Law Office of Michael Lemon

Personal Injury, Worker's Compensation, Auto Accident Attorney

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Hands Free Georgia Starts July 1

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Governor Nathan Deal has signed a bill that requires Georgians to put down their cell phones, starting on July 1, 2018. Holding or supporting a cell phone with your body will now be against the law and punishable by fines. Drivers will be allowed to use ear pieces, or headphones, to talk on the phone while driving, but the key is having both hands free to focus on driving. Navigation and GPS is allowed while vehicles are lawfully parked, but drivers can not hold or support the screen while driving. Drivers also cannot write, send, or read text-based communication, but they can use voice-based communication that automatically converts to written message. Watching or recording video is also prohibited by this law. First time offenders may face a fine of $50.00, with a point added to their license.

Commercial drivers are prohibited from using more than a single button on their phone to call or hang up, or reach for a phone if it requires them to no longer be seated.

The new hands-free law does allow for calls that report accidents, medical emergencies, or other safety hazards. And as long as the vehicle is lawfully parked, drivers can use their phones. That means texting or dialing a number at a red light or stop sign is prohibited, as the vehicle must be parked and off the roadway if a driver is using their cell phone. The Governor’s Office of Highway Safety in Georgia stated that 3,450 people died due to distracted driving in 2016. Please make sure to follow this new law, and drive safely!

Welcome to our new website and blog!

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We have a new web site and new services to offer with the same goal: to help people in difficult legal situations.

Our main focus is workers’ compensation. We also handle motor vehicle accidents and other personal injury claims, insurance disputes, and wrongful death. If you need a Power of Attorney or Advanced Health Directive, or if need help drafting a will, we can help with that, too.
We are also excited to start offering mediation services for general civil cases and domestic relations cases.

And we’re starting a blog! A lot of our clients have never spoken with an attorney before they call us, and many feel intimidated by the law or talking to an attorney. We want to give our clients a better impression of lawyers after meeting with us. While our blog posts are not meant to be used as legal advice, we do hope you find them interesting and helpful.

Thanks for checking out our web site. If you have questions about a legal issue, you can send an email to info@michaellemonlaw.com or call our office at (478) 757-0225.

The Value of a Workers’ Compensation Attorney

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A lot of our clients have said, “I didn’t want to get to the point of hiring an attorney, but I had to, they forced my hand. I’d done everything they asked me to do, and they weren’t doing anything for me, and I didn’t want to lose my house. I’ve already spent all the money I had saved up.”

That’s the reality our clients have faced while being an injured worker. Workers’ compensation is a set of laws designed to protect an injured employee, but when the Employer is not following the law, the employee is left on his own. An employee who is too hurt to work and can’t afford medical care can only maintain that situation so long before they are forced to work while hurt or make some other decision to survive that may not be in their best interest long-term.

Even when employers are providing the benefits allowed by law, it can be tough on the employee because they’re making less money than they were prior to their injury. If an injured worker is taken out of work completely, they are owed benefits that equal 2/3 of their average weekly wage. If the doctor releases the employee to light duty, they are probably going to be in a lower paid position, and workers’ compensation is only responsible for 2/3 of the difference between the original pay and the lower pay. Until the workers’ compensation claim is resolved, the employee will be making less money because of their injury, and especially to someone living from paycheck to paycheck, that can be a struggle.

The reality of being an injured worker can range from annoying to devastating, depending on how the Employer/Insurer handles the claim. It would be difficult to predict an accurate value of hiring an attorney, but there is value in knowing that an attorney will make sure every dollar owed is paid.

Why Hire an Attorney in a Workers’ Compensation Claim?

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Feeling reluctant to hire an attorney because you’ve been injured at work is a perfectly natural feeling. Hard working employees who have been loyal to their employer want to feel that their employer will then be loyal to them, should a work-related injury ever happen. Unfortunately, that is not always the case, and it may not directly be the employer’s choice, but the result may be that an injured worker is not given the benefits they are entitled to under the Georgia Workers’ Compensation Act. And in that case, even if it feels extreme, hiring an attorney may be the best way to protect your income and your health.

Here are 5 reasons why you should hire an attorney if you’ve been injured at work:

Deadlines

There are deadlines in workers’ compensation claims that injured workers may not be aware of, and an attorney can navigate those so that their client receives every medical or financial benefit that they are allowed by law. While it is important to allow the employer and insurer time to pay medical bills and wage benefits, it is also important to act while the employee is still eligible for benefits and medical treatment. An attorney can make sure that the employer/insurer is paying the appropriate benefits in a timely manner, which protects your income and your future.

Frustration

Speaking of timing, the legal process can feel slow. It is set up to allow both sides time to respond, which can create frustration for injured workers waiting for something to happen. Without an attorney experienced in the workers’ compensation process, an injured employee may not know what to ask for, or how to approach a conversation with their employer or with the insurance adjuster. Hiring an attorney relieves this frustration and gives claimants an advocate who will speak up about a delay in medical treatment, or a weekly check that hasn’t arrived yet. Essentially, an attorney can listen and let you know if what you’re dealing with is normal and requires a little more patience, or if action needs to be taken.

Emotional Stress

Hiring an attorney helps neutralize the emotional stress of waiting, healing, and returning to work. If a workers’ compensation client is irritated that it’s taking so long for an appointment to be approved, they have someone they trust who can find out why there is a delay.

Here’s why that’s so valuable:

If that worker called the adjuster personally, and ended up venting their frustration at the insurance adjuster, it’s more likely to lead to a tense, defensive conversation than a productive phone call that results in an answer.

If that worker has an attorney, they can sit back and let the attorney handle the situation, without emotions clouding the conversation.

This keeps the lines of communication as open as possible, keeps the client from having to make potentially awkward, uncomfortable, or damaging phone calls, and allows the adjuster to listen to the client’s point of view from someone who has a clear head and a clear view of the law. And it’s natural that injured workers feel frustrated – they are in pain; if they are unable to work, they have a lot of free time to wonder what’s going on; and a lot of the process for getting life back to normal is outside of their control. But with the help of an experienced attorney, some of that stress can be eased so that the claimant has space to heal and return to work, which ultimately, is everyone’s goal. And if that isn’t the goal because the injury is so severe that work may not be an option in the future, an attorney can help navigate that scenario, too.

Individual Circumstances

Attorneys practicing workers’ compensation law understand how to apply the law to your individual circumstances, and assess what options are most appropriate for your personal situation. Even if you know someone else who was injured at work and received a settlement, that does not mean that your case will unfold in that same way. It’s important to let an attorney evaluate your options based on your unique facts and circumstances, and the parties involved in the claim. Every workers’ compensation claimant is not automatically entitled to the exact same settlement amount, for example. The value of a case depends on many variables that will only apply to you.

Claim Management

Legal deadlines were mentioned earlier in this post, and they can have consequences for the claimant if missed. Having an attorney manage your claim can save you money that you are owed by law, simply by being aware that the insurance company is required to pay for benefits as they are due, or include a penalty if those payments are late. Workers’ compensation benefits pay less than what the employee made prior to an injury, which means that every dollar can feel crucial to a client unable to work due to their injury.

If you feel it’s time to have someone represent you for a work-related injury, contact our office for a free consultation. We are more than happy to listen to your story and show you how we can help.