Legal Question in Workers Comp in North Carolina
Changing companies after filing a workers comp claim
I have an approved workers comp claim that started in Oct of 2004. I never missed a days work for over a year while trying alternatives to surgery. I left this company in Oct of 2005 to work for another company. I was still being treated for my back injury. In December of 2005 I required surgery. Workers comp has continued to pay my medical bills, but am I entitled to lost wages as well? If so, what salary will it be based on? I am not making the same amount of money that I was with my previous company (the one I have the claim with)
The surgery did not go as well as we thought it would and I do not know how long I will be out of work? My previous salary would have qualified me to receive the maximum weekly benefit for lost wages. My present salary will not.
Thank you for your time. Also, should I have let workers comp know that I was changing companies?
2 Answers from Attorneys
Re: Changing companies after filing a workers comp claim
File Form 18 with the Industrial Commission ASAP. Statutes of limitation are running on your claim. Get out of work notes from your doctors. Call an experienced workers' comp attorney today. I'll be glad to refer you to a lawyer in your area. The comp payment is based on your wages for the 52 weeks BEFORE your injury date, not since that time. Good luck!
Re: Changing companies after filing a workers comp claim
I assume you did not "clincher" or settle any aspect of your claim, because it sounds as if you did not. Your wage rate is based upon your wage at the time of injury. You should tell the comp carrier your new employment and submit proof of your lost earnings due to the surgery itself if your doctor kept you out of work for a while following the surgery or took you out of work because of your back injury. This would be "total temporary disability" benefits.
Any reduction in earning capacity would be covered under "permanent partial disability", that is, the reduction in earning capacity that you suffered because of the back injury. This is determined by an "impairment rating" your doctor gives after you have reached "maximum medical improvement".
You should seek the advice of a qualified attorney with experience in worker's compensation claims at this point, to determine if the insurance company has paid you all of the benefits you are entitled to, and to help you with the remainder of your claim. There are time deadlines for making worker's compensation claims, and calculating a permanent partial disability can be somewhat complex.
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