Personal Injury

If the claim is accepted by the insurance company, then the injured worker will have to get treatment with physician that the insurance company selects. If the claim is denied, then the injured worker is free to see who they want with the hope that the insurance company will pay the bills later in a compromise or that the bills are ordered to be paid by the insurance company by the Industrial Commission.

The North Carolina Workers’ Compensation Act requires that an injured worker notify their employer in writing within 30 days of suffering a workplace injury. It is the injured worker’s responsibility to file a “Form 18” with the North Carolina Industrial Commission.

Disability benefits are paid to injured workers in accepted claims (or claims where the workers’ compensation insurance company admits that the worker is entitled to compensation). Weekly benefits are paid when there is total disability (the injured worker is not capable of any work) or when they can return to work at lesser wages (partial disability). Permanent partial impairment ratings are also paid out over a set period of weeks on some case.

Seek medical attention if you are injured! Take pictures, get the names and numbers of any available witnesses, remain at the scene to collect all the insurance information and contact information of everyone involved. Talk to an attorney prior to talking to the insurance companies.

You can go to your doctor(s) for medical treatment. The sooner the better! Since the insurance company in a car accident does not pay for your medical bills upfront, you may go where ever you want for treatment. Document the medical facilities where you’ve received treatment and keep records of all your bills so at the end of your medical treatment you can ask the insurance company to reimburse you for bills that have been paid or are outstanding.

Unfortunately, probably not. North Carolina is a contributory negligence state. What that means is that if you are found to have contributed in any way to the fault of the accident then you cannot recover at all from the other person. (not even if you are 1% and the other person is 99%) For example, if you are texting and driving and get hit by a car you might not be able to recover if it is found that you could have avoided the accident by staying off your phone.

Yes, unlike workers’ compensation cases where pain and suffering is not a benefit, people injured as a result of another person’s negligence can receive compensation for pain and suffering. Pain and suffering can include many, many things and cover a wide variety of situations. Just a few examples of this could include pain recovering from surgery or burns, suffering from losing a job, or not being able to hold your child due to your injuries. Injured individuals should consider creating a daily journal or some kind of record of pain following an injury.

Insurance companies have no interest in paying you all that you deserve. They often deny claims, delay giving you answers, and hope you become so frustrated that you give up. An attorney can make sure you obtain what you are entitled to, not only from the other driver’s insurance company but also from your own insurance policy that you purchased to protect and cover you.