Once a settlement has been reached, through mediation or through simple negotiations, the settlement must be approved by the State Board of Workers' Compensation. No agreement to settle a Workers' Compensation case in Georgia is enforceable until the settlement has been approved by the State Board. Accordingly, any party to the settlement is free to back out of the agreement until the settlement is approved by the State Board. O.C.G.A. Sec. 34-9-15. This statute and Board Rule 15 govern settlement of a Workers' Compensation claim.
Once an agreement has been reached, the Employer/Insurer will hire an attorney, if they have not already done so, to prepare the settlement documents. In a typical case, the defense attorney will prepare three settlement documents to be signed by the Employee/Claimant. These documents will include a "Stipulation and Agreement," which will have to be filed with the State Board of Workers' Compensation for review and approval. The other two documents will typically be a Resignation and a General Release. To get help with the settlement process in your workers' comp case, speak with an Atlanta workers' compensation lawyer at our firm today.