Legal Question in Workers Comp in North Carolina
I fell three steps from the bottom of an outside wooden staircase during a blowing rain. The moisture on the wood was slick and my feet just went out from under me. I injured my arm trying to catch my fall but couldnt. My lower back hit the bottom step and my neck on third up. I have underwent 2 injections in my lower back and one in my neck and they only help 4 to 6 weeks. Today my doctor said since there is no improvement,surgery is the next step. My office personnel has not been very supportive through this ordeal and quite frequently our asst. manager does things to make me look bad because I think she wants my too quit. Is this because I can't be fired while my case is open or is that not correct. I also never miss work for a Dr. appt., I always schedule on my day off. I have also not missed any work due to the injury even though it has been one of the hardest things I have ever had to do.When pain is that severe and you have to go anyway and perform all my duties it gets really rough. As soon as I get home from work everyday I go straight to my couch and sometims it hurts so bad that I never even make it to my bed, I just sleep on the sofa.I have no quality of life left because Im not able to anything that my peers are doing, Im single and only 42 years old!
BTW thats another reason I keep pushing on because I have no family to help me and I dont want to end up homeless!
1 Answer from Attorneys
It appears that your question is whether or not you can be fired while you have an open workers' comp case. The answer to that question is yes, you can. The general rule is that you cannot be fired BECAUSE you have a workers' comp claim (an easy example is the boss telling you "if you report a work injury, you're fired."). That would constitute a retaliatory termination and would be in violation of a law called REDA (Retaliatory Employment Discrimination Act). If such a thing were to happen, you would have 90 days from the date of termination to contact the NC Dept. of Labor and file a claim. The Dept. of Labor would then conduct an investigation and determine if they would assist you in the claim or they would send you a "right to sue" letter whereupon you could go and hire your own attorney.
I admire your courage to stay in work but if the doctor has restrictions and the employer is not accomodating them, then you should be out of work and receiving temporary total disability benefits (TTD). TTD pays you 66 2/3 of your average gross (pre-tax) earnings and is generally calculated by looking at the wages you earned with this particular employer for the 52 weeks preceding the injury.
If you do have the surgery, you will likely be taken out of work for a time so that you can recover and rehab. You may also be entitled to receive benefits for a permanent partial disability rating for your back and neck injuries and also possibly your arm.
I would recommend that, at a minimum, you contact an attorney to discuss your rights and gain an understanding about the workers' comp system. Consultations are free and you can make a decision as to whether you want someone to help advocate for your rights. Workers' Comp is a complicated area of the law and it is in your interest to consider having an advocate as you can bet that the insurance company has an attorney advising them.
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