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Official Code of Georgia Annotated

Title 34. LABOR AND INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS · Chapter 9. WORKERS’ COMPENSATION · Article 9. SUBSEQUENT INJURY TRUST FUND

34-9-361. Employer’s knowledge of employee’s preexisting permanent impairment.

Active

Current through: Including Acts of the 2025 Regular Session of the General Assembly.

  1. It shall be incumbent upon the employer to establish that the employer had reached an informed conclusion prior to the occurrence of the subsequent injury or occupational disease that the preexisting impairment is permanent and is likely to be a hindrance or obstacle to employment or reemployment. Where, however, the employer establishes knowledge of the preexisting permanent impairment prior to the subsequent injury, there shall be a presumption that the employer considered the condition to be permanent and to be, or likely to be, a hindrance or obstacle to employment where the condition is one of the following:

  2. (1)

    Epilepsy;#

  3. (2)

    Diabetes;#

  4. (3)

    Arthritis which is an obstacle or hindrance to employment or reemployment;#

  5. (4)

    Amputated foot, leg, arm, or hand;#

  6. (5)

    Loss of sight of one or both eyes or a partial loss of uncorrected vision of more than 75 percent bilaterally;#

  7. (6)

    Residual disability from poliomyelitis;#

  8. (7)

    Cerebral palsy;#

  9. (8)

    Multiple sclerosis;#

  10. (9)

    Parkinson’s disease;#

  11. (10)

    Cardiovascular disorders;#

  12. (11)

    Tuberculosis;#

  13. (12)

    Intellectual disability, provided the employee’s intelligence quotient is such that he falls within the lowest 2 percent of the general population; provided, however, that it shall not be necessary for the employer to know the employee’s actual intelligence quotient or actual relative ranking in relation to the intelligence quotient of the general population;#

  14. (13)

    Psychoneurotic disability following confinement for treatment in a recognized medical or mental institution for a period in excess of six months;#

  15. (14)

    Hemophilia;#

  16. (15)

    Sickle cell anemia;#

  17. (16)

    Chronic osteomyelitis;#

  18. (17)

    Ankylosis of major weight-bearing joints;#

  19. (18)

    Hyperinsulism;#

  20. (19)

    Muscular dystrophy;#

  21. (20)

    Total occupational loss of hearing as defined in Code Section 34-9-264;#

  22. (21)

    Compressed air sequelae;#

  23. (22)

    Ruptured intervertebral disc; or#

  24. (23)

    Any permanent condition which, prior to the occurrence of the subsequent injury, constitutes a 20 percent impairment of a foot, leg, hand, or arm, or of the body as a whole.#

The notes below are printed with the section but are not enacted law (O.C.G.A. § 1-1-1(c)). They are shown apart from the text.

History

Code 1933, § 114-914, enacted by Ga. L. 1977, p. 608, § 1; Ga. L. 2015, p. 385, § 4-15/HB 252.

Editor's notes

Ga. L. 2015, p. 385, § 1-1/HB 252, not codified by the General Assembly, provides that: ‘‘This Act shall be known and may be cited as the ‘J. Calvin Hill, Jr., Act.’’’

Code Commission notes

Pursuant to Code Section 28-9-5, in 1988, a hyphen was placed between the words ‘‘weight bearing’’ in paragraph (17).

Other notes

The 2015 amendment, effective July 1, 2015, substituted ‘‘intellectual disability’’ for ‘‘mental retardation’’ at the beginning of paragraph (12).

Read the official page (the state's PDF, opened at the page this text was read from).

Current through: Including Acts of the 2025 Regular Session of the General Assembly.

Text read from t34-(v26)-2017-pdf.pdf, Volume V26, 2017 edition, pages 940 to 942; merge action: carried; file SHA-256 8ee6134ad6cf.

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O.C.G.A. § 34-9-361. Employer’s knowledge of employee’s preexisting permanent impairment. | Georgia Commons