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Frequently Asked Questions About Worker's Compensation

What is worker's compensation?
Worker's compensation is a state-regulated insurance program that pays medical bills and replaces some lost wages for employees who are injured at work or who have work-related diseases or illnesses. Worker's compensation will pay for the medical treatment of an injury or illness if the injury, disease or illness occurred at work or is job related and the worker's employer has worker's compensation insurance or is certified by the North Carolina Industrial Commission to self-insure.

What benefits am I eligible to receive as an injured employee?
Under law, worker's compensation provides the following four types of benefits:

• Medical - pays for the medical care necessary to treat a work-related injury or illness
• Income - replaces a portion of any wages a worker loses because of a work-related injury or illness
• Death - replaces a portion of lost family income for eligible family members of workers killed on the job
• Burial - pays some of the deceased worker's funeral expenses

When will my medical benefits begin?
Injured workers may receive reasonable and necessary medical care immediately after the injury or illness. The worker may choose a doctor, but the doctor must be on a list of doctors approved by the Commission. Except in an emergency, all medical care must be approved by the treating doctor. The injured worker may receive medical care that is reasonable and necessary to treat a work-related injury or illness without any specific time limit.

What are my rights and responsibilities as an injured worker?

• An injured worker may have the right to receive benefits
• An injured worker has the right to receive the medical care reasonable and necessary to treat a work-related injury or illness without any specific time limit
• An injured worker has the right to the initial choice of doctor
• An injured worker has the right to hire an attorney to help the worker get benefits or to help resolve disputes
• An injured worker has the right to confidentiality
• An injured worker has the responsibility to inform his or her employer about a work-related injury or illness
• An injured worker has the responsibility to fill out a claim form and submit it to the Commission
• An injured worker has the responsibility to tell his or her doctor how the injury occurred and if it was work related

For more information about worker's compensation laws, visit the North Carolina Industrial Commission web site at www.comp.state.nc.us or call or e-mail the worker's compensation attorneys at Whitley Rodgman & Whitley.