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Experienced Lawyers For Employer & Insurance Company Defense

April 25, 2022 UPDATE


Greetings all!


On April 12, 2022, attorneys Phil Sibley and Karen Gibson from our Macon office, received the Appellate Division Award affirming a prior Administrative Law Judge decision on the first COVID-19 claim brought to a hearing in Georgia. We are pleased to report that the Appellate Division found that the Administrative Law Judge was in the best position to determine the weight of the evidence and affirmed the prior decision in its entirety. What this means for our clients, is that as of now, COVID-19 is still not recognized as a compensable work-related injury by the Georgia State Board of Workers' Compensation.


Opposing Counsel does have the right to appeal this decision to the Superior Court and if that happens, we will continue to argue that COVID-19 is not a compensable work-related injury. As far as we know, no other law firm has brought a COVID claim to a hearing before the courts and we are delighted to have established such agreeable precedent. We will continue to keep our clients informed as the law develops in this area.

LSFS Prevails on 1st COVID Claim Litigated in Georgia

 

Phillip A. Sibley

Partner, Workers' Compensation


Karen Gibson

Associate, Workers' Compensation

 

On October 19, 2021, our Macon Partner, Phillip A. Sibley, and Senior Associate, Karen J. Gibson, tried the first Georgia Workers’ Compensation Claim involving Covid-19 in the workplace. The claim was brought by a widower whose deceased spouse worked as a records clerk for a county jail. 



Judge Sharon Reeves issued the Award on December 29, 2021, finding that in this particular claim, Covid-19 was not a compensable injury or disease under the Georgia statute. Interestingly, the claimant’s counsel argued that Covid-19 was not an occupational disease but was rather an injury leading to disease and brought on by injurious exposure.  


Our defense revolved around the deceased’s potential community exposure, as evidenced by bank records, as well as the extensive measures taken by the County to prevent the spread of Covid-19. Although we were successful in all our arguments, Judge Reeves based her Award in part on the position held by the deceased at the county Jail. The Award left open the possibility that some jobs or positions might lend a different result, and that is important to remember, especially for our first responder and health care clients who may be facing similar claims.  


A timely appeal was filed by the Claimant on January 14th, and Oral Arguments will be scheduled later this year. We look forward to sharing our continued success with you on this and other claims. can articulate some sort of constitutional/due process objection that would merit a federal appeal.

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Phillip A. Sibley was born in Burlington, North Carolina, November 6, 1961; admitted to bar, 1987, Georgia. Education: Wake Forest University (B.A., 1984); Walter F. George School of Law, Mercer University (J.D., 1987), Sigma Chi Fraternity. Mr. Sibley is a partner with Levy, Sibley, Foreman & Speir, LLC’s Macon and Savannah offices and handles matters for the firm both regionally and state-wide. Mr. Sibley has practiced in the area of workers compensation defense since 1987 and has authored numerous articles and spoken at various seminars regarding Workers’ Compensation Law. Mr. Sibley was 2018 Co-Chairman of the annual Workers' Compensation Seminar. Member: Macon and American Bar Associations; State Bar of Georgia; Georgia Defense Lawyers Association. Practice Areas: Workers Compensation Defense; Insurance Defense Law.


Mr. Sibley is a Martindale Hubbell AV Pre-eminent rated attorney.

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Karen Gibson is a native of Greensboro, North Carolina and a proud UNC-Chapel Hill Tar Heel, graduating in 2001. She moved to Macon in 2004 for law school and upon completion of her degree in 2007 at Mercer University School of Law, Ms. Gibson began working in workers' compensation insurance defense. She spent 3.5 years in defense before switching to spend 7 years working on the claimant's side of workers' compensation. Ms. Gibson was recognized as a Super Lawyers Rising Star in 2017, received awards in 2017 for 10 Best Workers’ Compensation Attorneys in Georgia and Georgia’s Outstanding Young Lawyers.  


Karen is a Martindale Hubbell AV Pre-eminent rated attorney.

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