Georgia Workers’ Comp: Form WC-14, Benefits, and Denials

To open a Georgia workers’ compensation claim, tell your employer about the injury within 30 days, then file Form WC-14 with the State Board of Workers’ Compensation within one year of the accident. Those two deadlines run independently, and missing either one can end your right to benefits before a doctor ever weighs in on your case.

Report the Injury to Your Employer First

Georgia gives you 30 days from the accident to notify your employer. The notice can be spoken or written, but writing it down (and keeping a copy) protects you if the employer later denies hearing about it. Miss the 30 days and benefits can be refused outright unless you can show a valid excuse or prove the employer already knew.¹

Notice to the employer is not the same as a claim. You still have a separate one-year statute of limitations to file a formal claim with the Board, measured from the date of injury. If the employer has already paid weekly benefits or supplied medical care, the window extends to one year after the last medical treatment or two years after the last weekly payment, whichever is later. A death-benefit claim must be filed within one year of the employee’s death.²

Workers lose claims to the one-year rule all the time because they assumed the oral report to a supervisor was enough. It isn’t. Treat the filing deadline as a hard wall.

File Form WC-14 With the State Board

The form that formally starts your case is the WC-14, titled “Notice of Claim.” You can download it from the SBWC website or request a copy from the Board. On the form you check whether you’re filing a notice only, requesting a hearing, or requesting mediation.³

You’ll need to list the employer, the employer’s insurance carrier, the date of injury, and every body part affected. Be specific about the body parts. Treatment for anything you didn’t list can be denied later. After filing with the SBWC, send a copy to both your employer and the insurer. Electronic filing through the Board’s system gives you immediate confirmation; mail filings go to the Atlanta headquarters. The Board assigns a claim number that follows your case through every medical report and hearing.³

What the Insurer Must Do Within 21 Days

Once the employer learns of the injury, the insurer has 21 days either to start paying income benefits or to file a notice to controvert (Form WC-3) explaining why it is denying the claim.⁴⁵

Silence past 21 days is itself a problem for the insurer. An insurer that misses the deadline without reasonable grounds can be ordered to pay your attorney’s fees on top of the benefits it owes.⁶

Which Doctor You Can See

Your employer controls medical care at the start. Georgia law requires every covered employer to post a Panel of Physicians, listing at least six doctors in a prominent spot at the worksite. At least one must be an orthopedic surgeon, and no more than two can be industrial clinics.⁷

You pick your treating doctor from that panel. That physician becomes your Authorized Treating Physician and directs your care, including referrals. You get one free switch to another doctor on the same panel. Any further change needs Board approval.⁷

Check whether your workplace actually has a valid panel posted. If the employer never posted one, or the posted list doesn’t meet the statutory requirements, you can see any doctor you choose at the insurer’s expense. This is one of the most common employer compliance failures.

What the Claim Pays

Georgia divides wage-replacement benefits by how severely and how long the injury keeps you from working. Income benefits do not start on day one. There is a seven-day waiting period. If the disability lasts more than 21 consecutive days, the insurer pays you retroactively for that first week; if you return to work sooner, that week goes uncompensated.

Temporary Total Disability (TTD)

When you cannot work at all, TTD pays two-thirds of your average weekly wage up to $800 per week (the rate in effect through June 30, 2026). Workers earning under $50 a week receive their full wage. TTD can last up to 400 weeks from the date of injury.⁸

Temporary Partial Disability (TPD)

If you return to work at reduced earnings, TPD covers two-thirds of the difference between your pre-injury wage and your current wage, capped at $533 per week and limited to 350 weeks from the date of injury.⁹

Permanent Partial Disability (PPD)

Once you reach maximum medical improvement with lasting impairment, a doctor assigns an impairment rating under the AMA Guides to the Evaluation of Permanent Impairment, Fifth Edition. That percentage is applied to the statutory schedule of weeks assigned to specific body parts to produce your total payout.¹⁰

Death Benefits

If a workplace injury or illness kills the worker, dependents receive weekly payments at the TTD rate, and the employer pays burial expenses up to $7,500. When a surviving spouse is the sole dependent and no other dependent exists for at least one year after the death, total compensation is capped at $320,000.¹¹

