To Receive Partial Disability Checks Based On My Workplace Injury, Is It Enough To Just Show I Am Making Less Money In The Position I Am Performing Within My Assigned Work Restriction?

This issue was recently addressed by the North Carolina Court of Appeals in Porter v. Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company (2024).

In this case the injured employee was assigned work restrictions due to a work-related injury. The injured employee was performing a position for the employer within the assigned work restrictions, which did not pay the same pre-injury wages each week. The employer arguably had other positions the injured employee could apply for which may have resulted in the injured employee receiving the same pre-injury wages.

The North Carolina Court of Appeals ruled that it is not enough for an injured employee to just compare The Pre-Injury Wages to the wages being received in a new position within the assigned work restrictions. Instead, the North Carolina Industrial Commission when ordering payment of partial disability checks for an injured employee must receive evidence regarding the injured employee’s “loss of wage-earning capacity” due to the workplace injury.

This case brings to light the need to present evidence that the position the injured employee is performing for the employer pays the most in terms of wages as compared to any other positions the injured employee could perform for the employer or even perform for a new employer. This type of evidence will likely require the testimony of vocational rehabilitation expert. Without this type of evidence there is a risk of what the North Carolina Industrial Commission may or may not order for partial disability checks due to the injury at work.

Should you have any questions about this or any of 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.