North Carolina Industrial Commission Archives - Workers' Compensation Defense

December 16, 2019 Disability Benefits / North Carolina

A Quick Guide on How to Navigate Claims That Occur Outside of North Carolina

Whether the North Carolina Industrial Commission has jurisdiction to adjudicate a workers’ compensation claim can be critical to a claim’s defense. A scenario where this issue commonly arises is when an employee is injured outside of the state of North Carolina, yet chooses to file a North Carolina claim.

N.C. Gen. Stat. Section 97-36 is the statute governing the North Carolina Industrial Commission’s jurisdiction over claims arising from accidents occurring outside of the state. Of particular importance, the North Carolina Court of Appeals has held …

December 9, 2019 Disability Benefits / North Carolina

Using Labor Market Surveys to Rebut Disability

An issue that is frequently encountered in workers’ compensation claims is whether a claimant can prove disability — i.e., whether the claimant can show that they are incapable of earning their pre-injury wages at the same or any other employment as a result of their work-related injury.

One tool that employers can use to rebut evidence of disability is a labor market survey prepared by a vocational rehabilitation expert. To enhance their evidentiary value, labor market surveys should be specifically tailored to the claimant’s individual …

November 4, 2019 Disability Benefits / North Carolina / Temporary Total Disability (TTD)

Garrett v. Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co.

In a recent case, Garrett v. Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. (Garrett II), the North Carolina Court of Appeals affirmed the Industrial Commission’s determination that a claimant was not disabled due to her failure to engage in a reasonable job search. This case was before the North Carolina Court of Appeals a second time.

In its first hearing on the matter, the Industrial Commission concluded the claimant’s neck injury was compensable and awarded her total temporary disability compensation (TTD) for a 14-month period. Both parties …

February 16, 2018 North Carolina / Opioids

Proposed Rules Aimed at Addressing Opioid Epidemic and its Impact on North Carolina Workers’ Compensation Claims Continue to Progress

As the opioid epidemic continues to sweep the country, the North Carolina Industrial Commission has taken notice. In February 2017, Chairman Charlton Allen established an Opioid Task Force aimed at finding solutions to address the opioid epidemic and the impact on workers’ compensation claims. Late last year, the Industrial Commission published draft rules for public comment on the utilization of opioids and pain management in workers’ compensation claims.

On January 16, 2018, the Industrial Commission announced that the proposed rules were published in Volume 32, …