• Workers compensation insurance covers job-related medical expenses.injury image by Andrey Kiselev from Fotolia.com
  
  Although Georgia's workmans compensation programs don't mandate that employers rehire employees after an injury or temporary disability, workers injured on the job are protected from expenses they incur from the injury. Most workers in Georgia receive no-cost medical treatment and in the case of a disability, supplemental insurance payments to cover lost wages.
  
  

Who's Covered

• Because participation in Georgia's workers compensation program is mandatory for almost all employers, most people injured while on the job are covered by the program. Companies that only have one or two employees are exempt from the law and farm employers are allowed to opt out of coverage regardless of the size of their operation, but only if a similar coverage service is used in place of the state program. Employers of domestic servants such as cleaners, au pairs, nannies and cooks may provide them coverage, though it's not mandated by law.
  
  

Providers and Doctor Choice

• Workers compensation insurance may either be provided by a commercial insurance company or through an approved self-insurance system adopted by the employer. Industries such as railroads and shipping, which provide their workers with medical and disability compensation, are considered self-insuring entities under Georgia law.
  
  When an employee is injured on the job, he may choose his physician from a list provided to him by his employer. Only doctors on this list qualify for workers compensation coverage benefits, and workers who visit their own doctor for treatment of work-related injuries are liable for their own medical expenses.
  
  

Scope of Coverage

• Workers who receive treatment at an approved workers compensation doctor are entitled to all treatment necessary to recover from the injury. Although insurers and employers may refuse to pay some of the bills associated with treatment, they cannot be passed along to the injured patient for payment. As part of a physician's agreement with workers compensation insurance companies, the health care provider assumes the responsibility for the unpaid balance.
  
  

Disability Payments

• Workers who suffer on-the-job injuries and are unable to work as they convalesce are entitled to temporary total disability payments for up to 400 weeks. These payments are 66 percent of a worker's total wages, though they may not exceed $500 per week. Workers who are permanently disabled receive a portion of their wages from the insurer for an unlimited amount of time even if they return to work in the same or another field.