by Vincent A. Toreno, Esq.

We have learned that the Georgia Legislature may be presented with updated revisions to the Act for consideration when the legislators reconvene in January 2015. Each year, the State Board’s Advisory Council works with the three-member Board that comprises the Appellate Division on the development of rules and regulations. This year, the Council is set to consider a number of changes, with both the defense and claimant’s bars offering input. One important issue up for consideration is the existence and use of posted panels. Claimants want to be free to select their own doctors, while employers contend that an increasing number of mergers within the healthcare industry make it difficult to select six unaffiliated physicians for a panel.

Annually, claimants’ attorneys push for an increase in the maximum TTD rate. Maximum indemnity caps were last changed in 2013, but before that they had not been changed since 2007. The Council is reportedly set to consider a $25 increase in the TTD maximum from $525 to $550 and a corresponding change in the TPD rate. The Council may also propose changes to the laws surrounding the exclusive remedy nature of the Workers’ Compensation Act in response to a recent Court of Appeals case which called into question the extent of the exclusive remedy.

As the 2015 session of the General Assembly draws closer, we should have more clarity on the exact changes the Council is proposing and the chances of success for these changes in the legislature.