How Long Do Workers’ Comp Checks Last in Georgia, and What Happens When They Stop?

• Sep.09.2026
• Work Comp

When your paycheck stops and a smaller comp check takes its place, the first question is almost always the same. How long does this last? And right behind it: What do I do if these checks just stop coming?

Fair questions, and scary ones. Your rent does not pause because you got hurt. I have sat across from people doing the math in their head, wondering how many weeks they have before the money runs out. So let me put real numbers to it, and then walk through exactly what to do the day a check does not show up. Because that day is when the insurance company is quietly testing whether you will push back.

What these checks are

If a work injury keeps you from working, Georgia pays wage replacement benefits called temporary total disability, or TTD. The amount is two-thirds of your average weekly wage, up to a maximum set by state law.

That maximum has climbed over the years, which is worth seeing:

The most recent increase came from House Bill 480, which raised the TTD maximum from $725 to $800 per week for injuries on or after July 1, 2023. The exact cap that applies to you depends on your date of injury, so confirm the current maximum for your specific injury date with the State Board of Workers’ Compensation.

If you can work but only in a lighter, lower-paying role, there is a second type called temporary partial disability, or TPD, which pays two-thirds of the difference between your old wages and your new lower wages, currently capped at $533 per week.

The 400-week rule

Here is the number most workers are searching for.

For a typical, non-catastrophic injury in Georgia, TTD wage checks are generally payable for a maximum of 400 weeks from the date of injury (O.C.G.A. section 34-9-261). TPD benefits are capped at 350 weeks.

Four hundred weeks sounds like forever until you are living it. And that cap is a ceiling, not a promise. The insurer can try to stop your checks well before 400 weeks if they believe you have recovered enough to work, often once a doctor says you have reached maximum medical improvement. That brings us to the part that catches people off guard.

The catastrophic exception

Not every injury fits the 400-week box.

If your injury is legally catastrophic, the wage benefits can continue past the 400-week limit, until you have a change in condition for the better. Catastrophic covers the most serious cases, things like severe spinal cord injuries, traumatic brain injuries, amputations, and other injuries that keep a worker from returning to their prior kind of work.

Whether an injury gets designated catastrophic is a fight worth having, because the difference is enormous. It can mean the difference between benefits running out and benefits that continue while you still cannot work. Insurers know this, so they often resist the catastrophic designation. That resistance is exactly where having someone in your corner changes the outcome.

What to do the day your checks stop

This is the moment that matters most, so here is the plain playbook.

An insurer usually cannot just go silent. When they suspend or reduce your benefits, they generally have to file paperwork with the State Board, often a form called the WC-2, stating why. Sometimes it is because a doctor released you to work. Sometimes it is a paperwork move they are hoping you will not challenge, and sometimes it is part of a longer pattern where the insurance company delays benefits.

If your checks stop:

• Do not panic, and do not assume it is final. A suspension is not always the last word.
• Find out the stated reason. Ask for the form the insurer filed.
• Save everything: the last check, any letters, any doctor notes.
• Do not sign anything that ends your rights before someone reviews it.
• Get advice fast, because responding to a wrongful suspension can be time-sensitive.

One more thing I tell clients, especially when benefits are on the line. This is often when insurers step up surveillance, watching or filming you to argue you are more capable than you claim. If that sounds far-fetched, read the insurance company is watching you. It does not mean you did anything wrong. It means the stakes just went up, and it is another reason to be careful and get guidance.

I spent years on the insurance defense side, and I will tell you how the other side thinks. When benefits get cut off, they are partly measuring your reaction. A worker who does not push back is cheaper than a worker who does. Cutting off benefits, undervaluing a claim, and dragging out disputes are all levers the insurer can pull. Pushing back the right way is how injured workers get benefits restored.

Your checks stopping is not the end of the story

A cut-off check feels like a door slamming. Often it is the start of a dispute you can win, not the end of your claim. Wrongfully denied or terminated benefits are one of the main reasons injured workers come to us, and it is one of the fights we take on hardest. If that is where you are, our guide on the five steps to fight a denied workers’ comp claim is a good first read, and if a disputed disability rating is behind the cutoff, see challenging an impairment rating in Georgia.

For the full picture of how benefits work, start with our overview of Georgia workers’ compensation.

You handle healing. Let us handle the insurance company. If your workers’ comp checks stopped in Georgia, request your free consultation. Se habla español.

Sources

• O.C.G.A. section 34-9-261, Compensation for Total Disability (400-week limit; catastrophic exception referencing section 34-9-200.1).
• Georgia House Bill 480, raising the maximum weekly TTD benefit to $800 and TPD to $533 for injuries on or after July 1, 2023.
• Georgia State Board of Workers’ Compensation, maximum weekly income benefit by injury date, and Board Form WC-2 used to commence, suspend, or change income benefits.

Attorney advertising. This article is general information about Georgia law and is not legal advice. Benefit amounts and deadlines depend on your date of injury and specific facts, and the State Board adjusts the maximum periodically. Reading this does not create an attorney-client relationship. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. For advice about your situation, speak with a licensed Georgia attorney. Responsible attorney: Rick J. DeMedeiros, The Law Office of Rick J. DeMedeiros, P.C., Alpharetta, GA.