Workers' Compensation

Perhaps the most interesting developments this survey period came from the many opportunities the Georgia Supreme Court had to tackle difficult issues in the workers' compensation arena, especially when the court rarely hears workers' compensation appeals. From what some would call drastic developments in the claimant's burden of proof in change in condition cases, to an examination of Georgia's long-standing requirement of a "physical injury" in psychological claims, the court was faced with some interesting legal arguments. Although these opinions may not require legislative intervention or clarification, the Chairman of the State Board's advisory committee will no doubt continue to fine tune certain aspects of the Workers' Compensation Act (the "Act"), as the committee has done in previous survey periods. In the end, final word on some of these somewhat controversial issues (e.g., the compensability of mental-mental psychological claims) may come through the Georgia General Assembly.