Workers' Compensation Lawyer in Oak Ridge, NC

If you’ve been injured or developed an occupational illness while working in Oak Ridge, North Carolina, you may qualify for workers’ compensation benefits to cover your medical expenses and part of your lost wages. Under North Carolina’s workers’ compensation laws, you may also be entitled to benefits for physical therapy, travel to medical appointments, and more.

At Ward Black Law, our Oak Ridge workers’ compensation lawyers are ready to determine whether your injury or illness may qualify you to receive workers’ compensation benefits. We can then file your claim with the North Carolina Industrial Commission (NCIC). We want to guide you throughout the complex claims process and help you if you need to appeal a decision, negotiate a settlement, or take your case to court.

Contact us today for a free consultation with a workers’ compensation lawyer in Oak Ridge, NC

Who Is Eligible for Workers’ Compensation?

Most North Carolina employers with three or more employees must provide workers’ compensation benefits to employees injured at work. You are likely eligible for workers’ compensation benefits if you are a covered employee injured while performing your job duties – regardless of who was at fault for the accident.

Workers’ compensation can also provide benefits for covered workers who develop an occupational disease as a result of their workplace duties.

You should still be eligible even if you were not at your regular worksite when you were injured but were still performing job-related tasks, such as traveling for work. However, if you were injured while intoxicated by alcohol or a controlled substance not prescribed by a physician, you will likely not qualify.

Types of Workers Compensation Benefits in Oak Ridge, NC

Workers’ compensation benefits are designed to provide medical and financial assistance to injured workers until they can safely return to their workplace. Medical benefits under North Carolina law mean “medical, surgical, hospital, nursing, and rehabilitative services, including … prescribed attendant care services.”

Financial assistance to injured and ill Oak Ridge workers is paid weekly and based on an employee’s average weekly wage (AWW) from before the injury. If you cannot work at all, compensation payments are for two-thirds of your AWW, subject to an annually adjusted cap set by the state. These payments begin after you have missed seven work days. You will be retroactively paid for the first seven missed work days once you miss 21 work days.

If your injuries or illness lead to a long-term impairment, you could receive permanent total disability or permanent partial disability benefits. These ratings are decided by your medical provider and are based on disability ratings used by the American Medical Association.

A worker’s surviving family is entitled to death benefits if the worker passes away due to a job-related injury or illness. These pay for funeral and burial expenses as well as two-thirds of the deceased’s AWW for up to 500 weeks.

Other benefits include vocational rehabilitation, travel mileage reimbursement, and disfigurement compensation at the discretion of the Industrial Commission.

Common Workplace Injuries and Accidents

Common examples of injuries that workers frequently suffer in Oak Ridge include:

• Cuts(lacerations)
• Bruises(contusions)
• Broken bones
• Soft-tissue injuries such as sprains or tears of muscles, tendons, and ligaments
• Neck and back injuries like herniated or ruptured discs
• Repetitive stress injuries, like carpal tunnel syndrome
• Burns
• Electrocution injuries
• Crush injuries
• Amputations
• Internal organ damage and internal bleeding
• Head injuries, including eye and ear trauma
• Knee injuries including torn ACLs or MCLs
• Shoulder injuries including torn rotator cuffs
• Traumatic brain injury
• Hearing loss
• Toxic exposure
• Exposure to communicable diseases

What Should I Do If I Have Been Injured on the Job?

After a workplace injury in Oak Ridge, consider taking the following steps as soon as possible:

1. Report the accident and injury to your employer as soon as you can.
2. Document the accident scene by taking photographs or video, if possible. Get the name and contact information for any witnesses.
3. Seek emergency medical treatment or treatment from an employer-approved healthcare provider.
4. Follow your doctor’s treatment instructions and recommendations. Failure to do so may lead to the termination of your benefits and the employer’s insistence that you can return to full duty.
5. Speak to an Oak Ridge workers’ compensation attorney to discuss what kinds of workers’ compensation benefits could be available in your case and whether you are receiving the full benefits you deserve.

Deadline for Filing a Workers’ Compensation Claim in Oak Ridge

You are expected to give your employer notice of your accident and injury as soon as possible. In any event, you must notify your employer no later than 30 days after your accident and injury. You can usually report your accident and injury by filing the appropriate form with the North Carolina Industrial Commission. You will also submit a copy to your employer. Your employer may also have procedures for reporting a work-related accident.

If you must pursue a claim for compensation with the Industrial Commission, you must generally file your claim within two years of the date you were injured.

If you believe you have developed an occupational disease or illness, you must generally file a claim with the North Carolina Industrial Commission within two years of the later of: (1) the date on which you are diagnosed with an occupational disease or illness and informed by that physician that the illness or disease is related to your employment, or (2) the date on which you are first disabled by your disease or illness.

If your employer has terminated medical benefits, you have two years from the last medical treatment paid for by your employer to file a claim with the Industrial Commission.

What If Your Claim Is Denied or Undervalued?

If your workers’ compensation claim is denied, or you don’t receive the benefits you believe you should get, the law includes an appeals process. The process requires that you file a request for a hearing. However, the Industrial Commission will first require you to participate in a mediation conference.

Your employer and their insurance company lawyers will be present at the hearing, along with a court reporter and a judge. Sometimes witnesses may also be present. At this point in the process, you would benefit from having a Ward Black Law workplace injury lawyer with you at the hearing.