Can My Employer Deny Workers’ Comp After Paying for Treatment?

My employer was paying for the medical treatment for my work-related injury and now they are telling me that my workers’ compensation claim has been denied, can they do this?

This issue was addressed by the North Carolina Court of Appeals in Garrett v. The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company (2019).

In this case the North Carolina Court of Appeals affirmed the prior decision of the North Carolina Industrial Commission who ruled that an employer may voluntarily provide payment of medical bills for an injured employee via the filing of a Form 63 and then later, and in some instances much later, file a Form 61 denying any further workers’ compensation benefits for the injured employee, requiring a formal trial before the North Carolina Industrial Commission if the injured employee alleges the entitlement of further workers’ compensation benefits due to the work-related injury.

The formal trial process before the North Carolina Industrial Commission can take over a year from start to finish and this time period is the same no matter when the workers’ compensation claim is denied by the employer.  This case highlights the need for an injured employee to confirm the actual acceptance or denial of the workers’ compensation claim as soon as possible following the injury at work, so that if a formal trial before the North Carolina Industrial Commission is required that this process can be started sooner vs later to avoid any delays in the injured employee’s potential entitlement to workers’ compensation benefits.

Should you have any questions about this or any other issues involving your work-related injury, please feel free to reach out to one of the Board Certified Workers’ Compensation Specialists at Cardinal Law Partners for a free consultation by calling (833) 444-4127.