The Georgia Workers’ Compensation Blog

Georgia Workers’ Compensation Settlements April 15, 2008

Often, injured workers choose to settle their cases with their employer’s insurance company in return for one-time cash payments.

These settlements often take into consideration:

• Unpaid total temporary disability or partial disability benefits (TTD or TPD)
• TTD or TPD benefits likely to be owed in the future
• Future medical expenses
• Permanent disability benefits owed or likely to be owed
• Any penalties for late payment of benefits
• And in some circumstances, attorneys fees

Whether you SHOULD settle your claim depends on what you are offered, what you would otherwise be entitled to if you did not settle, and whether the settlement reasonably meets your needs.

Why would I ever want to settle my workers’ compensation claim?

While you are technically entitled to lifetime medical treatment, on-time disability checks (TTD or TPD), and then checks for any Permanent injuries (PPD), things do not always go so smoothly. Your employer’s insurance company is a business. It is in their financial interests to limit both cash payments to you as well as the overall cost of your medical care. Often this leads to resistance or delays in receiving cash benefits, in changing doctors, authorizing physician referrals, and in getting medical procedures approved. Also, if your employer has not accepted your claim and has paid you no benefits they may feel they have a defense to paying you benefits. By settling a claim an insurer may waive this potential defense to your claim.

Insurance companies often favor settlements over keeping your claim open for months or years. If they settle at a set amount, they can more accurately pass this expense onto their customers (employers) who purchase insurance from them. Other considerations regarding settling your claim for a lump sum payment include your ability to get another job, your eligibility for Social Security benefits, and your eligibility for Medicare or group insurance at another job or through your spouse.