Case Summary: Our client worked as a school bus driver for the Fulton County Board of Education and also spent her summers transporting newly manufactured school buses across the country for a separate company. After suffering a compensable on-the-job injury while working for Fulton County, a dispute arose regarding how her average weekly wage should be calculated for workers’ compensation benefits. Although she had earned substantial wages from her seasonal driving position during the 13 weeks leading up to the injury, the employer and insurer argued those earnings should not count because she was no longer actively working that summer job at the time of the accident.
After unfavorable rulings before the State Board of Workers’ Compensation and the trial court, the case was appealed through the Georgia appellate system and ultimately reached the Georgia Supreme Court. The Supreme Court ruled in favor of our client and held that wages earned from similar employment during the relevant 13-week period could be included in the calculation of an injured worker’s average weekly wage, even if the jobs were not being worked simultaneously on the exact date of injury.
The decision clarified and expanded Georgia law concerning “concurrent similar employment” and established important statewide precedent for injured workers holding multiple or seasonal jobs. The ruling now provides greater protection for employees across Georgia whose earning capacity comes from more than one source of similar employment, ensuring workers’ compensation benefits more accurately reflect the wages they were actually earning before being injured.
Result: Benefits Calculation Expanded & Statewide Precedent Established
