This summer, the North Carolina Supreme Court came to a decision on a case that is having a huge impact on the world of workers’ compensation. In fact, this ruling is one of the biggest things to happen to workers’ comp in several years. The outcome of Wilkes v. the City of Greenville changed the way we look at the coverage of symptoms and conditions caused by the initial injury. Read on to know the change brought about by this ruling, specifically on how workers comp cover additional conditions if you develop them.
In this case, a man was injured in a car accident while on the job. Not only did he sustain physical injuries, but he also suffered a concussion and tinnitus (or ringing of the ears). As a result of his accident, he filed for workers’ compensation. While initially, he made his claim to cover the physical injuries, he eventually wanted to extend the claim to also cover his depression and anxiety that had resulted from the accident.
His employer claimed that because symptoms such as the anxiety and depression were not directly caused by the accident itself nor were they mentioned in his first claim, they were not responsible for them. The court agreed.
Knowing this was unfair, the man took his case to a higher court. The North Carolina Supreme Court decided that the defendant has a right to ask for additional symptoms and injuries to be considered, even if they are not the precise injury that was initially claimed, and that his additional conditions should be covered.
Cases like this show the court’s dedication to upholding what is right and protecting the rights of individual workers. Because this is such a new ruling, it will be interesting to see how it goes on to affect future cases. Chances are, it’ll mean more people are getting the benefits that they need.
You may think that a third party personal injury case and workers comp claim wouldn’t affect each other. After all, they are completely different areas of the law, right? Well, that’s not always the case. While you may believe the cases are unrelated, they may have more effect on one another than you might think. For instance, in the Easter-Rozzelle case in Charlotte, NC, one man’s personal injury claim totally changed the outcome of his workman’s comp case.
Initially, the worker filed for workers’ compensation after injuring his shoulder while removing a manhole cover for work. He was put on work restrictions for about a week until he recovered. However, by the time his work restrictions were up, he had still not recovered. His employer instructed him to visit his doctor and have his restrictions reevaluated.
It is not uncommon for injuries to not improve by the time you are supposed to return to work. However, on the way to the doctor, the worker got into a car accident. During the accident, he sustained a traumatic injury. In order to deal with this case, the man hired a new attorney to deal with his personal injury case regarding the car accident. This case was settled and he dispersed his settlements without taking into account his workers’ comp lien or informing the Industrial Commission.
When it came time to settle his workers’ comp claim, he tried to have workers’ compensation take into account his injuries from his car accident. Under normal circumstances, this would be a possibility; however, once it came out that he had already settled the claim without letting the insurers or his employer be involved in the process, he lost his claim to the workers’ compensation benefits.
Regardless of whether the cases seem related or not, it’s important to tell your attorney about any and all of the cases that you’re involved in. Your attorney will know which cases might affect the other and which cases might benefit from involving one case with the other.
Being injured at work is an incredibly stressful time for any worker. Between focusing on your recovery and uncertainty about medical bills and compensation, there’s plenty to worry about. This stress is even greater for an undocumented worker, especially given the current political climate. Many undocumented workers have expressed concern about changes in federal policy affecting their right to earn workers’ compensation here in North Carolina.
Be aware: The North Carolina Workers’ Compensation Act is a State Law and is not affected by the recent changes in Washington. The Court of Appeals in North Carolina has said that undocumented workers are entitled to workers’ compensation benefits. Their reasoning is that because undocumented workers are just as capable of earning a salary as documented workers are, they should be included in the Workers’ Compensation Act. Therefore, undocumented immigrants are treated the same as U.S. citizens when it comes to North Carolina’s workers’ compensation benefits.
If you are an undocumented worker, we recommend that you speak with an attorney before making any claims. Ideally, you should be treated no differently than a documented worker under the law. However, as the law can be complicated, the best way to determine what your next steps should be is to work with an attorney. Plus — be sure to work with an attorney who has experience dealing with a variety of cases.
As an employee, you’re reliant on your employer to cover workers’ compensation benefits. It’s a reasonable expectation: they’re asking you to do work in which you could be injured so it makes sense that they would be responsible for ensuring that you are taken care of in the event of an injury.
However, in North Carolina, not all employers are required to carry workers’ compensation insurance. Very small companies are not required to carry workers’ comp insurance because of the number of employees, and some businesses simply do not have insurance. This is particularly common in the contractor business.
So what should you do if you work for one of these businesses and you get injured at work?
There are a couple of things you need to take into consideration before you give up on the possibility of workman’s comp benefits. First of all, if you work for a contractor who is the subcontractor of a main contractor who does carry workers’ compensation insurance, you may be entitled to those benefits. Even though your employer does not carry the benefits, you still could be entitled to recovery under North Carolina law.
Also, if your employer does not carry workers’ compensation, it’s a good idea to speak with an experienced attorney. They’ll be able to tell you whether or not there are any alternative options and what your next steps should be.
