Workplace Injury — the Civil-Law Route
The Civil Code of Georgia contains no separate compensation scheme for workplace injuries — this must be said plainly at the outset. Questions of labour safety and labour law are regulated by other legislation; the Civil Code gives the injured party the general mechanism of damage compensation. That mechanism stands on two norms: Article 992 — a person who causes damage to another by an unlawful, intentional or negligent act is obliged to compensate it; and Article 997 — a person is obliged to compensate the damage which his employee caused to a third person by an unlawful act in the performance of his labour (service) duties. This is the framework within which an injured worker or his family claims compensation.
Who Answers and for What — Article 997
Article 997 contains two important details. First: the employer answers for his employee's unlawful act where it was committed in the performance of service duties — the service connection is the basis for extending liability. Second: liability does not arise if the employee acted without fault — fault is thus the decisive condition of this construction. In a workplace-injury case this construction works where the damage was caused by the unlawful act of another employee or a manager: breach of safety rules, improper instruction or gross operation of equipment are exactly the acts for which the employer answers under Article 997. The general fault rule (Article 992) covers the cases where the person causing the damage acts directly.
It is also important that the employee's act and the service connection must be proven together: the court assesses whether the act was part of performing the service task and whether it can be considered culpable. Therefore, in preparing the case the internal rules, instructions, shift schedules and witness statements are assembled into one picture — and that picture decides whether liability under Article 997 arises.
The Form of Compensation — Article 408
The person obliged to compensate damage must restore the situation that existed before the damage — this is the general rule of Article 408. For bodily injury or harm to health the rule is concrete: if the victim's capacity to work was taken away or reduced, or his needs have increased, the damage is compensated by a monthly allowance. Treatment costs are claimed in advance; the same applies to professional retraining where it becomes necessary. Instead of an allowance, a one-time compensation may be claimed where a significant ground exists. For a worker injured at the workplace this means that the course of treatment, recovery and the compensation of earning capacity are claimed through a single mechanism.
Non-Pecuniary Damage — Article 413
Harm to health is more than material expense: pain, stress and the disruption of the usual rhythm of life require separate compensation. Article 413 provides that monetary compensation for non-pecuniary damage may be claimed only in the cases precisely defined by law, as reasonable and fair compensation — and where bodily injury or harm to health occurred, the victim has the right to such a claim. A victim of an industrial injury claims moral damage exactly on this norm, and substantiating its amount is a practical skill possessed by an experienced lawyer.
Limitation and Practical Steps
Under Article 1008 the limitation period for the right to claim compensation for tort damage is three years from the moment the victim learned of the damage or of the person liable for it. In workplace-injury cases this moment is usually connected with the point when the trauma or its consequences became clear, and computing the period correctly decides the fate of the claim. A timely reaction — collecting documentation and obtaining a legal assessment — must therefore be the first priority after an industrial injury.
The first step is reconstructing the factual picture: when and how the injury occurred, who was involved in the performance of service duties, and which act was unlawful. The second is assembling the medical and other evidence: the diagnosis, the degree of working capacity, the treatment costs. The third is formulating the claims in accordance with Articles 408 and 413 and presenting them in time. A lawyer leads this process from beginning to end: identifying the liable person, assessing the evidence, presenting the claim and, if necessary, litigating. Remember: the civil route is not the only rule by which workplace injury is regulated, but it is the one that compensates the damage at its real scale.
One additional note: when preparing the claim, every cost and loss must be recorded in time — treatment records, medication documentation, transport expenses and the medical assessment of the change in working capacity. This material forms the numerical foundation of the claim, and reconstructing it later is almost impossible. A lawyer systematises this documentation and builds the claim in a format that converts directly into evidence in court.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who answers for damage caused by a worker?
The employer answers to third parties for damage caused by his worker’s unlawful act in the performance of the employment duty; no liability arises where the worker acted without fault.
In what form is the damage compensated?
By restoration of the previous situation; where working capacity is lost or reduced — by a monthly allowance, with treatment costs claimed in advance and a one-off payment possible on significant grounds.
Within what period can suit be brought?
Within three years from the moment the victim learned of the damage or of the liable person.
How We Help on Legal.ge
The lawyers of Legal.ge handle workplace-injury cases through the civil-law route: establishing the circle of liability, calculating the monthly allowance and non-pecuniary damage, and protecting the limitation period. Contact us — the claim will be built on a documentary foundation.