FOR INJURED WORKERS IN GEORGIA

You are entitled to lost wages, or wage replacement, while you recuperate from your injuries.  However, you do not recover all of your lost wages.  By law, the employer or insurer is only obligated to pay you two thirds (2/3) of the your average weekly earnings for the 13 weeks prior to your injury.   You must total the wages you earned during the 13 weeks before your injury (not counting the week when you were injured) and divide by 13.  This gives you your average weekly wage (“AWW”).  You then have to calculate 2/3 of your AWW and that yields your weekly income benefit or “comp rate.”  However, the amount of weekly income benefit is  capped based on the year in which an injury occurred.  For any injury taking place on or after July 1, 2019, the maximum income benefit allowed is capped at $675 per week.  In other words, if you were earning $1,000 per week before your injury, the most you can recover for an injury taking place after July 1, 2019 is $675 per week.    This maximum amount has changed over the years and was less in preceding years.   However, your weekly income benefit amount is fixed as of the date of your work injury; it does not go up as benefits are increased by law.