Catastrophic Injury Claims

Severe injuries are treated separately under O.C.G.A. § 34-9-200.1. A catastrophic designation removes the 400-week cap on TTD and gives you lifetime medical coverage. Injuries that automatically qualify include spinal cord injuries causing severe paralysis of an arm, leg, or trunk; amputation of an arm, hand, foot, or leg; severe brain or closed head injuries shown by significant cognitive, sensory, motor, or communication deficits; second- or third-degree burns over 25 percent of the body (or third-degree burns on 5 percent or more of the face or hands); and total or industrial blindness. The Board can also designate other injuries catastrophic if they prevent you from doing your prior job or any work available in substantial numbers in the national economy.¹²

For catastrophic claims, the employer must provide rehabilitation services, including vocational counseling, job placement, and educational support. Refusing rehabilitation without good reason lets the Board suspend or reduce your benefits. For non-catastrophic injuries, rehabilitation is voluntary.¹²

If the Claim Is Denied or Disputed

When the insurer controverts the claim or a benefits dispute arises, the Board first tries mediation, where a neutral mediator helps the parties reach a voluntary agreement. Most disputes end here. If mediation fails or doesn’t fit the case, the matter moves to a formal evidentiary hearing before an Administrative Law Judge in the Board’s Trial Division. Both sides present evidence and witnesses, and the ALJ issues a written decision.¹³

You have 20 days from the date the ALJ’s decision is issued to appeal to the SBWC’s Appellate Division, which can affirm, reverse, or send the case back to the ALJ. From there, further appeal lies with the Superior Court within the statutory time limits.¹⁴

Attorney Fees

Georgia caps a claimant’s attorney fee at 25 percent of the weekly benefit award or settlement. Any fee above $100 must be approved by the Board, and no attorney can collect more than the 25 percent ceiling regardless of the arrangement.⁶

One exception works in your favor. If the insurer or employer litigated without reasonable grounds, or missed the payment and controversion deadlines, the ALJ or Board can order the other side to pay your attorney’s fees and litigation expenses on top of your benefits. In those cases the fee comes out of the employer’s pocket, not yours.

Change of Condition After Benefits End

If your condition worsens after benefits stop, or if you recover enough to work again, either side can file a change-of-condition request. A change of condition means a shift in wage-earning capacity, physical condition, or employment status after the last award or agreement.¹⁵

The filing deadline is two years from the last TTD or TPD payment. For PPD-only claims, it extends to four years from the last TTD or TPD payment. Miss these dates and the door closes permanently.

Employers use another provision regularly for non-catastrophic injuries. If a doctor releases you to work with restrictions and you remain out of work for 52 consecutive weeks, the Board presumes a “change of condition for the better” has occurred and your benefits convert from TTD to TPD. The employer must notify you of this possibility within 60 days of your release to work with restrictions. No employee can receive more than 78 total weeks of TTD while capable of working with limitations.¹⁵

Who Is Actually Covered

Before any of the above applies, the employer has to be covered. Georgia requires workers’ compensation insurance for any business with three or more employees, counting part-time and seasonal workers. Independent contractors, farm laborers, and domestic servants are excluded from mandatory coverage.¹⁶ If your employer should have carried coverage but didn’t, you keep your right to seek benefits and also gain the option to sue in civil court, because the uninsured employer loses the legal defenses the workers’ comp system normally provides.

1
Justia. Georgia Code 34-9-80 – Procedure for Giving Notice of Accident; Requirements of Written Notice; Effect of Failure to Give Notice
2
Justia. Georgia Code 34-9-82 – Limitation Period and Procedure for Filing Claims
3
State Board of Workers’ Compensation. File a Claim
4
Justia. Georgia Code 34-9-221 – Procedure; Payment
5
Georgia State Board of Workers’ Compensation. Notice to Controvert
6
Justia. Georgia Code 34-9-108 – Approval of Attorney’s Fees by Board
7
Justia. Georgia Code 34-9-201 – Selection of Physician From Panel of Physicians
8
Justia. Georgia Code 34-9-261 – Compensation for Total Disability
9
Justia. Georgia Code 34-9-262 – Compensation for Temporary Partial Disability
10
Justia. Georgia Code 34-9-263 – Compensation for Permanent Partial Disability
11
Justia. Georgia Code 34-9-265 – Compensation for Death Resulting From Injury and Other Causes
12
FindLaw. Georgia Code Title 34 Labor and Industrial Relations 34-9-200.1
13
State Board of Workers’ Compensation. Trial Division
14
State Board of Workers’ Compensation. OCGA 34-9-103
15
Justia. Georgia Code 34-9-104 – Modification of Award or Order
16
Justia. Georgia Code 34-9-2 – Applicability of Chapter to Employers and Employees – Generally