Georgia workers’ compensation laws allow employers to deny work injury claims based on certain conduct on the part of the injured worker. This includes instances in which an injured employee lied about his medical condition on his job application if the new injury is associated with the worker’s misrepresentation. Called the “Rycroft defense,” the employer must prove the following three elements in order to properly deny your claim:
- The employee knowingly and willingly made a false representation as to his physical condition
- The employer must have relied on the false representation, and this reliance must have been a substantial factor in the employee’s hiring
- There must have been a causal connection between the false representation and the injury
