility for these injuries and illnesses even if they are not at fault, but they no longer have to worry about being tied up in court and potentially liable for large verdicts.
Workers' Compensation Death Benefits
In addition to workers' compensation benefits for workers for their job-related injuries and illnesses, if such maladies ultimately result in death, certain survivors have the right to receive death benefits through their states' workers' compensation systems. If you are the family member or dependent of an employee who died from an injury or sickness incurred in the course of his or her employment, a knowledgeable workers' compensation attorney can advise you about workers' compensation death benefits.
Rather than Collecting Workers' Compensation, May I Bring a Lawsuit Against My Employer?
Workers' compensation is usually the only legal remedy for an employee injured or sickened in the course of employment. The public policy behind workers' compensation envisions a bargain between employers and employees in which workers give up the right to sue their employers in court in exchange for the guaranty of workers' compensation benefits. This reduces tension in the workplace by creating a predictable method for resolving employer-employee conflict. Although workers' compensation awards tend to be smaller than those in lawsuits, employees are not left without support during drawn-out court proceedings with unsure outcomes.
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View our Frequently Asked Questions page.