Workplace injury: compensation from the employer: what to do under Georgian law

What to do

1. Basis: the employer must fully compensate work-related harm to health and the cost of treatment (Labour Code, Art. 45) and must ensure the safest possible working environment (Labour Code, Art. 45). 'The victim was at fault' is not a defence: only an unforeseeable or uncontrollable circumstance releases the employer, and the employer must prove it (Law of Georgia on Occupational Safety, Art. 5). The employee's own safety duties do not remove the employer's liability (Law on Occupational Safety, Art. 5). If the injured person is partly at fault, the amount depends on whose fault was greater (Civil Code, Art. 415).
2. Time limits: the reliable option is a claim under the Labour Code, which must be filed within 1 year from the moment the violation became known (Labour Code, Art. 74). A tort claim under the Civil Code has a 3-year limit (Civil Code, Art. 1008), but do not rely on it if the claim is built on the Labour Code.
3. What to recover: treatment costs may be claimed in advance (Civil Code, Art. 408); lost income (Civil Code, Art. 411); on loss of working capacity, monthly payments (სარჩო) or a one-time compensation (Civil Code, Art. 408); moral damage for harm to health (Civil Code, Art. 413).
4. Recording the incident: the employee reports the injury to the employer immediately (Law on Occupational Safety, Art. 15). The employer notifies the supervisory authority within 24 hours (and the police if there are signs of a crime) and records the incident involving the injured person (Law on Occupational Safety, Art. 15). If the employer calls it a 'household injury', refute this with medical records, the ambulance record and witnesses.
5. Insurance: employer-paid accident insurance is mandatory only for heavy, harmful and hazardous work (Law on Occupational Safety, Art. 5). A policy does not cancel the employer's liability.
6. Pressure: the Labour Inspection Service may issue a warning, a fine or suspend the work (Law on Occupational Safety, Art. 18). A breach of safety rules that causes less serious or serious harm is a crime (Criminal Code, Art. 240). The employer may not dismiss an employee, or worsen their position, for claiming compensation (Law on Occupational Safety, Art. 10).
7. Where to apply: the Labour Inspection Service; the police (serious harm); the court, civil panel.
8. Evidence: medical records, ambulance record, sick-leave certificate, receipts, salary certificate, photos, witnesses, the safety briefing log, the employer's record of registration and investigation of the accident (there is no Georgian equivalent of the Russian accident report form N-1).
9. Pitfalls: agreeing to a 'household injury' characterisation; waiting for an amicable solution and missing the 1-year time limit; the absence of insurance does not change the fact that the employer pays.

Be sure to check

• the employer must fully compensate harm to health and treatment; the employee's fault only reduces the amount, and the burden is on the employer
• what to recover: treatment, lost earnings, monthly payments, moral damage
• record the accident immediately; the employer must report it and register it
• time limits: 1 year under the Labour Code (reliable), 3 years for tort under the Civil Code
• Labour Inspection Service, police in case of serious harm, court