A Georgia appellate court ruled the Atlanta Police Department wrongly suspended an injured officer’s workers compensation benefits on the basis that the officer received a return-to-work release from a provider who was not his treating comp physician.
The Georgia Court of Appeals on Thursday said the city erred in suspending comp benefits for Officer Justin Sebastian after the officer went out on workers comp due to injuries sustained in an on-duty vehicle accident in December 2017.
After treatment, Mr. Sebastian was released to return to work on light duty with restrictions. His treating physician recommended Mr. Sebastian see a spine specialist to address related back problems.
That specialist later found Mr. Sebastian was at maximum medical improvement, determining the officer could resume normal work activities. The treating physician released Mr. Sebastian to return to work based on the spine specialist’s recommendation.
The city subsequently suspended benefits.
Mr. Sebastian sought benefits reinstatement, arguing suspension was improper because it was based on a recommendation from the spine doctor, not his treating physician.
An administrative law judge found the suspension improper, a decision upheld by a review board.
On appeal, the city argued the suspension was proper since the spine specialist was “an authorized treating physician” in comp, even though he wasn’t Mr. Sebastian’s treating physician.
The appeals court found the city’s argument meritless, since benefits can only be suspended based on reports from treating physicians, not referred doctors.