NC Workers’ Comp Disability Benefits
How a Workers’ Compensation Lawyer may be able to help
There are different types of disability ratings in workers’ compensation (sometimes called “workman’s comp”) claim cases. If your job injury has left you disabled, you may be entitled to benefits as compensation under the NC Workers’ Compensation Act. Benefits may be paid to you according to your pay rate and the nature and extent of your injury. In some cases, injured workers might also qualify for additional benefits under Social Security. Your workers’ compensation lawyer is best qualified to answer questions related to your specific situation. For more information about your case, contact a workers’ compensation attorney today.
Temporary Partial Disability Benefits under NC Workers’ Comp
In some job injury claims, a person’s disability may not allow him to secure the same type of employment he enjoyed prior to his work accident. He may then find that he is earning less than what he did prior to his injury. If the injured worker has appropriate medical documentation to support this aspect of his claim, his workers’ compensation attorney may be able to help him secure temporary partial disability benefits. Temporary partial disability benefits are those that an employee may be entitled to receive after he has returned to work.
An employee awarded temporary partial disability benefits may be entitled to compensation equal to two-thirds (2/3) of the difference between his post-injury and pre-injury weekly wages, so long as the amount does not exceed the maximum weekly benefit allowed by law. The North Carolina Industrial Commission and Courts have determined, however, that an employee may not continue to receive temporary partial disability checks for more than three hundred (300) weeks after the date of his injury. Contact a lawyer now for information specific to your case.
Permanent Partial Disability Benefits
A worker may suffer a permanent impairment, like the loss of a finger or a back injury, that leaves him unable to perform certain tasks. He may become blinded in one eye, lose part of his hearing, or suffer some other disability for which there is no possibility of full recovery. When an employee has reached the end of his healing or recovery period (often called maximum medical improvement, or MMI), he may be assigned a permanent impairment rating. This permanent impairment rating may allow the injured worker to receive permanent partial disability benefits for a period of time.
The NC Workers’ Compensation Act states the total number of weeks for which an employee may be entitled to receive compensation for the loss of a listed body part. Benefits for less than the total loss of a body part are calculated on a percentage basis. For example, the impairment rating for total loss of the use of a worker’s back is 300 weeks of weekly benefits. If an employee has sustained a 10% rating to his back, he may be entitled to 30 weeks of weekly benefits (10 % of 300 weeks).
The percentage of disability is based upon a physician’s ratings under the North Carolina Industrial Commission Rating Guide. However, an employee may be entitled to substantial additional benefits beyond the disability rating alone depending on the specific facts of his claim. An employee is also entitled to a second opinion evaluation by a physician of her choice under certain conditions. There may be many difficult questions like these in your case. If you have been disabled on the job, call us now to see if our NC workers’ compensation attorneys can help you with your workers’ compensation claim.
Temporary Total Disability Benefits
Often, an injury prevents the employee from returning to work immediately. If an employee is unable to return to work, he may be eligible to receive benefits under temporary total disability, or TTD. An employee is eligible to receive TTD benefits if he is out of work for more than seven days. The TTD benefits then begin on day eight. In order to receive benefits for the first seven days, the employee must also be out more than 21 days. If you have been out of work for this amount of time and are concerned about your rights, you may wish to consult a workers’ compensation lawyer.
An employee awarded temporary total disability benefits may be entitled to compensation equal to two-thirds (2/3) of his pre-injury weekly wages (averaged for the 52 weeks prior to he injury), so long as the amount does not exceed the maximum weekly benefit allowed by law. The North Carolina Industrial Commission and Courts have determined, however, that an employee may not continue to receive temporary total disability checks for more than three hundred (300) weeks after the date of his injury.
Total and Permanent Disability Benefits
If an employee’s injury is so severe that he is unable to return to any form of suitable permanent employment, he may be entitled to total and permanent disability benefits, paid for his lifetime. For example, the loss of both hands, both arms, both feet, both legs, both eyes, or any combination of the two thereof, can be deemed by the North Carolina Industrial Commission and Courts to constitute a case of total and permanent disability. These situations do not represent a complete list of the types of injuries that may qualify a person for permanent workers’ compensation benefits. Your best bet may be to consult with a lawyer if you have been injured.
The North Carolina Industrial Commission and Courts make the determination to award total and permanent disability benefits on a case-by-case basis. In the case of a permanent disability, hiring the services of a workers’ compensation attorney who has helped many North Carolina workers win their workers’ compensation claims may really be the best course of action. If you have been injured on the job, call us now to see if our lawyers can help you with your workers’ compensation claim.
How a Workers’ Comp Lawyer Can Help with a Disfigurement Case
In some cases a worker may sustain internal injuries or burns in an on-the-job accident. Scarring, damage to internal organs, and other disfigurements which are not listed specifically under the body parts that are entitled to permanent partial disability ratings in N. C. Gen. Stat. §97-31 may entitle a worker to additional compensation.
In the case of disfigurement or scarring, an injured worker may be entitled to up to $10,000.00 for injuries to body parts. In the case of permanent injury or loss to an important organ of the body the amount of additional compensation may be up to $20,000.00. However, if an employee is paid for a permanent disability rating on the same body part, he may not be allowed additional compensation for scarring. The type of work an employee performs may have bearing on this type of case. Our workers’ compensation attorneys can help you with these kinds of questions. Call us at 1-820-220-7321 today.
