- How Georgia Calculates Your Average Weekly Wage
- Temporary Total Disability Benefits in Georgia
- Temporary Partial Disability Benefits in Georgia
- Permanent Partial Disability Benefits in Georgia
- Scheduled Body Part Benefits for Loss or Loss of Use
- Catastrophic Injury Designation and Extended Benefits
- Death and Dependency Benefits for Surviving Family
- Mileage and Travel Reimbursement for Medical Care
- Get Matched With a Georgia Workers' Comp Lawyer Today
Summary
- Georgia workers' comp benefits — TTD, TPD, and PPD — equal two-thirds of your AWW, capped at $800/week for injuries on or after July 1, 2023.
- Scheduled body parts and catastrophic injury status determine payout duration, with catastrophic claims unlocking lifetime medical and unlimited income benefits.
- Death benefits cap at $320,000 for a surviving spouse, plus $7,500 burial costs, with mileage reimbursed at $0.45/mile.
Hurt on the job in Georgia? The dollar figures behind your claim follow a strict formula set by state law – and those numbers shift depending on when you were injured. Knowing how the math works can help you spot a fair offer from a lowball one when evaluating an average workers comp settlement.
Free Workers’ Compensation Case Review
Preparing Case Review Form. ConsumerShield is transforming the way consumers experience law.
How Georgia Calculates Your Average Weekly Wage
Your average weekly wage (AWW) drives nearly every benefit check you'll receive. Georgia uses three methods, applied in order of preference, under O.C.G.A. §34-9-260.
The first method looks at what you actually earned in the 13 weeks before your injury. If you hadn't been on the job long enough, the insurer turns to a coworker's wages. Only when neither approach fits does the state fall back on your contracted hourly rate multiplied by your scheduled hours.
Higher AWW means higher weekly checks – up to the state maximum. Getting this number right matters, because small errors compound over hundreds of weeks of benefits.
| Method | When It Applies | Formula |
|---|---|---|
| Method 1 (primary) | Worker was employed in the same or similar employment for substantially the whole of the 13 weeks before injury | Total gross wages in those 13 weeks ÷ 13 |
| Method 2 (secondary) | Worker did not work substantially the whole of 13 prior weeks | Use the wages of a similarly situated employee who did work those 13 weeks, then apply Method 1 |
| Method 3 (fallback) | Neither Method 1 nor 2 can be fairly applied | Full-time weekly wage: hourly rate × contracted scheduled hours per week |
Source: Georgia Code O.C.G.A. §34-9-260
Temporary Total Disability Benefits in Georgia
Temporary total disability (TTD) pays you while you're completely unable to work because of a job injury. If you are wondering how much does workers comp pay, the benefit typically equals two-thirds of your AWW, capped at a weekly maximum that depends on your date of injury.
For injuries on or after July 1, 2023, the maximum TTD check is $800 per week, with a $50 minimum. Benefits kick in after a 7-day waiting period, and you can recover those first seven days once you've been out for 21 consecutive days.
TTD can run up to 400 weeks from the date of injury for non-catastrophic claims. The table below shows how the caps have climbed over the years – useful if your injury happened before the most recent update.
| Provision | 7/1/07 | 7/1/13 | 7/1/15 | 7/1/16 | 7/1/19 | 7/1/22 | 7/1/23 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Waiting period | 7 days | 7 days | 7 days | 7 days | 7 days | 7 days | 7 days |
| Waiting period recoverable after (consecutive from disability date) | 21 days | 21 days | 21 days | 21 days | 21 days | 21 days | 21 days |
| Maximum weekly benefit | $500 | $525 | $550 | $575 | $675 | $725 | $800 |
| Percent of average weekly wage (13 weeks prior to accident) | 66 2/3% | 66 2/3% | 66 2/3% | 66 2/3% | 66 2/3% | 66 2/3% | 66 2/3% |
| Minimum weekly benefit | $45 | $50 | $50 | $50 | $50 | $50 | $50 |
| Maximum weekly duration from date of injury | 400** | 400** | 400** | 400** | 400** | 400** | 400** |
Free Workers’ Compensation Case Review
Preparing Case Review Form. ConsumerShield is transforming the way consumers experience law.
Temporary Partial Disability Benefits in Georgia
Temporary partial disability (TPD) applies when you return to work but earn less than before because of medical restrictions. You receive two-thirds of the difference between your pre-injury and post-injury wages.
