What Is Workers’ Compensation?

Workers’ compensation is a system that provides financial and medical benefits to people who were injured on the job. All North Carolina employers, except those exempted by the Workers’ Compensation Act, are required to provide workers’ compensation benefits to their injured employees. These benefits include:

• Compensation for disability
• Compensation for time lost from work that is equal to 66 2/3 percent of the employee’s average weekly wage
• Compensation for death
• Compensation for bodily disfigurement
• Compensation for medical expenses

In addition to compensation, injured employees are expected to receive medical treatment to help improve their condition. An employer may choose his or her initial physician to evaluate the injury and provide an initial treatment assessment. However, that physician may be changed later on.

Who Is Eligible For Workers’ Compensation?

Any employee injured while on the job could be eligible for workers’ compensation. This could refer to a specific accident at the office or job site location, or it could refer to an accident that occurred while traveling for work, such as a car accident. In addition, those workers who suffer from repetitive motion injuries (carpal tunnel syndrome, for example) are also eligible to seek a workers’ compensation claim.

It is important to note that the injury suffered must be directly related to an accident at work or a specific function of the job. However, an attorney can be helpful in arguing that the injury is new, particularly during the appeals process.

Call Us To Get Help With Your Workers’ Comp Claim

To schedule a free initial consultation on workers’ compensation, contact Karen Strom Talley of Henson, Talley & Scallon LLP in Greensboro at (336) 944-6513. Ms. Talley is a lawyer who will work closely with you from the initial filing of the workplace accident claim through complex appeals, and everything in between.