A workers' compensation claim does not always shift from accepted to disputed with an obvious denial letter. Sometimes the change is less clear: provisional payments end, a recommended treatment is not authorized, or another disagreement develops over benefits. Recognizing that a dispute has started is…
Workers' compensation mediation is confidential, which allows both sides to discuss possible resolutions without treating settlement negotiations the same way as evidence presented at a hearing. Offers made during mediation generally cannot be introduced later simply to show what one side was willing to accept…
Being attacked at work, whether by a customer, a stranger, or a coworker, leaves injuries that go beyond whatever shows up on an X-ray or a medical chart. The physical harm is often the more straightforward part. The fear of returning to the same building,…
Hearing that a disputed claim is "going to the Industrial Commission" can make it sound like the case is immediately headed for a courtroom. In reality, disputed North Carolina workers' compensation claims generally move through several stages, including mediation, before a formal hearing takes place.…
A worker pulled from under a pallet jack or a piece of shifted machinery can sometimes stand up, talk normally, and seem largely fine in the first hour after the accident. That impression can be dangerously misleading. Crush injuries are notorious for looking milder in…
Losing a finger, hand, or limb changes daily life immediately, long before any paperwork gets filed. Getting dressed, driving, holding a child, or doing the job that provided a paycheck the day before can all become difficult or impossible overnight. The physical healing is only…

