You’ve been hurt at work. What are the first things you should think about?
Number one: getting well so you can have the best medical recovery and return to work. Second: notifying your employer of the accident. Third: properly filing your claim on a Form 18: Notice of Accident with the North Carolina Industrial Commission.
Our website has some tips about things to consider after suffering a work-related accident. This piece focuses on some additional practical considerations for workplace injuries.
Frequently we hear from injured workers who have suffered a shoulder, knee, or back injury but have yet to either seek medical treatment and/or notify their employer. Their goal, commonly, is to keep working at all costs. They don’t want to draw attention to themselves by filing a workers’ compensation claim. Many have never had to call an attorney before. Unfortunately, not only does this delay proper medical attention, it causes problems down the road when a claim is ultimately filed.
Under North Carolina law, an employee is required to file a claim within 30 days of the accident.
Failure to timely file a claim can be a defense brought by the employer and cause a claim to be denied. However, even if an employee doesn’t file a claim within 30 days, s/he can still bring a claim but s/he may have to be prepared to show that the employer had actual notice of the injury at work. Sometimes this is not hard to prove, and other times it can be quite difficult.
Once you’ve received medical treatment and notified your employer of the injury, the next thing you need to do is formally file a Form 18: Notice of Accident with the Industrial Commission and send a copy to your employer. This is something you, the employee, MUST do. Your employer will not do this for you (although sometimes your employer may provide you with the form). Many injured workers assume that because they are receiving medical treatment, paid for by the employer, that their case is accepted and the claim is filed. This is not always accurate. In fact, many times the employer or the carrier have not filed any forms at all. This is why it is important for the injured worker to be proactive and file the Form 18 as soon as possible.
