Worker's compensation dispute

On Apr 22, 7:40 am, dgain...@hotmail.com wrote:

{OP was injured on the job, was given narcotic medication for pain so he could continue to work, and injured himself a second time apparently due to his mental state while working under the influence of pain meds}

>  It has been about  3 yrs. since my accident.

Which one?  The broken rib, or the second one where you dropped the oil drum on your foot?  Have you consulted a local attorney at any time within those 3 years?  I don't know what the statute of limitations is on your potential claims but you may be dangerously close to losing whatever rights you may have, if it is not already too late due to your own delay in pursuing those rights.   By all means you should telephone or make an appointment with a local Worker's Compensation attorney NOW -- I mean it -- before you do anything else.   Another day's delay could result in complete loss of any rights you may have had.   Or it may not, but why take the risk?

> I Thank my God the
> Veteran's Administration did not turn there back on me. They are
> giving me my injections and I am trying to get back to work,

That is totally separate from any Worker's Compensation rights you might have against the employer you were working for.   The VA is simply providing you medical benefits because you are a veteran, and has nothing to do with whether your rights to compensation from your employer have been met or not.

> Anyway, according
> to the Worker's Compensation Act in the state of Georgia I DO NOT even
> have the right to a JURY TRIAL. IS THIS WHAT "LIBERTY AND JUSTICE
> FOR ALL" means???

I don't know the particulars of GA law, but the basic concept of Worker's Compensation law in all USA states is to set up a statutory plan that requires the employer and/or its insurer to provide compensation for the medical expenses and loss of wages an employee incur from on-the-job injuries WITHOUT REGARD TO FAULT, and in return takes away the workers' right to sue the employer for intangible "pain and suffering" tort damages above and beyond those out-of-pocket expenses.  Previously to such laws, many injured employees were left crippled and uncompensated because they could not prove, in a tort claim, that the employer was in any way negligent in causing their injuries (as in your case, where you apparently dropped the oil drum on your own foot).   The idea is to compensate employees for their injuries even if it is their own fault, but to limit such compensation to actual out-of-pocket losses, and thus give a little  and take a little from each side to reach a fair compromise.  These laws that arose during the Progressive Era of industrial reform are now about a century old, and courts have long upheld the statutory plan as constitutional and fair because it provides a guarantee of compensation on the basis of objecive values set forth in the statutory scheme in exchange for the employees' right to jury trial of a tort claim.

Again, GA may differ, but the idea is that, first off, most WC claims are supposed to be paid directly by the employer and/or insurer without any other legal involvement at all.   Did your employer pay for your medical treatment (other than what you received from the VA)?  Did they compensate your lost wages (usually at a slightly reduced percentage, typically 85% or so of your usual rate) during the time you were medically excused from being able to work?   If so, there is no further claim you can pursue against them; they have met their obligations under the statutory plan.

If the employer did not already pay your medical expenses and lost wages, any disputes arising from a WC claim are then supposed to be directed to a separate administrative commission set up to deal with WC issues, not to the general-purpose court system.   Have you been through that second layer of process?   Did you have an attorney do that for you?  Your post leaves out many important details.

Finally, if you are not satisfied with the results of a WC hearing before the special commissioners, most states AFAIK do give either party (the employee as well as the employer) a right of appeal to a court of general jurisdiction.   That is a general principle of administrative law (the right of appeal to a judicial tribunal from an unfavorable result before an administrative tribunal) that applies equally in the WC context.   That is where you will finally get your jury trial, if you have not already gotten satisfaction at an earlier stage.

> I don't know who to ask,

Really?   You really don't know that you should ask a local lawyer this question?   That is who can answer all your concerns.   If you live close enough to a major manufacturing plant to have a job there, it is a big enough community that it probably has several lawyers who represent claimants in Worker's Compensation cases.  Ask your friends who have been injured on the job who they have used to represent them when they had a dispute with the employer -- surely you know someone else who has had an on-the-job injury.  If you don't, look in the yellow pages or your favorite online phonebook under "lawyers" for one who says he does Worker's Compensation cases.   Good luck, 

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Mike Jacobs
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