Virtually any worker in North Carolina can suffer injuries on the job. Some occupations, such as construction and manufacturing, usually carry a higher level of risk, but employees in an office setting can still suffer from injuries suffered on the job. The state requires most employers to provide workers’ compensation insurance, but the injured party has to first report his or her work-related injury. The following are steps involved in the process.
Steps for reporting a work-related injury
Upon suffering an injury on the job, an employee seeking workers’ compensation will need to do the following:
- Report the injury to the employer and obtain medical treatment — An employer may have an on-site medical facility an injured party may go to, or the injured person may seek medical care from an approved health care provider as instructed by their employer.
- Claim the injury was work-related — An injured party must tell the health care provider that his or her injury was related to the job and name the employer in order to file for workers’ compensation.
- Inform a manager or company owner — Injured parties should also let their managers or the owner of the company know about their injury as soon as possible. Related to this, they must also submit a written notice to their employer within 30 days that provides the date and location of the accident as well as a brief description.
- Follow prescribed treatments – After receiving medical care and obtaining a treatment plan, the injured party must follow the treatment plan to the letter.
Completing all these steps can help ensure the work-related injury was properly reported and initiate the claims process so that the injured worker may begin receiving benefits. The process of obtaining workers’ compensation can be challenging, however. This is why it is so important to work with a lawyer in North Carolina who has extensive experience handling workers’ compensation claims.