Virtual Hearings Coming for Georgia Workers' Compensation Cases

As many of you know, Governor Kemp has decided to ease open businesses in Georgia.  In the meantime, the Georgia Supreme Court's Emergency Order on the COVID-19 stay/extension is in place at least until May 13, 2020 (click here to see a PDF of the order).  The Georgia State Board of Workers' Compensation has essentially adopted this order, and all workers' compensation hearings have also been postponed until May 13, 2020 (click here to see a PDF of the Board's order).  Board mediations are being held via telephone.  The Board remains open and continues to handle medical issues and other day-to-day rulings on motions.

I received an email today from Jerome Stenger, the ALJ who handles cases in Brunswick, Waycross, Thomson and Augusta.  His email indicated that the Georgia State Board of Workers' Compensation will soon roll out procedures for conducting virtual hearings. This will be entirely optional.  If all parties agree, court proceedings will be handled with Zoom Video Conferencing, and submission of evidence will be cloud-based using a Microsoft OneDrive application. The indications are that this will be an option going forward and not just a stop-gap measure during the COVID-19 crisis.

There is no substitution for in-person examinations, especially in cases where the credibility of witnesses is at issue.  Nonetheless, this change is an exciting one and will, in many cases, greatly decrease the costs associated with taking Georgia workers' compensation cases to hearing, especially when the hearing venue is far removed from the parties or the attorneys.  Watch your email for an announcement from the Board in the coming weeks about how this process will unfold.

If you have any questions or concerns, or if I can be of assistance to you for any Georgia workers' compensation issues, please do not hesitate to call or email.