This is the story of two guys. Josh and Jeremy. They were both in their mid-20s. Both worked in industrial plants. They lived only 75 miles apart. They were family guys. They each had two kids. They even both had tattoos of their kids’ names.
And each of them lost a piece of his left arm on the job.
But Jeremy received workers’ compensation of only $45,000. Josh was awarded ongoing benefits that could approach three-quarters of a million dollars. For essentially the same injury.
What’s the difference?
Here, I’ll show you.
(Average workers’ compensation for loss of an arm in Georgia and Alabama)
It turns out that the value of a body part, though debated since ancient Sumeria, is far from settled. Even from one state to another, the laws and guidelines differ wildly.
Is this fair? An arm is an arm, right?
The system is broken, but most people have no idea how severely.
