Did I Have An “Accident” Which Would Allow Me To Obtain Workers’ Compensation Benefits Via The North Carolina Industrial Commission?

This issue was addressed by the North Carolina Court of Appeals in Jenkins v. Wells Fargo Bank (2022).

This case dealt with an employee who traveled for work and when she was in her hotel room as she attempted to get up from the couch where she was seated her foot/ankle rolled resulting in an injury. There was no evidence presented that there was a slip/trip/fall or anything unusual that cased the employee’s foot/ankle to roll.

The North Carolina Court of Appeals ruled that there was no “accident” that caused the employee’s injury to her foot/ankle, thereby denying her claim for workers’ compensation benefits.

There was evidence presented to the North Carolina Industrial Commission that the morning after this incident when the employee attempted to get out of bed she fell because she could not place any weigh on her injured foot/ankle. The North Carolina Court of Appeals noted that this fall the next day was also not the basis for workers’ compensation benefits because the fall would not have happened but for the injury the day before, which was denied as a claim for 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.