• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

North Carolina Personal Injury & Workers Compensation Attorneys

  • facebook
  • twitter
  • instagram
  • linkedin

Call Us 919-240-4054

Main navigation

  • Camp Lejeune
  • Workers’ Comp
    • Durham, NC
      • Burns and Explosions
      • Durham back injury lawyers
      • Brain Injury
      • Chemical Exposure
      • Construction Accidents
      • Healthcare Workers and COVID-19
      • Occupational Disease
      • Union Members
      • Workplace Violence
  • Personal Injury
    • Durham, NC
      • Burn Injury
      • College Campus Injuries
      • Car Accidents
      • Catastrophic Injuries
      • Premises Liability
      • Product Liability
      • Trucking Accidents
      • Traumatic Brain Injury
    • Charlotte, NC
      • Trucking Accidents
      • Brain Injury Lawyer
      • Burn Injury Lawyer
      • Premises Liability Lawyer
      • Product Liability Lawyer
      • Car Accident Lawyer
      • Catastrophic Injury Lawyer
  • Wrongful Death
    • Durham, NC
    • Charlotte, NC
  • Bicycle Crash
    • Charlotte, NC
  • Our Lawyers
    • Ann E. Groninger
    • Valerie Johnson
    • Helen S. Baddour
    • Drew Culler
    • Jennifer Segnere
    • Speaking Engagements
  • Resources
    • Law Blog
    • Our Community
  • Contact Us
  • Español

March 1, 2018 By nicole

Workers’ Comp is based on disability

Workers’ Comp is based on disability 1

Many injured workers know someone who was injured at work and got a “big” settlement from workers’ comp. But getting a big settlement means that the injured worker suffered a terrible impact to his life and his ability to earn a living. Because Workers’ Comp is based on disability, it means a serious injury and lost money from being out of work. With workers’ compensation settlements, serious injuries accepted by the insurance company usually take a long time before there is a settlement. Sometimes they will never settle. All workers comp settlements are voluntary, and there is no way to force the insurance company to pay more than they want to pay! However it happens, a settlement comes at the end of a workers’ comp case, and sometimes years after the injury.

An injured worker is entitled to only three types of payments from workers’ comp: (1) payment for medical treatment, (2) payment for lost wages, and (3) payment for any permanent injuries. Medical treatment payments include the obvious: visits to the doctor, physical therapy, and hospitalization. It also includes things that you might not think of, including medical travel, broken eyeglasses, and payment for home care for some serious injuries.

Payment for lost wages is to compensate the employee because he is either totally out of work or because he can’t make as much money as he used to before his injury. An out-of-work employee will receive weekly workers’ comp payments equaling two-thirds of his average wages. That is called the workers’ comp rate, and it never changes. If an injured employee can find other work but makes less money, he is entitled to two-thirds of the amount he is losing from what he used to make.

If a worker has a permanent injury, and the doctor determines the amount of permanent injury (the percentage of damage to the body, also known as a rating), the insurance company must pay compensation for it. The amount the injured worker will receive is determined by the rating, the part of the body that was injured and the amount of the workers’ comp rate.

The date that an injured worker finishes healing from the injury is the most important date in his claim. That date is the first day that the injured worker can determine what type of payments they will receive. Some injured workers will not return to work because of their injuries and will receive ongoing weekly benefits and not the payment of a rating. Most injured workers will go back to work but some will not be able to make as much money as before the injury, and they may choose to receive weekly wage loss payments. Still others may choose the amount of the rating, also paid in weekly payments. The law says that the worker gets to choose the option that gives him the most money. Determining which option that will be can take time and a lawyer to figure out.

READ MORE on this topic from Valerie Johnson’s book, Workers Comp 101, Lessons You need to Learn Before It’s Too Late. 

Workers’ Comp is based on disability 2

Filed Under: Work Injury, Workers' Compensation Tagged With: Disability, Long-term Disability Benefits, workers compensation, workers' comp

Primary Sidebar

Primary Sidebar

Occupation

  • Bus Drivers
  • Construction Workers
  • First Responders
  • Police Officers
  • Truck Drivers
  • State Employees
  • Union Members

Injury

  • Asbestos Exposure
  • Durham back injury lawyers
  • Brain Injury
  • Burns and explosions
  • Chemical Exposure
  • COVID-19 and Healthcare Workers
  • Occupational Diseases
  • Workplace Violence

Free Legal Resources

  • Workers’ Compensation 101
  • 8 Questions to Answer Before You Are Ever in a Wreck
  • Essentials for Workers’ Comp Success
  • Help for Families of North Carolina Burn Victims

Locations

Durham Office

300 Blackwell St S#101, Durham, NC 27701

Phone: (919) 240-4054

Fax: (888) 412-0421

Charlotte Office

1018 East Blvd., Ste 6 Charlotte, NC 28203

Phone: (704) 200-2009

Fax : (888) 412-0421

Read Our Google Reviews

Get more stuff

Subscribe to our mailing list and get interesting stuff and updates to your email inbox.

Thank you for subscribing.

Something went wrong.

We respect your privacy and take protecting it seriously.

Copyright Johnson & Groninger PLLC Law Firm SEO by EverSpark Interactive