Georgia recently enacted several amendments to its workers’ compensation law. Effective July 1, 2019, for all injuries occurring on or after July 1, 2019, the state increased payouts on the following benefits:
· Maximum payout for temporary total disability (TTD) benefits to $675 per week
· Maximum payout for temporary partial disability (TPD) benefits to $450 per week
· Maximum death payout to a sole-surviving spouse (no other beneficiaries) to $270,000
Additionally, the state revised O.C.G.A §34-9-200(a)(3)(A), lifting the 400 week cap on medical benefits for non-catastrophic injuries to allow for maintenance, repair, revision or removal of:
· Prosthetic devices
· Spinal cord stimulators and intrathecal pump devices
· Durable medical equipment, orthotics, eyeglasses, and hearing aids
The medical devices or equipment must have been prescribed by an authorized physician and originally furnished, to an injured employee, within 400 weeks of the date of injury or occupational disease, arising out of and in the course of employment.
This statutory revision regarding non-catastrophic medical benefits is retroactive, covering injuries on or after July 1, 2013.
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