Many companies in Georgia have implemented workers’ compensation policies to protect their employees, as well as company rights if one of their workers gets hurt on the job. Whether or not people are awarded compensation depends on the nature of their accident, who was involved, whether or not they have utilized their policy the right way and whether or not they reported the incident within the designated window of time.
In a recent story out of Naperville, Illinois, a police officer may receive workers’ compensation of nearly $140,000 as part of a deal in a settlement for an accident that she was involved in earlier this year. Dashcam footage on the officer’s vehicle is obscured after it shows a smaller passenger car pull out in front of the cruiser. Later on, the driver of that car was pronounced dead and was identified as a 73-year-old woman.
The woman’s family filed a lawsuit alleging that the police officer was illegally pursuing a vehicle that had not shown adequate evidence of having been involved in a forcible felony. The officer reported that she was pursuing another vehicle whose driver was using their phone. While the outcome of that lawsuit is undecided, a proposed workers’ compensation settlement of $140,000 is being considered as part of an agreement that the officer will not again apply for a position, would not apply for other health benefits to help injured officers and that she would voluntarily retire from her job.
If people have been injured at work, they may be eligible to receive workers’ compensation and an attorney may be able to help them acquire a better settlement. Legal professionals have the experience to work with injured workers in negotiating compensation that is adequate for the injuries they have sustained.
Source: Chicago Tribune, “Naperville cop involved in crash that killed 73-year-old woman may get $140K in workers’ comp,” Erin Hegarty, Dec. 13, 2018