{"id":4771,"date":"2019-07-01T10:29:47","date_gmt":"2019-07-01T14:29:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/joemillerinjurylaw.com\/?p=4771"},"modified":"2019-06-25T10:33:40","modified_gmt":"2019-06-25T14:33:40","slug":"frequently-asked-workers-compensation-questions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/joemillerinjurylaw.com\/frequently-asked-workers-compensation-questions\/","title":{"rendered":"Frequently Asked Workers’ Compensation Questions"},"content":{"rendered":"

Workers have the right to ask questions about their workers\u2019 compensation<\/a> claim. Experienced work injury lawyers are happy to answer all your North Carolina and Virginia workers\u2019 compensation questions.<\/span><\/p>\n

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\u2019 compensation lawyer. He can answer your questions, guide your through the workers\u2019 compensation process, and advocate on your behalf.<\/span><\/p>\n

Some of the more common questions, employees have about workers\u2019 compensation include:<\/span><\/p>\n

Who can benefit from workers\u2019 compensation?<\/i><\/b><\/h3>\n

Generally, only employees of a company can file for work injury benefits. <\/span>Independent contractors<\/span><\/a> 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 <\/span>controls the work performance<\/b> 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.<\/span><\/p>\n

Employers with only one or two employees may not be required to carry workers\u2019 compensation insurance. Larger workers normally must have workers\u2019 compensation insurance for each of their employees. As with most laws, there are some exceptions.<\/span><\/p>\n

Must I show the employer was negligent?<\/i><\/b><\/h3>\n

No.\u00a0 Workers\u2019 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 <\/span>cannot<\/b> make a claim for \u201cpain and suffering\u201d damages. Also, workers generally only get 2\/3rds of their average weekly wages during the time they can\u2019t work \u2013 and not the full 100%. There are also caps on how much an injured or ill worker can receive, typically up to 500 weeks.<\/span><\/p>\n

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 \u2013 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%.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Also, in North Carolina, there was once an exception if the employer could be found to be guilty of <\/span>intentional misconduct<\/b> that caused the accident. The misconduct has been interpreted as meaning that the employer must have been <\/span>substantially certain<\/b> that the conduct that the employee was ordered to engage in would result in injury or death.\u00a0 In those circumstances, there was once some possibility that the employer in North Carolina could be sued directly. This was known as a <\/span>Woodson<\/i><\/b> 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.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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 <\/span>Woodson <\/span><\/i>claims <\/span>will ever see the light of day.<\/span><\/a>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

What are the standard work injury benefits?<\/i><\/b><\/h3>\n

Injured workers typically receive two types of benefits:<\/span><\/p>\n