4 Myths about North Carolina Workers’ Compensation
Let’s discuss some myths and realities concerning North Carolina workers’ compensation.
Myth #1 — You must see the doctor that your insurance company (or employer) provides.
Reality – In the event that the first North Carolina workers’ compensation physician who treats you does not meet your needs, you can go back to your insurance company or to your employer to request a change of physician. Legally, you’re allowed to do this at least one time, and your employer/insurance company must compensate you for the visit.
Myth #2 — If you fail to file for benefits within your employer’s timeline, you won’t get compensation.
Reality: Employers don’t make North Carolina workers’ compensation laws — the state legislature does. In most cases, you have up to two years following your injury to file a claim.
Myth #3 — Insurance companies will cooperate if your claim is legitimate.
Reality: Insurance companies are primarily in business to make money. Claims adjusters will likely dig into your claim looking for as many possible reasons to reject it, disqualify it, or erode your settlement amount. In fact, if you discuss your injury with an insurance company representative before speaking with an attorney, you can accidentally imperil your North Carolina workers’ compensation claim — just by misspeaking or citing the wrong numbers. While insurance companies are not always adversarial, they can be. That’s why it’s generally smart to retain an experienced and intuitive legal representative — someone who’s purely interested in your well-being.
Myth #4 — Retaining an expensive North Carolina workers’ compensation attorney will chip into your benefits.
Reality: The benefits of working with a knowledgeable, results-oriented attorney in general far outweigh the nominal costs of services. Consider: by simply extracting a few extra percentage points on your settlement, you can usually pay for your attorney’s fees and then some. To settle for a fair amount, it makes sense to work with experts who’ve delt with similar cases hundreds of times. Exceptions can apply, of course. For instance, if you’ve closely studied North Carolina workers’ compensation law, perhaps you can negotiate on your own behalf. But even then, you might be advised to retain counsel, since having a proxy negotiate on your behalf gives you extra leverage.
North Carolina Workers’ Compensation Law
NORTH CAROLINA STATE GOVERNMENT
WORKERS’ COMPENSATION EMPLOYEE HANDBOOK
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