We often receive this question in all types of cases, not just back and neck injuries. While we stand by the fact that it is impossible to assign a blanket value to all back and neck injuries, there are certain types of benefits an injured worker can expect to receive. Specifically in Georgia, through workers' compensation you are entitled to 2 different benefits if you are injured on the job: Indemnity benefits. The first type of benefit is indemnity (i.e. "wage loss", "lost time," or "wage replacement") compensation. This is based on the income that you earned in the 13 weeks prior to your on-the-job injury with that company. If you weren't employed for 13 weeks, there are other ways to determine your average weekly wage. Once your average weekly wage is calculated, the income received by the injured worker is two-thirds of that amount. There are no taxes taken out of indemnity benefits. This is one of the reasons why injured workers only receive two-thirds of their average weekly wage as opposed to all of it. Permanent (PPD) disability. The second type of benefit you can receive in a workers' compensation case is a permanent disability rating. This rating is determined by a doctor and relates to what percentage of permanent disability is the result of the work-related accident. Each body part has a different value according to the workers' compensation statute. For back and neck injuries, the value is 300 weeks. In order to calculate a permanent partial disability amount, multiply the rating by the workers' compensation rate by 300 to determine the value of a permanent partial disability rating for a back or neck. Medical treatment. The third type of workers' compensation benefit available to injured workers in Georgia is medical treatment. When you injure your back or neck at work, you should not have a single out-of-pocket expense for medical treatment relating to your on-the-job injury. This doesn't mean that you can treat with any doctor you want, though; it is imperative to discuss your doctor options with an attorney.