04/10/2025
Workers’ Comp Myths
Workers’ Comp Myths Transcript
Hi, my name is Zach Marquand, a workers’ compensation, attorney for Deuterman law group. I wanna talk about some myths that I hear from folks about worker’s compensation claims in North Carolina.
Delayed Reporting Doesn’t Mean No Workers Compensation Claim
Probably the number one myth that I hear is that an employer tells somebody that, well, they don’t have a workers’ compensation claim because they didn’t report it or didn’t get treatment that day.
That’s simply not true. You have up to 30 days to report a claim in North Carolina. Now that said, my preference is, of course, for somebody to report it that day, reported in writing and seek treatment that day. That is, of course, the best practice. But the fact that it wasn’t reported the same day is not a bar to the claim.
Being on Workers’ Compensation Doesn’t Guarantee Job Protection
The second thing that I hear from folks is that, well, I’m not on workers’ comp leave. I can’t be fired. That’s not the case in North Carolina. North Carolina has no specific laws that preserve your job while you’re out on leave on a workers’ compensation claim. FMLA is a federal law. It gives you up to 12 weeks, potentially, of protected leave if you qualify.
But it’s only 12 weeks. Now, some employers will hold a job for longer, but they are not required to. Generally speaking, in North Carolina. The next thing I hear from folks is that they want to be able to seek their own treatment, go to their own doctors. And again, that’s not the case that that’s, that’s not something you can do in North Carolina.
Other states do have that, right, potentially. But workers’ compensation laws are state specific. In North Carolina, if you’re seeking workers’ compensation benefits and workers’ compensation is paying for your treatment. You do have to accept the doctors they send you to most of the time.
Yes, Psychological Injuries Can Be Covered by Workers’ Compensation
The last thing that I hear from folks is, you know, sort of having been told that psychological injuries aren’t covered under workers’ compensation. And again, that’s not the case.
And worker’s comp doesn’t really like to pay for psychological injuries. It’s like depression or anxiety stemming from a work injury or PTSD stemming from the incident itself. But these things are covered.
Worker’s comp can provide treatment, medication, therapy, counseling, all of these things can be covered, but often it does take litigation to get them accepted and get them covered under workers’ compensation.
