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Frequently Asked Workers’ Compensation Questions

Workers have the right to ask questions about their workers’ compensation claim. Experienced work injury lawyers are happy to answer all your North Carolina and Virginia workers’ compensation questions.

Anyone who is injured while working on their job has questions about their rights. Anyone who suffers an illness due to workplace conditions needs to understand their rights. The best advice for any employee who becomes injured or ill working is to make an appointment with an experienced North Carolina or Virginia workers’ compensation lawyer. He can answer your questions, guide your through the workers’ compensation process, and advocate on your behalf.

Some of the more common questions, employees have about workers’ compensation include:

Who can benefit from workers’ compensation?

Generally, only employees of a company can file for work injury benefits. Independent contractors are typically not eligible. The good news is that the employer does not get to decide who is an employee or an independent contractor. The work relationship is determined by a variety of factors. The main factor is whether the employer controls the work performance of the worker or if the worker controls how he/she does their job. Some of the additional factors that determine whether a worker is an employee or not are who provides the tools to do the job, who controls the hours of performance, and how the worker is paid.

Employers with only one or two employees may not be required to carry workers’ compensation insurance. Larger workers normally must have workers’ compensation insurance for each of their employees. As with most laws, there are some exceptions.

Must I show the employer was negligent?

No.  Workers’ compensation in both North Carolina and Virginia is a compromise. The employee only must show that an accident happened at work or that an illness is due to unique workplace conditions. The employee does not even need to show the employer failed to follow normal business safety standards. The trade-off is that the employee cannot make a claim for “pain and suffering” damages. Also, workers generally only get 2/3rds of their average weekly wages during the time they can’t work – and not the full 100%. There are also caps on how much an injured or ill worker can receive, typically up to 500 weeks.

There are a few exceptions. In Virginia, employers may challenge the right of a worker to demand work injury benefits if the worker intentionally caused his or injures – such as through getting into a fight with a coworker or getting into an accident while intoxicated. In North Carolina, any such showing will reduce the recovery by 10%. 

Also, in North Carolina, there was once an exception if the employer could be found to be guilty of intentional misconduct that caused the accident. The misconduct has been interpreted as meaning that the employer must have been substantially certain that the conduct that the employee was ordered to engage in would result in injury or death.  In those circumstances, there was once some possibility that the employer in North Carolina could be sued directly. This was known as a Woodson claim, named after the poor gentlemen who was ordered to his death by his employer, straight into a ditch the employer knew was about to collapse. 

Unfortunately, in more recent times, it has been widely recognized that the North Carolina Court of Appeals has essentially eliminated any possibility that one of these Woodson claims will ever see the light of day. 

What are the standard work injury benefits?

Injured workers typically receive two types of benefits:

  • Medical compensation. The goal of workers’ compensation is to help the worker return to his or her job. Workers who are injured often start their medical care by going to the local emergency room. If there is a severe problem, they may be admitted to a hospital for tests and for surgeries. Patients then can treat with their family doctor and any specialists who might reasonably help them heal. Specialists include pain management physicians, orthopedist, neurologists, cardiac care doctors, psychologists, psychiatrists, and other doctors. 

 

Patients who are injured at work also usually treat with chiropractors, physical therapists, vocational therapists, and other health care providers.

 

These medical care providers should submit their bills to the employer’s workers compensation insurance carrier. The insurance carrier has a duty to pay these medical bills if they are reasonable, medically necessary, and related to the injury.

 

Other types of care that the insurance company should cover include the cost of medications and medical devices.

 

  • Wage loss compensation. Workers typically in both North Carolina and Virginia are entitled to receive 2/3rds of their average weekly wages during the time they can’t work. This is generally referred to as temporary total disability (TTD). There are caps on the amounts so that workers who earned too much money will only receive the cap limit. There are also limits on how long benefits can be paid –up to 500 weeks in Virginia and North Carolina. 

 

Workers who have a partial temporary disability and who can return to work receive at a lower-paying job receive 2/3rds of the wages they lose by accepting the lower paying job. This is called temporary partial disability (TPD). 

 

Workers who are no longer receiving TTD and have a permanent disability in a specific body part may be entitled to pay based on the type of disability they have in that body part. This is referred to as permanent partial impairment (PPI). Payments are made according to a percentage disability rating and a scale of weeks set forth via statute, depending on the type of disability (such as hearing loss or the loss of use of a hands, feet, arms or legs) and the degree of impairment.

Injured and ill workers may also be entitled to vocational rehabilitation; however, although this is technically a benefit it is usually not helpful to an injured workers case. It is typically utilized by the workers compensation insurance company to “trip up” the injured worker or apply pressure to settle the claim, or reduce the liability of the workers comp insurance company by finding a job-ANY job—for the injured worker. Voc Rehab is typically employed with workers who aren’t expected to return to the same type of job they did before the injury. 

Which doctors must I see? 

Normally, in Virginia, the employer will have a panel of three doctors for each type of injury or illness – starting with a list of family care doctors. Employees must choose one of the physicians on the list of doctors – for their type of injury or illness. If a referral is needed to a specialist such as an Orthopedic or Neurosurgeon, then additional panels must be provided by the workers compensation insurance company. 

In North Carolina, unfortunately, there are no panels, rather, the insurance company usually chooses a treating physician. 

If there is a good reason, then employees can seek permission from the Commission to see a doctor of their own choosing. A good reason may be that it is clear the doctor isn’t helping the injured worker get better he or she is still in pain – and still can’t work. Experienced North Carolina and Virginia work injury lawyers often have working relationships with a variety of physicians. The lawyer may be able to seek approval to switch to one of these doctors – or to an independent new doctor. 

In Virginia, this process is not easy. It really depends whether the authorized treating doctor has indicated that he or she no longer wants to see the injured worker. If the authorized treating doctor has not released the injured worker from care, for instance by saying “prn” in their office notes which means “patient may return as needed,” then it may be more difficult to seek a switch. 

Although there is no means to obtain a “second opinion” of a doctor formally through the Workers Compensation Commission by injured workers in Virginia, workers are free at any time to seek alternative care at their own cost. 

In North Carolina, there does exist a process to obtain an Independent Medical Examination—at the expense of the employer. 

Lawyer Joe Miller has helped thousands of injured and ill employees get their full workers’ compensation benefits. He represents workers in North Carolina and Virginia. He’ll answer your questions and explain the workers’ compensation process. He’ll work aggressively to help you get all the benefits you deserve. To review your case now, call  attorney Joe Miller at 1-(888) 694-1671 or use my contact form to schedule an appointment.

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5500-B Greenwich Rd.
Virginia Beach, VA 23462

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Elizabeth City, NC 27907

If you are looking at this site, you or a loved one has probably been hurt. If that's true, you've come to the right place. Helping people who have been hurt is what we do. In fact, it is all we do. Joe Miller Law is a law firm concentrating exclusively on representing people who are injured by the carelessness of others or those hurt on the job. We provide the highest quality legal services to people who have been seriously injured. We practice Personal Injury law and Workmens' Compensation law in both Virginia and North Carolina.