By Alain Fernandez, Esq. The COVID-19 pandemic has presented novel challenges to civil litigation practice. Georgia state and federal courts continue to balance public health considerations and the administration of justice. Courts have implemented social distancing policies at the state and federal level, which for months have curtailed non-essential court functions and in-person proceedings. In response […]
Pursuant to Georgia’s current workers’ compensation law, whether a case of coronavirus will be compensable needs to be evaluated under Georgia’s “Occupational Disease” statute. An occupational disease requires the following elements as outlined in O.C.G.A. § 34-9-280(2):
A direct causal connection between the conditions under which the work is performed and the disease;
The disease followed as […]
On April 8, 2020, Governor Brian Kemp issued an Executive Order designating employees, staff, and contractors of health care institutions and medical facilities as emergency management workers. While these employees are engaged in emergency management activities during the current public health state of emergency, they will not be liable for death, personal injury, or property damage […]
The Georgia Telehealth Act was enacted in 2005 at O.C.G.A. § 33-24-56.4. The statute enabled the practice of “telemedicine,” the delivery of clinical health care services by means of real time two-way audio, visual, or other telecommunications or electronic communications.
Due in large part to the COVID-19 outbreak, The State Board of Workers’ Compensation officially added […]
Effective April 1, 2020, the Georgia State Board of Workers’
Compensation (SBWC) is providing guidance for the provision of select services
via telemedicine during the COVID-19 pandemic. The national and state health
guidelines for limiting COVID-19 exposure recommend social distancing and
avoiding all but essential public contact. Therefore, telemedicine is
encouraged as a way to protect injured workers and healthcare […]