TPD benefits top out at $533 per week for injuries on or after July 1, 2023, and can last up to 350 weeks. The chart below tracks the maximum weekly benefit and lifetime cap across different injury dates, so you can match your situation to the correct row.
| Provision | 7/1/07 | 7/1/13 | 7/1/15 | 7/1/16 | 7/1/19 | 7/1/22 | 7/1/23 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Maximum weekly benefit | $334 | $350 | $367 | $383 | $450 | $483 | $533 |
| Maximum weekly duration from date of injury | 350 | 350 | 350 | 350 | 350 | 350 | 350 |
| Percent of difference in wages before and after injury | 66 2/3% | 66 2/3% | 66 2/3% | 66 2/3% | 66 2/3% | 66 2/3% | 66 2/3% |
| Total maximum compensation | $116,900 | $122,500 | $128,450 | $134,050 | $157,500 | $169,050 | $186,550 |
Permanent Partial Disability Benefits in Georgia
Permanent partial disability (PPD) benefits begin after you reach maximum medical improvement but still have lasting impairment. A doctor assigns a percentage rating based on standardized medical impairment guidelines, and you multiply that rating by the weeks allotted for the affected body part.
The weekly PPD rate equals two-thirds of your AWW, up to the same cap as TTD – $800 per week for injuries on or after July 1, 2023. If you are asking when will workers' comp offer a settlement for this type of permanent impairment, discussions usually begin once you reach maximum medical improvement. The table below shows how the weekly maximum has increased over time.
| Provision | 7/1/07 | 7/1/13 | 7/1/15 | 7/1/16 | 7/1/19 | 7/1/22 | 7/1/23 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Maximum weekly benefit | $500 | $525 | $550 | $575 | $675 | $725 | $800 |
| Percent of difference in wages | 66 2/3% | 66 2/3% | 66 2/3% | 66 2/3% | 66 2/3% | 66 2/3% | 66 2/3% |
Free Workers’ Compensation Case Review
Preparing Case Review Form. ConsumerShield is transforming the way consumers experience law.
Scheduled Body Part Benefits for Loss or Loss of Use
Georgia assigns a fixed number of weeks to each major body part based on state-regulated workers' comp settlement body part prices. If you lose a thumb or lose its full use, for example, you're entitled to 60 weeks of PPD benefits. Lose an arm, and the number jumps to 225 weeks.
To estimate your PPD payout, multiply your weekly rate by the scheduled weeks, then multiply that by your impairment rating. A 20% rating to a hand (160 weeks) at $500 per week would produce 32 weeks of benefits, or $16,000. You can use the table below as your reference for each body part.
| Body Part | Weeks | Body Part | Weeks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Thumb | 60 | Arm | 225 |
| 1st (index) finger | 40 | Foot | 135 |
| 2nd (middle) finger | 35 | Leg | 225 |
| 3rd (ring) finger | 30 | Eye | 150 |
| 4th (little) finger | 25 | Loss of Hearing (one ear) — Total Industrial | 75 |
| Great Toe | 30 | Loss of Hearing (both ears) — Total Industrial | 150 |
| Other Toes | 20 | Disability/Whole Body | 300 |
| Hand | 160 | Disfigurement | None |
Catastrophic Injury Designation and Extended Benefits
Some injuries qualify as catastrophic under O.C.G.A. §34-9-200.1. That designation unlocks lifetime medical care and indefinite income benefits – no 400-week cutoff.
Five categories trigger catastrophic status: spinal cord injuries with severe paralysis, amputations with effective loss of use, severe brain or closed-head injuries, severe burns, and any injury that permanently keeps you from your prior job or any job in the national economy. For the fifth category, if the treating physician releases you to restricted duty and the employer hasn't accepted the catastrophic designation, the law generally assumes your injury is not catastrophic for the first 130 weeks unless you can prove otherwise.
The table below breaks down each category and what it takes to qualify.
| Category | Description |
|---|---|
| (1) Spinal cord injury | Severe paralysis of an arm, a leg, or the trunk |
| (2) Amputation | Of an arm, hand, foot, or leg, with effective loss of use |
| (3) Severe brain or closed-head injury | Evidenced by: severe sensory/motor disturbances; severe communication disturbances; severe complex integrated cerebral function disturbances; severe disturbances of consciousness; severe episodic neurological disorders; or conditions of equal severity |
| (4) Severe burns | Second or third degree burns covering ≥25% of total body surface, OR third degree burns to ≥5% of face or hands |
| (5) Other total work incapacity | Any other injury that permanently prevents the worker from performing their prior job or any available job in the national economy — subject to a 130-week rebuttable presumption of non-catastrophic status if employer has not accepted the designation and the treating physician has released the worker to restricted duty |
Source: Georgia Code O.C.G.A. §34-9-200.1
Free Workers’ Compensation Case Review
Preparing Case Review Form. ConsumerShield is transforming the way consumers experience law.
