I think my weekly benefit check is more than it should be. Should I speak up?

Unfortunately, and as hard as it is to voluntarily give up income in a time when you're struggling to make ends meet because of your injury, the answer is yes.  According to Georgia workers' compensation law, employer/insurer's are allowed to recoup or recover benefits that were overpaid to an injured worker (fortunately, there are restrictions placed on how far back in time the recovery can reach). If the worker is currently receiving a weekly income benefit or if he or she is entitled to benefits in the future, the employer/insurer can take a credit against those benefits.

The amount of the credit taken against ongoing income benefits is usually worked out between the employer/insurer and the worker (or his or her attorney). For example, if you're currently supposed to be receiving $400.00 per week in TTD benefits, but you were previously paid at an erroneous higher rate which resulted in an overpayment of $2,000.00, an arrangement could be reached whereby you would only receive $350.00 per week until the employer/insurer recovered the full amount of the overpayment.

Even if you aren't entitled to any additional benefits and you don't even work for the employer anymore, a garnishment action can be commenced against you at your current place of employment. Needless to say, this will create an enormous inconvenience and burden on you as you try to move on with your life.

Fair or not, that's the way the law works. The problem is, the vast majority of workers have no idea how workers' compensation benefits are calculated, and they therefore would have no reason to suspect that their employer has made an error in the calculation. Why should an injured worker be punished down the line for innocently receiving an overpayment that was the result of the insurance adjuster's mistake? Moreover, there are many times when the miscalculation in your compensation rate is so small that you'd never have reason to suspect there was an overpayment.

This is precisely the reason why I'm writing this post--to provide basic information for workers to help avoid this potential inconvenience.  So, if you have any reason to believe that you're receiving more than you should--such as, you were a part-time employee and your weekly benefit is nearly identical to the paycheck you received prior to your injury--it is a good idea to go ahead and report it to your employer. Chances are, the employer will soon uncover the miscalculation and they will, without a doubt, come after you to recover the money. A little honesty in the beginning can save you from a big headache later on.

Also, it's worth noting that these issues can get really complicated and messy, so it's a very good idea to have an attorney on your side to help ensure that your best interests are fully represented. If you have any questions about your workers' comp case, please let me know. Even if you're not in the Athens, Georgia area, give us a call and we will gladly help you with your case.