Waffle House, Inc. v. Padgett

Smith, Judge.

We granted the employer’s application for discretionary appeal in this workers’ compensation case to address the issue of whether a claimant who is terminated from employment while receiving tempo rary partial disability payments must show a diligent, unsuccessful search for other employment in order to claim total disability. We hold that such a claimant must show all the elements of a change in condition claim outlined in Maloney v. Gordon County Farms, 265 Ga. 825, 828 (462 SE2d 606) (1995), including a diligent search for work.

Scarlett O’Hara Padgett suffered a work-related…