Death and Dependency Benefits for Surviving Family
When a worker dies from a job injury, Georgia pays dependency benefits to the surviving spouse, children, or partial dependents under O.C.G.A. §34-9-265. The weekly rate is two-thirds of the deceased worker's AWW, capped at the same maximum as TTD.
For deaths tied to injuries on or after July 1, 2023, the total cap for a surviving spouse with no children is $320,000. The insurer also covers burial expenses up to $7,500. The first table below tracks how these caps have risen; the second breaks down who gets paid, how much, and when payments end.
| Provision | 7/1/07 | 7/1/13 | 7/1/15 | 7/1/16 | 7/1/19 | 7/1/22 | 7/1/23 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Maximum weekly benefit | $500 | $525 | $550 | $575 | $675 | $725 | $800 |
| Maximum duration from date of injury | Various | Various | Various | Various | Various | Various | Various |
| Burial expense | $7,500 | $7,500 | $7,500 | $7,500 | $7,500 | $7,500 | $7,500 |
| Total maximum benefit | $150,000* | $150,000* | $220,000* | $230,000* | $270,000* | $290,000* | $320,000* |
| All others | Vary | Vary | Vary | Vary | Vary | Vary | Vary |
Source: Georgia State Board of Workers' Compensation
This workers comp settlement chart Georgia families rely on shows exactly when each dependent's benefits stop – an important detail when planning household finances after a loss.
| Dependent Type | Weekly Rate | Total Cap (injuries on/after 7/1/23) | When Benefits End |
|---|---|---|---|
| Surviving spouse (no children) | 66⅔% of AWW, up to weekly max | $320,000 | Age 65 or 400 weeks, whichever is greater |
| Surviving spouse + children | 66⅔% of AWW shared among dependents, up to weekly max | $320,000 combined | Spouse ends at age 65 or 400 weeks; each child's share ends at age 18 (or 21 if full-time student in accredited institution) |
| Children only (no surviving spouse) | 66⅔% of AWW split equally, up to weekly max | $320,000 | Age 18 (or 21 if full-time student); children physically/mentally incapable of earning may continue |
| Partial dependents | Prorated: (contribution ÷ decedent's wages) × full-dependency benefit amount | Capped accordingly | Age 65 or 400 weeks |
| No dependents | $10,000 or one-half of benefits that would have been payable, whichever is less | — | Paid to State Board |
| Burial expenses | Actual cost | Up to $7,500 | N/A |
Source: Georgia Code O.C.G.A. §34-9-265
Mileage and Travel Reimbursement for Medical Care
Georgia reimburses injured workers for travel tied to medical care. Under State Board Rule 203, the current rate is $0.45 per mile for trips to doctors, physical therapy, pharmacies, and authorized exams.
You have one year from the travel date to submit an itemized request, and the insurer has 15 days to pay. Miss that deadline, and penalties stack up – 10% after 15 days, then 20% plus 12% annual interest after 90 days. The table below lays out the full rules, including meal and lodging reimbursement.
| Rule | Detail |
|---|---|
| Rate (current) | $0.45 per mile (since Rule 203 update effective 7/1/23) |
| Covered travel | Home ↔ doctor, physical therapy, pharmacy, exam or treatment |
| Meal reimbursement | Actual cost, up to $30/day, when travel exceeds 4 hours or is outside home city |
| Lodging | Actual cost when required |
| Deadline to submit | Within 1 year of the date the mileage was incurred |
| Payment deadline | Insurer must pay within 15 days of receiving an itemized written request |
| Late payment penalty | 10% penalty if paid after 15 days; 20% penalty + 12% per annum interest after 90 days |
Source: Georgia State Board of Workers' Compensation Rule 203
Free Workers’ Compensation Case Review
Preparing Case Review Form. ConsumerShield is transforming the way consumers experience law.
Get Matched With a Georgia Workers' Comp Lawyer Today
Georgia's benefit rules are detailed, and insurers don't always calculate your AWW or impairment rating correctly. ConsumerShield matches you directly with an experienced local workers compensation lawyer who specializes in cases like yours. Reach out today for a free case review and find out what your claim may be worth.
